U18 Selects Fall to Finland, 8-2, in Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament

"We put in a great effort but fell short," said Matt Herr, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team. "We started to find a rhythm and play well, but it's hard to have a game plan for a game like that. We play against Slovakia on Friday, so we'll try to find that groove again to be successful."

After trailing 1-0 late in the first period, Erne took advantage on the power play and scored off a rebound from Anthony DeAngelo (Sewell, N.J.). Despite seeing few offensive chances, Finland reclaimed the lead with less than 30 seconds remaining.

Seven goals were scored in the second stanza. Over the opening eight minutes the teams traded five goals with Finland holding a 5-3 advantage. During the scoring spree, Finland netted their third goal, but Erne teamed up with Sean Malone (West Seneca, N.Y.) and Gabe Guertler (Plantation, Fla.) just 40 seconds later.

In the final eight minutes, Finland scored once more on Devin Williams (Saginaw, Mich.), but Trevor Moore (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) answered right back for the U.S. Team USA added two late goals from Guertler and Corey Ronan (Franklin, Mass.) to pull even with Finland, 5-5, heading into the final frame.

Finland came out fast in the third, scoring twice more before Vinny Lettieri (Minnetonka, Minn.) netted the sixth goal for the U.S. at 14:14 to pull back within one. With three minutes to go, Team USA pulled Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.) in favor of an extra attacker, but Finland potted an empty net goal to seal the victory.

The U.S. will take the ice again on Friday (Aug. 17) against Slovakia. Puck drop is slated for 2:00 p.m. local time/9:00 a.m. EDT.

NOTES: Adam Erne was named U.S. Player of the Game ... Follow @USAHockey and @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for up-to-the-minute information on the tournament ... The 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament features teams from Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States ... Team USA has finished in the top three of the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament 10 times since the tournament's inception in 1991, including a first place finish in 2003. The U.S. has finished second seven times (1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2010) and third twice (1991, 1995) ... Team USA finished fifth last year and second in 2010 ... The 22 players on the roster represent 10 different states. Minnesota has five representatives, while New Jersey has four and California and New York each have three ... Matt Herr (Alpine, N.J.), head coach of the Kent School (Conn.), serves as head coach and Bob Corkum (Salisbury, Mass), associate head coach at the University of Maine, and Nick Fohr (Grand Forks, N.D.), assistant coach with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, serve as assistant coaches.

• Discuss this story on the United States Hockey League message board...
• Digg this story
• Add to Del.icio.us
Tweet

United States Hockey League Stories from August 15, 2012

• U18 Selects Fall to Finland, 8-2, in Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament - U.S. National Team
• Lumberjacks Conor Garland Commits to Penn State for 2015 - Muskegon Lumberjacks
• Hawks Win Red Army Battle - Waterloo Black Hawks

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.