Sports stats



USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Men's National Team Beats Germany, 5-4, at 2014 IIHF Men's World Championship

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


MINSK, Belarus - Johnny Gaudreau (Carneys Point, N.J./Boston College/Calgary Flames) had a goal and three assists and Justin Abdelkader (Muskegon, Mich./Michigan State University/Detroit Red Wings) scored twice, including the game winner in the third period, to give the U.S. Men's National Team a 5-4 victory over Germany in its final preliminary-round game of the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship here today.

"I'm glad that we were able to find the points that we needed to possibly raise our seeding for the quarterfinals," said Peter Laviolette, head coach of the 2014 U.S. Men's National Team. "We knew that this was going to be a tough match for us today. We're looking forward to moving on from here."

Following a scoreless first period, Abdelkader struck on a shot from the side of the net just 1:44 into the middle frame to give the United States a 1-0 lead. Gaudreau created the play low in the offensive zone by shaking a German defender before sending a no-look pass to Abdelkader that he quickly fired past goaltender Danny Aus den Birken.

Germany answered 1:48 later with a goal on a rush, but Drew Shore (Denver, Colo./University of Denver/Florida Panthers) put the U.S. back in front with a shorthanded marker at 7:18. Team USA created a turnover just inside its defensive blue line and Jeff Petry (Ann Arbor, Mich./Michigan State University/Edmonton Oilers) sent an outlet pass to Shore in the neutral zone. Shore raced down the left wing, made a nifty move around a German defenseman and slid the puck through Aus den Birken's legs to make it 2-1 USA.

A Germany power-play marker at 10:29 pulled the game back to even before Team USA answered with a power-play goal of its own at 12:53 to jump ahead, 3-2. Gaudreau picked up the puck at the right circle, turned to his forehand and feathered a cross-ice pass to Matt Donovan (Edmond, Okla./University of Denver/N.Y. Islanders). Donovan one-timed the pass into the net for his second goal of the tournament.

An odd-man rush allowed Germany to tie it at 3-3 just 2:20 later, setting the stage for the United States' third-period heroics.

Gaudreau scored at 2:24 of the third frame to put Team USA up, 4-3. With the U.S. on the man advantage, Gaudreau used a quick toe drag to pull the puck between two German defenders. Once he regained complete control of the puck, he fired a shot high off the in-net camera to put Team USA up for good.

Abdelkader buried another pinpoint Gaudreau feed in front with 4:16 remaining in the contest to give the U.S. a 5-3 cushion.

A German power-play goal with 1:57 to play cut the lead to 5-4, but the U.S. snuffed out Germany's late efforts to tie the game.

Goaltender Tim Thomas (Flint, Mich./University of Vermont/Dallas Stars) started his seventh straight game of the tournament and turned aside 22 shots in the victory.

The U.S. Men's National Team (4-1-0-2) will next play in the quarterfinals Thursday (May 22). Team USA's opponent and game time will be announced later today.

NOTES: Tonight's box score, photos and more comments from Head Coach Peter Laviolette are available here ... Johnny Gaudreau was named Team USA's best player ... With his four-point game, Gaudreau took over the team lead in points (2-810) ... ... The U.S. improved to 8-0-1-2-3 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) all-time against Germany 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 W, 3-1

Tues., May 20 Germany Minsk Arena W, 5-4

Thurs., May 22 Quarterfinals Chizhovka Arena 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



United States Hockey League Stories from May 20, 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