Sports stats



USHL U.S. National Team

Team USA to Play for Gold Medal at U18 World Championship After Clipping Sweden

April 26, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


LAPPEENRANTA, Finland -Dylan Larkin(Waterford, Mich.) andRyan Hitchcock(Manhasset, N.Y.) eachscored a goal and added an assistas the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team clipped Sweden, 4-1, in semifinal action here today at Lappeenranta Arena. With the win, Team USA advances to the gold-medal gameof the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's Under-18 World Championship.

Sweden tallied the first goal of the game just 35 seconds into the opening frame, immediately afterits first power play expired. The U.S. responded at the 3:11 mark with a goal fromAuston Matthews(Scottsdale, Ariz.).Kyle Connor(Shelby Township, Mich.) skated down the left sideboards into the Swedish zone and found Matthews streaking down the ice in support. Connor sent a pass to Matthews near the top of the circles for a snap shot thatsailed pastLinus Soderstrom for the score.

Hitchcock scored the go-ahead goal for the United Statesat 7:47 of the second stanza.Noah Hanifin(Norwood, Mass.) entered the offensive zone and absorbed a hit in the left faceoff circle toput a shot on net that was intended to create a second opportunity. Hanifin's rebound floatedto Hitchcockon the opposite side of the crease who shoveled the puck over Soderstrom to give Team USA a 2-1 lead entering the third period.

Larkinlifted the U.S. to a two-goal advantage at 8:38 of thefinal frame.Hitchcock skated behind the attackingnet and stole the puck from a Swedish defender. Quickly,hefound Larkin open at the top of the crease and Larkin fired the puck under the crossbar before Soderstrom could react. Jack Eichel(North Chelmsford, Mass.) secured the 4-1 victory for Team USA with an empty-net goal with 46 seconds remaining. Larkin assisted on the play.

U.S. goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (Parma, Ohio) made 19 stops in the win for Team USA while Soderstrom kicked out 30 saves for Sweden.

The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team will conclude tournament play tomorrow (April 27) against either Canada or the Czech Republic in the gold-medal game at 11 a.m. EDT. The game will be held at Lappeenranta Arena and broadcast live, for free, onFASTHockey.com.

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 W, 4-3

Thurs., April 24 Quarterfinals - Slovakia W, 6-2 --

Sat., April 26 Semifinals - Sweden W, 4-1 --

Sun., April 27 Gold Medal - Canada/Czech Republic 7:00 p.m. / 12:00 p.m. FASTHockey.com

*pre-tournament game

NOTES: For a complete U.S. roster, click here ... Team USA outshot Sweden, 34-20 ... Alex Nedeljkovic was named Team USA's best player ... Noah Hanifinhasone goal and four assists in six games played. This places the defenseman in a tie for the lead among point-producing blueliners in the tournament. Kyle Connor holds a six-game point-scoring streak, netting one goal in each of Team USA's preliminary-round games to go with assists today and against Slovakia in the quarterfinals. The Youngstown Phantoms product also scored in the pre-tournament contest against Germany ... Jack Eichel is riding a five-game point streak. The forward has five goals and four assists over that span ... Auston Matthews is also enjoying a five-game point streak. The forward has netted three goals and collected two assists during those contests ... 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.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics



United States Hockey League Stories from April 26, 2014


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