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USA Defeats Finland, 9-4, En Route to Hlinka Semifinal

By USAHockey.com, 08/13/14, 9:30AM MDT

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BRECLAV, CZECH REPUBLIC—The U.S. Under-18 Select Team topped Finland, 9-4, en route to a semifinal bid in the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. Knotted at 3-3 in the second period, Team USA notched six of the next seven goals, including four in the final seven minutes of play. Thomas Novak (River Falls, Wis.) led the U.S. with two goals and two assists, while Troy Terry (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) tallied a hat trick. The win sets up a semifinal showdown with Canada Friday (Aug. 15) at 11:30 a.m. ET.

“Despite the final score, the game was very even,” said Derek Plante, head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Select Team. “Finland is a good team with excellent coaches. We want to play the same way in the upcoming games and continue to improve.”

Finland opened the scoring five minutes into the game.

At 16:55 of the period, the U.S. converted on the man-advantage for the equalizer when Novak beat the Finnish goaltender near post.

In the second stanza, the Finns again struck early to jump out to a 2-1 lead 

At 2:32, Terry netted his first goal of the game on a cross-crease pass from Novak, making it 2-2. Ten minutes later, while the Finns were on a power play, Karch Bachman (Wolcottville, Ind.) capitalized on a Finnish mishandle at the U.S. blue line for a shorthanded tally.

On the man-advantage, the Finns tied the game, 3-3, at 15:15.

Team USA took the lead for good when Brock Boeser (Burnsville, Minn.) skated up the left wing, took a shot and Robert Jackson (Alameda, Calif.) was there to tap the rebound into a nearly empty net at 16:25.

After killing a penalty to start the third period, Novak followed up his own shot to make it 5-3.

Finland then climbed within a goal, capitalizing on a five-on-three situation at 4:30.

In the final seven minutes, Team USA scored four straight goals to secure a spot in the semifinal round of competition. At 15:39 Dennis Yan (Ann Arbor, Mich.) left the penalty box, rushed up ice and deflected a Bachman shot for a goal. Fifteen seconds later, Jackson led an up-ice rush on the right wing, made a cross-ice pass and Terry put the puck into another near empty net for his second goal of the game.

The U.S. scored another set of back-to-back goals, beginning with Boeser’s slap shot that snuck under the cross bar, making it 8-4. Terry completed his hat trick, firing the puck in the same spot as Boeser, for the ninth U.S. goal.

The U.S. Under-18 Select Team will travel to Piestany, Slovakia, to take on familiar foe Canada in the semifinals Friday (Aug. 15) at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Stay tuned to USAHockey.com for complete Team USA Hlinka Cup coverage. Also, follow @USAHockeyScores for in-game updates. Play-by-play action is available at eurolivescores.com.

Notes: Novak led all scorers with four points (2-2) today … Terry notched three points (3-0) … Novak (2-5), Boeser (5-1), Yan (3-3), Jackson (2-2) and Gabriele (1-3) are all in the top 10 for tournament scoring … Novak (2-5) and Boeser (5-1) are first and second, respectively.

USA vs. Finland Box Score

First PeriodScoring: 1, FIN, Tammela (Aho), 5:16; 1, USA, Novak (Young, Gabriele), 16:55 (PP). Penalties: USA, Olson (high-sticking), 0:14; FIN, Juolevi (slashing), 15:21; USA, Olson (tripping), 18:22.

Second PeriodScoring: 2, FIN, Palmu (unassisted), 0:49; 2, USA, Terry (Novak, Jackson), 2:32; 3, USA, Bachman (unassisted), 13:45 (SH); 3, FIN, Saarijarvi (Palmu, Nattinen), 15:15 (PP); 4, USA, Jackson (Boeser), 16:25. Penalties: USA, Yan (high-sticking), 4:37; FIN, Ruotsalainen (slashing), 7:14; USA, Wilkie (cross-checking), 12:51; USA, Bachman (10-minute misconduct), 13:45; USA, Cecconi (interference), 14:44; FIN, Tavernier (roughing), 15:41; USA, Boeser (roughing), 15:41; FIN, Tammela (slashing), 17:50; USA, Novak (charging), 19:55.

Third PeriodScoring: 5, USA, Novak (unassisted), 2:19; 4, FIN, Aho (Vainio), 4:30 (PP), 6, USA, Yan (Bachman), 13:39; 7, USA, Terry (Jackson, Gabriele), 13:54; 8, USA, Boeser (Foley), 16:47; 9, USA, Terry (Novak), 17:54. Penalties: USA, Filipe (slashing), 2:32; USA, Terry (cross-checking), 2:32; FIN, Mattila (hooking), 5:20; USA, Novak (hooking), 7:36; FIN, Jarvinen (slashing), 10:37; USA, Yan (tripping), 11:18.

Shots by Period
1st
2nd
3rd
Total
USA
19
15
12
46
FIN
9
14
9
32

 

Goals by Period 1st 2nd 3rd Total
USA 1 3 5 9
FIN 1 2 1 4

 

Goaltenders Time 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Sarthou 60:00 8/9 12/14 8/9 28/32
Vehvilainen 60:00 18/19 12/15 7/12 37/46

 

Special Teams USA FIN
Penalties (Penalties/Minutes) 10/28 4/8
Power Play (Goals/Chances) 1/4 2/9

Team USA Schedule for 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup

Date Opponent Time (Local/ET)
Aug. 9 Slovakia (Exhibition) W, 8-3
Aug. 11 Czech Republic L, 2-4
Aug. 12 Russia W, 7-4
Aug. 13 Finland W, 9-4
Aug. 15 Semifinal vs. Canada L, 5-11
Aug. 16 Third-Place Game vs. Sweden W, 5-4

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