WHL Edmonton Oil Kings

Lowe, Team USA To Play Canada In U-18 Final

Published on August 13, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


Edmonton, AB - Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman Keegan Lowe, the son of Edmonton Oilers President of Hockey Operations Kevin Lowe, will take on Team Canada as a member of Team USA in Saturday's championship game at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial U-18 Tournament.

Lowe and Team USA defeated Sweden 6-5 in overtime in the first semifinal on Friday, and Team Canada punched their ticket to the championship in Friday's other semifinal with a 6-2 victory over the Czech Republic - one of the two host nations alongside Slovakia. USA will play Canada in the gold medal match on Saturday at 7 a.m. MST in Piestany, Slovakia.

"It's really exciting thinking about the game tomorrow," Lowe said via email from Slovakia. "To be able to take on a hockey power such as Canada, a team that has had so much success in this tournament in the past years, is unreal. The boys and I know it's going to be a battle from start to finish, but we are more than ready to take on the challenge."

Lowe, who has dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, hasn't recorded any points thus far at the tournament, but he does have a pair of minor penalties. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound blue-liner played his rookie season with the Oil Kings this past year. The 17-year-old suited up for 69 regular season games, tallying two goals and 12 assists, as well as 60 penalty minutes.

"Obviously being in a family that has deep Canadian athletic roots, it's a bit of a different situation," Lowe said. "But all in all, I came over here to represent the United States and that's where all my thoughts are right now. It's a huge honour no matter which country you're playing for, and such a good feeling to pull that sweater over your shoulders. And once it's on, all I think about is doing the best I can to make America proud."

At last year's U-18 summer tournament, another Oil Kings defenceman, Mark Pysyk, helped Team Canada capture the gold medal with a dominant 9-2 win over Russia. Team USA's only gold medal in the tournament's history came in 2003.

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Western Hockey League Stories from August 13, 2010


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