USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Men's National U18 Team Downs Switzerland, 5-1, at World Championship

Published on April 14, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


BOBRUISK, Belarus - Adam Clendening (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) scored a goal and added two assists, while Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) tallied the first two goals for the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team as it defeated Switzerland, 5-1, here today in its second game at the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Men's Under-18 Championship. With the win, Team USA improved to 1-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L).

"This was definitely one of our better efforts and the team showed a lot of character after going down a goal and coming right back to score," said Kurt Kleinendorst, head coach of Team USA. "We're going to soldier on through this tournament. I think everyone will enjoy the win today until our heads hit the pillow, but now we turn our focus to our game against Canada on Friday."

Just seconds after Team USA successfully defended a Swiss two-man advantage, Gregory Hofmann gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead at 11:58 of the opening stanza. The lead would not last long as Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) evened the score 27 seconds later after knocking home his own rebound from the left side of the crease. U.S. netminder Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) made several key saves during the first period, stopping eight shots.

Team USA controlled the play early in the second frame. Campbell sent a long feed to Adam Clendening (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), who brought the puck into the Swiss zone and flipped a shot on net. Clendening's rebound skidded to the stick of Czarnik, who rifled it into the top center of the net to give the U.S. its first lead at 4:01. With just 14 seconds to play in the period, Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) centered the puck to a wide-open Bill Arnold (Needham, Mass.), who put the puck to his backhand and roofed it into the top of the net over goaltender Dennis Saikkonen's blocker to make it 3-1.

Team USA earned a four-goal cushion when Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) intercepted a pass in the Swiss zone and threaded the puck to Clendening, who ripped a wrister from the center point into the upper right corner of the net at 8:41 of the third period. Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.) deflected a shot from Clendening out of mid air and past the goaltender to close out the scoring at 12:03.

Campbell stopped all 14 shots he saw in the final 40 minutes to close out the afternoon with 22 saves.

The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team returns to action Friday (April 16) at 7 p.m. (12 p.m. EDT) when it takes on Canada at Bobruisk Arena.

NOTES: Jack Campbell, who improved his goals-against average to 2.01 and save percentage to .926, recorded his second career assist as a member of Team USA. He registered an assist last season with the U.S. National Under-17 Team in North American Hockey League action ... Austin Czarnik was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... Adam Clendening's three points (1-2) pace Team USA through its first two games, while Austin Czarnik (2-0--2), Justin Faulk (0-2--2) and Rocco Grimaldi (0-2--2) trail with two points each ... The U.S. has yet to lose to Switzerland at the IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship, owning a 5-0-0-0 record in the all-time series. Additionally Team USA has not lost its second preliminary-round game at the IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship since 2001 ... Team USA's games are available via live webstream at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com ... The U.S. has earned an unprecedented six consecutive medals at the IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship, which includes three gold (2005, 2006, 2009), two silver (2004, 2007) and one bronze (2008). Team USA also captured the gold medal in 2002.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United States Hockey League Stories from April 14, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central