USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National U17 Team Tops Sweden, 6-5, In OT

January 3, 2010 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


IROQUOIS FALLS, Ont. - J.T. Miller (East Palestine, Ohio) scored the game-tying goal with 40 seconds remaining in regulation, while Reid Boucher (Grand Ledge, Mich.) notched the game-winner in overtime as the U.S. National Under-17 Team earned a 6-5 victory over Sweden here tonight to advance to the championship game at the 2010 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Team USA will meet host and two-time defending champion Canada-Ontario at McIntyre Arena in Timmins, Ont., Monday at 7 p.m. EST.

The U.S. jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first frame and added one in the second, but five straight goals by Sweden in the last two periods put Team USA's championship hopes in jeopardy. Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) registered five points (1-4) in the wild victory including assists on both the game-tying and game-winning markers.

Team USA's first three goals came within the first 6:16 of the opening frame. Boucher put the U.S. on the board first when he picked up the puck after Grimaldi earned a hard faceoff win and zipped a wrist shot over netminder Stefan Steen's right shoulder from the right faceoff dot 3:40 into the game. Just 1:09 later and with the U.S. on a man-advantage, Travis Boyd (Hopkins, Minn.) threaded a pass to Ryan Haggerty (Stamford, Conn.) who knocked the puck into the goal on the left side to double the lead. Just 1:27 after that, with Team USA on the penalty kill, Grimaldi intercepted a pass in his own zone, streaked down the right wing, spun away from a defender and slid a backhanded feed to Tyler Biggs (Cincinnati, Ohio) who one-touched the puck into the back of the net.

Grimaldi gave the U.S. the four-goal advantage at 12:20 of the second period when he tipped Jake McCabe's (Eau Claire, Wis.) left point shot up under the cross bar. Sweden answered back on the power play after Pontus Aberg wristed a shot off the post and in from the bottom of the right faceoff circle at 15:34. Just 1:57 later, Karl Johansson converted on a penalty shot attempt to cut the U.S. lead to 4-2.

In the third stanza, Sweden scored back-to-back power-play goals to knot the score. Emil Lundberg made it 4-3 at 11:02 when he tucked a rebound under Matt McNeely (Burnsville, Minn.). Just 1:43 later, Jonas Brodin tied it up when his slap shot from the center point beat McNeely through a screen. Sweden took its first and only lead of the game with just 3:15 remaining in regulation with a wraparound goal off the stick of Victor Arvidsson.

With just 59 seconds to play in regulation, Team USA pulled McNeely in favor of an extra attacker. Grimaldi won a crucial faceoff and got the puck to Boucher, just outside the Sweden zone on the left wing. Boucher then feathered a perfect pass to Miller who snuck behind the defense and rifled a wrister into the top-right corner to tie it up and keep Team USA's hopes alive.

After back-and-forth play in overtime, Grimaldi won an offensive-zone faceoff on the left side to Jordan Schmaltz (Madison, Wis.) who wristed a shot on net. Boucher charged hard to the cage, collected the rebound and knocked it home while falling to the ice at 4:04 to punch Team USA's ticket to the final.

McNeely made 34 saves, including four in overtime, to earn the win for the U.S.

Monday's championship game will be carried live on FASTHockey.com.

NOTES: Rocco Grimaldi leads the tournament with 13 points including a tournament-best nine assists... J.T. Miller paces Team USA and is tied for the tournament high with five goals... Travis Boyd was named Team USA's player of the game... With the win, the U.S. National Under-17 Team has guaranteed itself a medal for the fourth consecutive time (silver, 2008, 2006; bronze, 2009)... Monday's game will be a rematch of the final at the 2008 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge which Ontario won, 3-0, in London, Ont.... The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, the premier event for the under-17 age group, runs from Dec. 29, 2009 - Jan. 4, 2010 in Timmins, Ont. In addition to the United States, the event includes five Canadian regional teams (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Pacific and West), as well as national teams from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden.... FASTHockey is providing live coverage of the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. For a complete schedule of FASTHockey's webcasts, including archived games, from the Challenge, visit FASTHockey.com.

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