NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-18 Team Mounts Late Rally to Beat Sweden, 4-3, in OT

Published on February 6, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


RANTASALMI, Finland - Danny Kristo's (Eden Prairie, Minn.) goal 1:29 into overtime capped a three-goal flurry in the final 2:18 of the game, as the U.S. National Under-18 Team recorded a 4-3 victory over Sweden in both teams' first contest at the Five Nations Tournament here today.

"It was a good win today," said John Hynes, head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team. "I thought our resiliency and mental focus throughout the game was an important part of getting the end result we did."

Sweden leaped out to a two-goal advantage after Mattias Tedenby and Andre Petersson tallied at 6:05 and 6:17 of the opening period.

The score remained 2-0 until the 1:35 mark of the third period when Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) notched a power-play goal for Team USA off an assist from Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.). Morin put a laser past Swedish goaltender Jacob Markström, right off the faceoff.

David Rundblad gave the Swedes a 3-1 lead, on the power play, at 10:52 of the stanza.

Team USA's late-game heroics commenced after calling a timeout with 1:47 left in regulation, as a power play was about to begin. Netminder Joe Cannata (Wakefield, Mass.) returned to the Team USA bench 29 seconds later, paving the way for Jordan Schroeder's (Prior Lake, Minn.) power-play goal at the 19:11 mark of the frame. Schroeder put a shot through traffic, thanks to a screen in front of Sweden's net. Ryan Bourque (Boxford, Mass.) and David Warsofsky (Marshfield, Mass.) each doled out assists on the goal.

Cannata then returned to his net for 19 seconds, but was pulled again, which allowed another extra-attacker opportunity for Team USA. Warsofsky notched the game-tying marker by slipping a shot from the slot into the back of the net. Bourque added the lone assist, his second of the contest.

Team USA completed its comeback in the extra session, as Kristo fired a shot from the side of the net past Markström up high on the short side. Schroeder picked up his second point of the day, with the lone assist on Kristo's tally.

Cannata finished with 23 saves for Team USA, and improved to 3-2 during international competition in the 2007-08 campaign. Markström stopped 28 shots in the loss for Sweden.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team is off tomorrow, but resumes play in the 2008 Five Nations Tournament on Friday (Feb. 8) against the Czech Republic at Leppävirta Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 a.m. EST.

"We will try to take some lessons from today during practice tomorrow," said Hynes. "Then we have to be prepared for three straight games."

Notes: The U.S. National Under-18 Team is 3-2 in international games this year ... Jordan Schroeder (one goal, one assist) has compiled a team-best eight points (four goals, four assists) in five international games during the 2007-08 slate. He leads Team USA with 26 points (9-17) this year ... Vinny Saponari (one assist) has amassed six points (2-4) in five international contests this season. He ranks second behind Schroeder on the squad with 24 points (9-15) in 2007-08 ... David Warsofsky (one goal, one assist) has totaled five points (2-3) in five international games in the 2007-08 campaign. He continues to lead the Team USA defensive corps with 23 points (9-14) this year ... Danny Kristo (one goal) picked up his second game-winning goal of the season. Both of Kristo's game-winners with the U.S. National Under-18 Team have come in international competition ... Jeremy Morin (one goal) has recorded seven points (5-2), including four power-play goals, during five games with the U.S. National Under-18 Team this year ... Ryan Bourque (two assists) tallied his first multi-point performance in five games with the U.S. National Under-18 Team this season.

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North American Hockey League Stories from February 6, 2008


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