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USHL U.S. National Team

USA Topples Slovakia; Advances to Semifinals of U18 World Championship

April 24, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


LAPPEENRANTA, Finland -Jack Eichel(North Chelmsford, Mass.) notched one goal and earned two assists, andJohnathan MacLeod(Dracut, Mass.)scored two power-play goals,as the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team downed Slovakia, 6-2, in quarterfinal action here this afternoon at Lappeenranta Arena. With the win, Team USA advances to the semifinals of the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's Under-18 World Championship.

The United States struck first just 54 seconds into the opening period. After Slovakia committed a turnover, Eichel found himself all alone in frontof goaltender Matej Tomek. Eichel quickly deked around Tomek and stuffed the puck past him for the goal.MacLeoddoubled the U.S. lead with a power-play marker at 3:28. MacLeodfired a hard shot that struckTomek's leg pad, but snuck underneath the goaltender and into the cage. Eichel picked up an assist on the play. Team USA struck again with 2:52 remaining in the period whenAnders Bjork(Mequon, Wis.) took a centering feed from Eichel and wristed it past Tomek.Sonny Milano(Massapequa, N.Y.) recorded the secondary assist.Team USA did not allow a shot on net in the period.

The U.S. continued its offensive attack four minutes into the second stanza off the stick ofAuston Matthews(Scottsdale, Ariz.).Jack Glover(Golden Valley, Minn.) fedKyle Connor(Shelby Township, Mich.) with a pass that sent the forward streaking up the middle of the ice. Connor drew the goalie to one side of the net before hitting Matthewswith a cross-ice pass for the chip-in goal.

Slovakia found the back of the net just at 6:17 the final frame beforeTeam USA responded with two power-play goals. MacLeod struck first just 2:13 laterwith hissecond power-play marker of the day.Alex Tuch(Baldwinsville, N.Y.) found MacLeod standing on the blue line for the one-timer score.Nolan Stevens(Manhattan Beach, Calif.) got on the board at 12:37, teaming up withRyan Collins(Bloomington, Minn.)to push the U.S. lead to 6-1. Slovakia answered with a five-on-three goal at 15:30, but would get no closer as Team USA secured a 6-2 victory and berth in the semifinal round.

The U.S. Men'sNational Under-18 Team will next face the winner of the Finland/Sweden matchupheld at Lappeenranta Arena later this evening. Game times for the semifinal contests are 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. EDT on Saturday (April 26), also to be held in Lappeenranta. Team USA's game will be broadcast live, for free, on FASTHockey.com.

2014 IIHF Men's U18 World Championship Schedule - United States

April 17-27, 2014 - Lappeenranta, Finland

Date Opponent Time (Local/EDT)/Result Live Webcast

Tues., April 14 Germany* W, 9-1 --

Thurs., April 17 Switzerland L, 2-4 --

Sat., April 19 Czech Republic W, 3-0 --

Sun., April 20 Denmark W, 7-0 --

Tues., April 22 Finland W, 4-3

Thurs., April 24 Quarterfinals - Slovakia W, 6-2 --

Sat., April 26 Semifinals - Finland/Sweden TBD FASTHockey.com.

Sun., April 27 Bronze-Medal 3:00 p.m. / 8:00 a.m. TBD

Gold-Medal 7:00 p.m. / 12:00 p.m. TBD

*pre-tournament game

NOTES: For a complete U.S. roster, click here ... Team USA outshot Slovakia, 43-12 ... Jack Eichel was named Team USA's best player ... Kyle Connor holds a six-game point scoring streak, netting one goal in each of Team USA's preliminary-round games to go with an assist today. The Youngstown Phantoms product also scored in the pre-tournament contest against Germany ... Sonny Milano has at least one point in each of his first five tournament games, including two goals and five assists. Factoring in the pre-tournament game versus Germany, the forward has 10 points (4-6) in six games ... Jack Eichel is riding a four-game point streak. The forward has four goals and four assists over that span ... Auston Matthews is also enjoying a four-game point streak. The forward has netted two goals and collected two assists during those contests ... The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team is led byDanton Cole, serving as head coach at his second IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship. Cole is currently in his fourth season as one of two head coaches at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. ... The U.S. squad seeks its eighth gold medal in the event after capturing the tournament title in four of the last five years. Team USA had won four-consecutive gold medals before having its streak snapped last year in Sochi, Russia. The silver medal in 2013 marked 10-straight top-three finishes for the U.S. ... Twenty players on the U.S. roster come from USA Hockey's NTDP.Kyle Connor(Shelby Township, Mich.) skated this season for the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League.Alex Nedeljkovicplayed for the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers ... The roster for the U.S. features 15 players recently listed on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of draft-eligible players. Among those players in the top twenty are forwards Alex Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y./12th), Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y./16th) and Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich./17th). Goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic (Parma, Ohio) and Edwin Minney (Wind Gap, Pa.) were ranked fourth and seventh respectively ... Team USA's roster includes 20 players born in 1996 and two from the 1997 birth year. ForwardAuston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.), born Sept. 17, 1997, is Team USA's youngest player, while Nedeljkovic, born Jan. 7, 1996, is the oldest ... Eleven different states are represented on the roster. New York leads the way with five skaters, while Minnesota boasts four ... The U.S. enters the tournament having captured a record 10-consecutive medals, including back-to-back golds in 2005-06 and four-straight gold medals from 2009-12; three silver medals (2004, 2007, 2013); and one bronze medal (2008). Team USA's seven gold medals are the most of any country in IIHF Men's Under-18 World Championship history. The event began in 1999. Team USA earned its first gold medal in 2002 ... The U.S. will play in Group B alongside the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland. Group A consists of Canada, Germany, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden ... Follow@USAHockeyScoreson Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with the#U18Worldstag ... For additional coverage, visit the NTDPFacebookpage and follow@USANTDPon Twitter ... The U.S. National Under-18 and Under-17 Teams train withThe Hockey IntelliGym, a software program that trains hockey sense. To learn more, visitUSAHockeyIntelliGym.com.

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