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NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-18 Team Overpowers Germany In Second Game Of World Championship

April 13, 2006 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


ÄNGELHOLM, Sweden -- The U.S. National Under-18 turned on the offense tonight and defeated Germany 9-0 in the second game of the 2006 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship.

To get Team USA started, forward Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) notched his first of three goals on the night 3:18 into the game when he converted a perfect pass from Bill Sweatt (Elburn, Ill.)behind the German net. Kane's second tally came 3:28 later in the first frame when he gathered the rebound off a James vanRiemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) blast and deposited it behind the German netminder Timo Pielmeier to give USA the 2-0 advantage. Luke Popko (Skillman, N.J.) tallied his first of two goals for Team USA 8:59 into the first period when he slid a backhand shot past Pielmeier on the far side.

Team USA did not let up on the intensity in the second period and stretched the lead to 4-0 just 1:46 into the second frame when James O'Brien (Maplewood, Minn.) buried a backhand over the shoulder of the German netminder knocking off the water bottle. Mike Carman (Apple Valley, Minn.) notched his first goal of the tournament 1:44 later on the power-play to give the U.S. the 5-0 lead. Kane scored his third goal of the night 7:52 into the second period with an assist to Jamie McBain (Faribault, Minn.). Popko tallied his second of the night with 1:18 remaining the period when he tipped a bullet pass from McBain into the top shelf above Pielmeier.

In the final frame, Sweatt notched his third goal of the tournament 6:42 into the period on a rebound off a Jamie McBain attempt. With 1:16 left to play Blake Geoffrion (Brentwood, Tenn.) scored his first of the tournament for Team USA when he one-timed a feed from Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) past the German netminder to cap off the scoring for Team USA at 9-0.

USA netmider Brett Bennett (Williamsville, N.Y.) was not tested often, but was sharp when called upon tonight stopping all 22 German attempts for his first shut-out on the season.

Up next, Team USA will face the Czech Republic on Saturday (April 15) at 7:45 (1:45 EDT). The Czech Republic topped Germany on the opening day of action, 4-2.

NOTES: USA forward Luke Popko earned Player of the Game for Team USA, Pielmer recieved the same honors for Germany. It is the second consecutive game where the opposing goaltender has earned the Player of the Game for their team ... All USA games are broadcast live via the Internet at usahockey.com ... The IIHF World Under-18 Championship is a yearly event featuring the top 10 countries in the world. This year's field includes: Russia, Germany, Belarus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Canada, and Norway ... Team USA is the reigning gold-medal winner at this event, defeating Canada in the gold medal game 5-1 in Plzen, Czech Republic last year.

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