November 8, 2009

PORI, Finland – Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) scored a pair of goals in the first period as the U.S. National Under-18 Team dropped Switzerland, 3-2, here tonight in the finale of the 2009 Under-18 Four Nations Cup. Team USA finished with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record to capture the tournament title.

"This was a good week for us," said Kurt Kleinendorst, head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team. "Playing three games in three nights is always tough. Switzerland battled hard the whole way tonight, but we did what we had to do to win. We're definitely happy to come out of this tournament on top."

Switzerland stunned the U.S. just 10 seconds into the game when Joel Vermin put the puck past Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.). Just 13 seconds after falling behind, 1-0, Jason Zucker's (Las Vegas, Nev.) feed from behind the net found Shore who fired the puck into the top corner to knot the score. In a similar style as Team USA's first goal, Brandon Saad's (Gibsonia, Pa.) pass from behind the Finland cage found Shore who put the puck past netminder Dennis Saikkonen at 12:06 to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead.

With just seven seconds to play in a hotly contested second stanza, Stephen Johns (Wampum, Pa.) collected a rebound in front of the net and slid the puck to Charlie Coyle (East Weymouth, Mass.) who wired a shot past Saikkonen from the high slot to give Team USA a 3-1 advantage.

Switzerland battled hard throughout the third period and was able to get back within a goal when Kaj Leuenberger scored with just 3:49 to play in regulation. Iles and the defensive unit held strong the rest of the way, however, to allow Team USA to earn the 3-2 victory.

Iles made 22 saves to earn his second win of the tournament.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team will return to action on home ice when it meets the Green Bay Gamblers Saturday (Nov. 14) at 7:05 p.m. EST.

NOTES: Nick Shore was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) registered two assists tonight ... Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) led Team USA with four points in the tournament ... Goaltenders Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) and Andy Iles combined for a 1.67 goals-against average and .918 save percentage ... Jon Merrill (Brighton, Mich.) paced Team USA's defensive corps with three points (1-2).

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

First Period - Scoring: 1, SUI, Vermin (unassisted), :10; 2, USA, Shore (Zucker, Faulk), :23; 3, USA, Shore (Saad, Merrill), 12:06. Penalties: SUI, Lammer (cross-checking), 2:06; SUI, Trutmann (interference), 15:29; USA, Johns (holding), 17:21; SUI, Muller (hooking), 17:31.

Second Period - Scoring: 4, USA, Coyle (Johns, Faulk), 19:53. Penalties: SUI, Vermin (hooking), :35; USA, Balisy (hooking), 7:18; SUI, Trutmann (interference), 15:51.

Third Period - Scoring: 5, SUI, Leuenberger (Bartschi), 16:11. Penalties: USA, Rust (tripping), 4:02; SUI, Bartschi (tripping), 8:20; SUI, Kuonen (hooking), 10:40; USA, Mersch (interference), 11:37; USA, Tinordi (interference), 11:46.