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U.S. National Team

U.S. Shuts out Denmark at U18 World Championship

April 20, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


LAPPEENRANTA, Finland. - Jack Eichel(North Chelmsford, Mass.) and Sonny Milano(Massapequa, N.Y.) recorded three points each, andEdwin Minney(Wind Gap, Pa.) registered Team USA's second-straight shut out,as the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team defeatedDenmark, 7-0, here today at Lappeenranta Arena. With the win Team USA improvesto 2-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in preliminary round action at the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's Under-18 World Championship.

Team USA opened the scoring midway through the first frame. After killing a Denmark power play, Eichel skated toward the right side of the crease sending anattempted pass off of the goaltender's pad. Milano buried the rebound to givethe United States its first lead.

Eichel was awarded a penalty shot at the 7:55 mark of the second stanza, butwas denied by Denmark's Mathias Seldrup. Team USA doubled its lead off the stick ofJared Fiegl(Parker, Colo.) at 11:47. Fiegl took a pass fromJoe Wegwerth(Brewster, N.Y.) andripped a shot that rodeup Seldrup's stick, hit the tight netting under the crossbar and bounced back out of the net.Video replay confirmed call on the ice and the goal stood. Eichel extended the U.S. lead to three goalsat 16:34,chippingthe puck up and over Seldrup's pads after a hard drive to the net from the left half-boards. Milano andJack Glover(Golden Valley, Minn.) registered helpers on the play.

Glover pushed the U.S. lead to four goals just over two minutes into the final frame.Louie Belpedio(Skokie, Ill.) worked the puck around to Milano in the attacking zone before finding Glover standing inside the blue line.Glover launched a shot that foundits way through traffic for the tally.Three minutes later,Ryan Hitchcock(Manhasset, N.Y.) lit the lamp for Team USA, connecting withAuston Matthews(Scottsdale, Ariz.) to take a 5-0 lead. Eichel tallied his second of the game at 12:49, sending a backhand shotup and overSeldrup. Sixteenseconds later, Hitchcock foundKyle Connor(Shelby Township, Mich.) with a cross-ice pass, allowing Connor to hit the wide-open net.Noah Hanifin(Norwood, Mass.) also assisted on the play to secure the 7-0 victory for Team USA.

Minney stopped all nine shots he saw to pick up the shut out for Team USAwhile Seldrup turned aside 52 attempts for Denmark.

The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team's final preliminary round game will come against host country Finland on Tuesday (April 22). Puck drop is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. EDT at Lappeenranta Arena.

2014 IIHF Men's U18 World Championship Schedule - United States

April 17-27, 2014 - Lappeenranta, Finland

Date Opponent Time (Local/EDT)/Result Live Webcast

Tues., April 14 Germany* W, 9-1 --

Thurs., April 17 Switzerland L, 2-4 --

Sat., April 19 Czech Republic W, 3-0 --

Sun., April 20 Denmark W, 7-0 --

Tues., April 22 Finland 6:30 p.m. / 11:30 a.m. FASTHockey.com

Thurs., April 24 Quarterfinals TBD TBD

Sat., April 26 Semifinals TBD TBD

Sun., April 27 Bronze-Medal 3:00 p.m. / 8:00 a.m. TBD

Gold-Medal 7:00 p.m. / 12:00 p.m. TBD

*pre-tournament game

NOTES: For a complete U.S. roster, click here ... Team USA outshot the Denmark, 59-8 ... Jared Fiegl was named Team USA's best player ... Kyle Connorhas now scored in each of Team USA's first three games of the U18 World Championship. The forward also scored one goal in the pre-tournament game against Germany last week ... Sonny Milano has at least one point in each of his first three tournament games, including two goals and three assists. Factoring in the pre-tournament game versus Germany, the forward has eight points (4-4) in four games ... The U.S. has scored the first goal in each of its three tournament games ... The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team is led byDanton Cole, serving as head coach at his second IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship. Cole is currently in his fourth season as one of two head coaches at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. ... The U.S. squad seeks its eighth gold medal in the event after capturing the tournament title in four of the last five years. Team USA had won four-consecutive gold medals before having its streak snapped last year in Sochi, Russia. The silver medal in 2013 marked 10-straight top-three finishes for the U.S. ... Twenty players on the U.S. roster come from USA Hockey's NTDP.Kyle Connor(Shelby Township, Mich.) skated this season for the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League.Alex Nedeljkovicplayed for the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers ... The roster for the U.S. features 15 players recently listed on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of draft-eligible players. Among those players in the top twenty are forwards Alex Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y./12th), Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y./16th) and Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich./17th). Goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic (Parma, Ohio) and Edwin Minney (Wind Gap, Pa.) were ranked fourth and seventh respectively ... Team USA's roster includes 20 players born in 1996 and two from the 1997 birth year. ForwardAuston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.), born Sept. 17, 1997, is Team USA's youngest player, while Nedeljkovic, born Jan. 7, 1996, is the oldest ... Eleven different states are represented on the roster. New York leads the way with five skaters, while Minnesota boasts four ... The U.S. enters the tournament having captured a record 10-consecutive medals, including back-to-back golds in 2005-06 and four-straight gold medals from 2009-12; three silver medals (2004, 2007, 2013); and one bronze medal (2008). Team USA's seven gold medals are the most of any country in IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship history. The event began in 1999. Team USA earned its first gold medal in 2002 ... The U.S. will play in Group B alongside the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland. Group A consists of Canada, Germany, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden ... Follow@USAHockeyScoreson Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with the#U18Worldstag ... For additional coverage, visit the NTDPFacebookpage and follow@USANTDPon Twitter ... The U.S. National Under-18 and Under-17 Teams train withThe Hockey IntelliGym, a software program that trains hockey sense. To learn more, visitUSAHockeyIntelliGym.com.

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