NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Team weekly report

Published on November 15, 2004 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


UNITED STATES NATIONAL UNDER-18 TEAM
The U.S. Under-18 Team earned gold at the Compuware Four Nations Cup this past week.

NEXT ACTION
The U-18 Team heads to South Bend, Indiana to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Friday, November 19, 2004.

COMPUWARE FOUR NATIONS CUP FINAL STANDINGS/STATS

PREVIOUS WEEK RECAP
Monday, November 8 – Switzerland, 4, USA, 6
The United States National Team Development Program Under-18 Team scored three goals in a span of 3:36 early in the second period on its way to a 6-4 victory in the first game of the Compuware Four Nations Cup on Monday.

"I liked the way we played, for the most part," said U.S. Head Coach Ron Rolston. "It was a good win for us but we have to get better as a team."

Mercier got the U.S. on the board first with a power-play goal at 4:22 of the first period. The Erie, Pa., native took a pass from Jimmy Fraser (Port Huron, Mich.) and rifled a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle that beat Swiss goalie Florian Kindschi.

Skille broke a 1-1 tie at the 2:51 mark of the second period, carrying the puck into the Swiss zone, swinging wide around a defender and backhanding the puck into the net. Peter Mueller (Bloomington, Minn.) made it 3-1, at 3:59, converting a pass from Mercier, who was lying on his stomach but managed to get the puck across the slot to his wide open teammate. Mercier took a pass from Jason Lawrence (Saugus, Mass.) and beat Kindschi to widen the lead to 4-1.

The Swiss cut the lead on goals Fabrizio Conte and Pascal Zbinden, but Skille scored his second goal of the period, fighting off a Swiss checker and rifling the shot home.

Samuel Friedli's power-play goal at 4:47 of the third period made it a one-goal game, but Lawrence answered with a power-play goal at 8:16 for the final margin of victory.

Tuesday, November 9 – Sweden, 1, USA, 7
The United States National Development Program Under-18 Team used solid goaltending and tenacious penalty killing to skate past Sweden, 7-1, at the Compuware Four Nations Cup on Tuesday.

Andreas Vlassopolous (Los Angeles) and Jimmy Fraser (Port Huron, Mich.) scored two goals apiece, and Jeff Frazee (Burnsville, Minn.) stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced to pace the U.S. squad, which improved to 2-0 in the round-robin tournament. Sweden fell to 0-1-1, damaging its hopes of playing in Friday's championship game.

The U.S. penalty killers were on top of their game, surrendering only one Sweden power-play goal.

The U.S. drew first blood on a Zach Jones (Lisle, Ill.) snap shot from the point that glanced off the stick of Swedish goaltender Mattias Modig and dribbled into the net at 2:24 of the first period. Vlassopolous and Dan Collins (Carthage, N.Y.) assisted on the play.

Fraser made it 2-0, tapping in a rebound off a shot from Chris Cahill (North Andover, Mich.) at 10:58.

Sweden cut the lead to 2-1 on Mattias Ritola's power-play goal at 15:36. The U.S. made it 3-1 as Jason Bailey feathered a pass between two Swedish defensemen to Vlassopolous, who broke in on goal, deked left and flicked a backhand shot over the outstretched leg of Modig.

Ryan Stoa (Bloomington, Minn.) and Vlassopolous scored power-play goals in the second period, and Justin Mercier (Erie, Pa.) also scored as the U.S. expanded its lead to 6-1.

Fraser rounded out the scoring a minute into the third period, taking a Jason Bailey (Nepean, Ontario) pass and slipping the puck past Modig.

Thursday, November 11 – Finland, 1, USA, 7
The United States National Team Development Program Under-18 Team notched its third straight win and marched into the championship game of the Compuware Four Nations Cup with a 6-3 victory over Finland on Thursday.

Jason Bailey (Nepean, Ontario) got the U.S. on the board at 7:08 of the first period as Johnson's shot deflected off the stick of a Finnish forward and bounced to Bailey, who tapped in the open netter.

Johnson's power-play goal made it 2-0 at the 18:53 mark when he gloved down a deflected shot off the stick of Andreas Vlassopolous (Los Angeles) and slipped it past Toivonen.

Finland responded with a power-play goal with three seconds left in the period as Blase stopped a shot from the point but got tangled up in a scrum in front. The puck sat inches from the goal line until Max Warn poked it home before Blase could get his glove on it.

Justin Mercier (Erie, Pa.) made it 3-1 at 4:34 of the second period, banging home a rebound after Chris Cahill (North Andover, Mass.) was robbed by the Finnish goalie.

Jack Skille (Madison, Wis.) scored a power-play goal at 9:58 to pad the lead, but the Finns got back in the game with another late goal as Tomi Tuomainen poked in a rebound at 19:25.
The U.S. power play continued to click in the third period as Ryan Stoa (Bloomington, Minn.) and Jimmy Fraser (Port Huron, Mich.) scored with the man advantage. Skille set up Stoa, picking up a loose puck behind the net, swinging wide and firing a shot from the point that Stoa redirected home.

Fraser jammed home a rebound after Toivonen couldn't handle Johnson's blast from the point.

Friday, November 12 – Sweden, 0, USA, 1
The U.S. Under-18 Team clinched a gold medal at the Compuware Four Nations Cup with a nail-biting 1-0 triumph over Sweden on Friday night (Nov. 12). Justin Mercier (Erie, Pa.) notched the lone goal of the contest at the 7:33 mark of the third period. In net, Jeff Frazee (Burnsville, Minn.) turned aside 20 Swedish shots for the shutout victory.

The Americans had easily disposed of the Swedes earlier in the week with a 7-1 win on Tuesday (Nov. 9). However, Team USA did not enjoy such success throughout the contest. In the first period of play, USA had numerous chances to get on the scoreboard first as it received five power plays in the opening frame compared to Sweden's three. Swedish goalie Joel Gistedt blanked the Americans by making 10 stops in the first period.

The second period was much of the same as neither team could muster much offense. Both teams' defenses clamped down and consistently blocked shots from the perimeter. USA out-shot Sweden 8-7 in the middle stanza.

Finally, in the third period Team USA broke through. Following a flurry of shots on the Sweden goal, Peter Mueller (Bloomington, Minn.) gained control of the puck in the left corner and flipped into space in the slot. Mercier beat his defender as he skated from the boards towards the middle. Upon reaching the loose puck, Mercier faked and then slid the puck by Gistedt at the right side on his backhand. Sweden scrambled in the final minutes in an effort to tie the game, but the American defense stood tall and preserved the 1-0 win.

GOLD MEDAL GAME
TEAM SCORING PIM PP SHOT W/L GOALIE
Sweden 0-0-0 8-16 0-5 20 Gistedt (29-30)
USA 0-0-1 6-12 0-7 30 Frazee (20-20)

Sweden: None
USA: Mercier (GWG), Mueller (A), Mitera (A)

UNITED STATES NATIONAL UNDER-17 TEAM
The U.S. Under-17 Team won the Gold Medal at the Four Nations Cup in Rochester, N.Y.

NEXT ACTION
The U-17 team travels to Ohio to face the Youngstown Phantoms in NAHL regular season play, Sunday, October 21, 2004 at 7:00pm.

FOUR NATIONS CUP FINAL STATS/STANDINGS

PREVIOUS WEEK RECAP
Tuesday, November 9 – Russia, 3, USA, 5
The United States National Team Development Program Under-17 squad used a stifling defensive effort as they fought back from a two-goal first period deficit to earn a 5-3 win over Russia.

Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) tallied twice and Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) picked up two helpers as the U.S. shut down the Russian offense for the final 45 minutes of the game.

Pavel Doronin opened the scoring for Russia as he fired a low liner from the left point passed the screened U.S. goaltender Joe Palmer (Yorkville, N.Y.). The Russian team would exit the first period with a two-goal lead as Alexander Ryabev and Dmitri Kurenkov scored at the 8:55 and 15:44 mark respectively in the first period.

Michael Ratchuk (Buffalo, N.Y.) started the U.S. climb back with an equal strength goal at the 4:07 mark of the middle session as Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minn.) and Rakhshani picked up assists on the play.

The crowd began the U.S.A, U.S.A chants after the Ratchuk goal adding fuel to the fire already burning in the red, white and blue as they saw the momentum swinging in their favor after the Russian lead was down to a lone goal.

Several minutes after the U.S. cut the lead to one, Kane, who opened the scoring for the U.S. with a marker in the first period, notched a power-play goal on a feed from Chris Atkinson (Sparta, N.J.) and Rakhshani.

Bill Sweatt (Elburn, Ill.) capped the U.S. comeback with the game winning goal, his first of the tournament and fourth on the season at 12:45 of the final stanza.

The U.S. penalty killing units and netminder Palmer, who earned the win making 20 saves, clamped down on the Russian power play teams, allowing no goals in nine attempts after they (Russia) had scored two of its three goals with the extra man.


Wednesday, November 10 – Switzerland, 3, USA, 10
An eye-popping offensive show by the United States led them to a 10-3 win over Switzerland at the Four Nations Cup taking place at the ESL Sports Center in Rochester, N.Y. The win keeps the U.S. undefeated in the tournament (2-0-0) and has clinched the team a spot, regardless of the outcome of the final preliminary games, in the Gold Medal contest Saturday, November 13, at 7:00 pm against either Russia or Slovakia.

Bill Sweatt (Elburn, Ill.) opened the scoring barrage, that saw seventeen of the U.S. eighteen skaters score at least a point, just :20 into the game as he bounced on a loose puck in the crease and banged it past Switzerland goaltender, Eric Abogttspon.

The U.S. early goal was the tip of the Alps for the U.S. as the scoring onslaught continued in the opening period with Luke Popko (Skillman, N.J.), Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.), Jim O'Brien (Maplewood, Minn.) and Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minn.) each recording a goal and chasing Swiss goalie Abogttspon from the game.

The U.S. scored the only goal of the second period as Trent Palm (Edina, Minn.) picked up his first goal and point of the tournament.

Kane recorded his second goal on the night midway through the final period on a feed from Buffalo, N.Y. native Mike Ratchuk. Kane's second goal of the night gives him an event best four tallies and puts him in a tie for the top spot (4 points), in the overall scoring race, with Maxim Grachev of Russia.

Brett Bennett (Williamsville, N.Y.) earned the win in goal as he recorded 23 saves holding the Swiss off the scoreboard in the final forty-five plus minutes of the game.

Friday, November 12 – Slovakia, 2, USA, 6
Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) notched a hat trick, all on the power play, as the United States scored three times in the third period to defeat Slovakia, 6-2 as they prepared for tomorrow's Gold Medal showdown with Russia.

The game was knotted at 2, before Kane scored the first of his three consecutive extra-man goals at 17:24 of the middle period on a feed from fellow Buffalo native Michael Ratchuk and Michael Carman (Apple Valley, Minn). Kane's second and third score came at 2:33 and 13:05 respectively of the final period as Carman would earn the lone assist on both power-play goals.

The leading scorer of the event with seven points, Kane also leads the tournament, goals (7) and power-play goals (5). Three assists on the night for Carman gives him a tournament best six and moves him just one point behind Kane for the overall scoring lead.

James Marcou (Smithtown, N.Y.) opened the game scoring with his second of the event at the 1:29 mark of the first period. The Slovaks struck back in the middle period as Tomas Smicko scored on a power play. Brian Strait (Waltham, Mass.) put the U.S. back in front with his first goal at the Four Nations Cup.

Oliver Duris scored midway through the second period for Slovakia to tie the game setting the stage for the Kane fireworks.

The aggressive U.S. team once again fought off numerous opponent power play attempts as the vaunted penalty killing units allowed just one goal in eleven tries as goaltender Joe Palmer (Yorkville, N.Y.) earned his second win of the tournament making 22 saves and picked up his second assist of the event.

Saturday, November 13 – Russia, 2, USA, 5
The United States completed the Four Nations Cup undefeated (4-0) and will bring home the hardware after a convincing 5-2 victory over Russia in the Gold Medal game, Saturday, November 13, 2004 at the ESL Sports Center in Rochester, N.Y.

A full head of stream behind him Michael Carman (Apple Valley, Minn.) picked up a pass at the redline along the boards from Trent Palm (Edina, Minn.) and charged past the Russian bench into the offensive zone, a hard cut to the right sent him to the slot and with a Russian defender draped over him, fired a backhand laser to the opposite direction he was heading for the first goal of the game.

Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) pushed the lead to 2-0 with a bullet shot blocker side past the overmatched Russian goaltender Semen Varlamov. Luke Popko (Skillman, N.J.) picked up an assist on the play as he read the action at center ice and deftly tipped a pass to Rakhshani as he was streaking at full tilt towards the Russian goal.

Brian Strait (Waltham, Mass.) notched the eventual game winner with a power-play goal just 1:03 into the middle period. Poised in the high slot Strait received a perfect pass from Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minn.) and sent a wrist shot into the back of the net.

A picture prefect pass and redirect shot was the name of the fourth goal by the United States. Bill Sweatt (Elburn, Ill.) barreled towards the net and with his stick extended to his maximum reach softly chipped the puck past Russian netminder Varlamov after Chris Atkinson (Sparta, N.J.) timed a beautiful pass underneath a sprawling Russian defender.

Kevin Montgomery (Rochester, N.Y.) closed the scoring for the red, white and blue as he recorded his first goal of the tournament.

The Russian team scored twice in the third period but the U.S. would not allow a comeback as the defense for the home country clamped and was once again backed by stellar goaltending as Brett Bennett (Williamsville, N.Y.) turned aside 25 of 27 shots earn the win and give the U.S. the gold.

GOLD MEDAL GAME
TEAM SCORING PIM PP SHOT W/L Goalie
Russia 0-0-2 24 1-6 27 Varlamov (26-31)
USA 2-3-0 15 1-6 31 Bennett (25-27)

Goal Scoring:
Russia: Anisimov (PPG), Nefedov (G)
USA: Carman (G), Rakhshani (G), Strait (PPG), Sweatt (G), Montgomery (G)

ALUMNI NEWS
Rick DiPietro (NTDP 1997-99) shuts out Slovakia to lead USA to Deutschland Cup victory.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

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North American Hockey League Stories from November 15, 2004


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