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U.S. Men's National Team Beats Kazakhstan in OT, 4-3, at 2014 IIHF Men's World Championship

May 16, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


MINSK, Belarus - Seth Jones (Plano, Texas/Nashville Predators) scored twice -- including the game-winning goal in overtime -- and Craig Smith (Madison, Wis./Univ. of Wisconsin/Nashville Predators) and Matt Donovan (Edmond, Okla./Univ. of Denver/N.Y. Islanders) each had a goal to help the U.S. Men's National Team defeat Kazakhstan, 4-3, in preliminary-round play at the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship here today.

At 1:05 of overtime, Jones scored his second of the game when he picked up a loose puck in the slot and sent a perfectly placed shot into the top corner of the net to secure the win for the U.S.

"We're happy to come out with a win," said Peter Laviolette, head coach of the 2014 U.S. Men's National Team. "It was a very tough game for us. Kazakhstan played very well. I thought Tim Thomas was terrific early when then had a lot of chances. I was really proud of our guys for fighting back the entire game and getting stronger. We had to go to overtime, but it's a win and we'll take that."

The teams traded power-play goals late in the first period. Kazakhstan opened the scoring at 14:23 on a backdoor play before Smith knotted the game at 1-1 4:15 later. Off an offensive-zone draw, Jones moved a puck down the wall and it eventually landed on the stick of Brock Nelson (Warroad, Minn./Univ. of North Dakota/N.Y. Islanders). Nelson tapped the puck to Smith, who beat Kazakhstan goaltender Alexei Ivanov with his initial shot, but the puck sat in the crease before Smith batted it home.

Kazakhstan regained the lead just 1:21 into the middle frame when it scored off a turnover to make it 2-1, but Jones scored on a power play at 3:44 to bring the U.S. back to even. Following several quality chances that didn't find the back of the net, Jones corralled the puck at the right point and blasted a shot over Ivanov's glove.

Donovan gave the U.S. its first lead of the game, 3-2, when he wired a shot past Ivanov on a delayed penalty at 15:02. After Johnny Gaudreau (Carneys Point, N.J./Boston College/Calgary Flames) drew the call, he wheeled around two players and managed to scoop the puck back to Donovan in the left circle.

Kazakhstan knotted the score at 3-3 with 6:50 remaining in the third frame to force overtime, setting the stage for Jones' game-winner.

The U.S. Men's National Team (2-1-0-2) continues preliminary-round action at the IIHF Men's World Championship Sunday (May 18) against Finland. Puck-drop is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. ET and the game will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.

NOTES: Tonight's box score, photos and more comments from Head Coach Peter Laviolette are available here ... Seth Jones was named Team USA's best player ... The U.S. improved to 1-2-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) all-time against Kazakhstan in the IIHF Men's World Championship ... Team USA's captain is Justin Abdelkader. The alternate captains are Craig Smith, Colin McDonald and Tim Stapleton ... Peter Laviolette is serving as head coach of the 2014 U.S. Men's National Team for the third time (2004-bronze, 2005). The assistant coaches are Joe Sacco, Phil Housley and Don Granato ... For Team USA's roster, click here ... Twenty of the 25 members of Team USA played U.S. college hockey ... Seven of the 25 players are products of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, including Jimmy Hayes, Seth Jones, Jake McCabe, Peter Mueller, Connor Murphy, Drew Shore and Jacob Trouba ... Thirteen NHL teams are represented on the roster: Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets ... The staff and players of the 2014 U.S. Men's National Team are selected by the U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Group, led by Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. Other members include Stan Bowman (Chicago Blackhawks), Brian Burke (Calgary Flames), Paul Holmgren (Philadelphia Flyers), Dean Lombardi (Los Angeles Kings), David Poile (Nashville Predators), Ray Shero, Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers), and Don Waddell (Pittsburgh Penguins). Tom Kurvers (Tampa Bay Lightning) is also part of the advisory group for this year's championship ... USA Hockey's international council, chaired by Gavin Regan, vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams ... Sixteen teams are competing at the 2014 IIHF Men's World Championship, divided into two groups of eight. Teams will play a round-robin format among their group with the top four teams from each group advancing to quarterfinals ... NBC Sports Network is televising and streaming all Team USA games in the 2014 IIHF Men's World Championship.

Team USA 2014 IIHF Men's World Championship Schedule

May 9-25 - Minsk, Belarus

Date Opponent Venue Time (Local/EDT)/Result NBCSN Broadcast

Fri., May 9 Belarus Minsk Arena W, 6-1

Sat., May 10 Switzerland Minsk Arena W, 3-2

Mon., May 12 Russia Minsk Arena L, 1-6

Thurs., May 15 Latvia Minsk Arena L, 5-6

Fri., May 16 Kazakhstan Minsk Arena W, 4-3 OT

Sun., May 18 Finland Minsk Arena 4:45 p.m./9:45 a.m. Live

Tues., May 20 Germany Minsk Arena 12:45 p.m./5:45 a.m. Live

Thurs., May 22 Quarterfinals TBD TBD tape delay

Sat., May 24 Semifinals Minsk Arena 2:45 p.m./7:45 a.m.

6:45 p.m./11:45 a.m.

tape delay

tape delay

Sun., May 25 Bronze-Medal Game Minsk Arena 4:30 p.m./9:30 a.m. tape delay

Gold-Medal Game Minsk Arena 9:00 p.m./2:00 p.m. Live

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

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