STOCKHOLM - Amanda Pelkey (Montpelier, Vt.) netted a hat trick in leading the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team to an 11-0 victory over the Czech Republic in the opening game of the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship here tonight at Stora Mossen Arena. Fourteen U.S. players factored in the scoring, with eight goal-scorers.

"Our team did a really good job of working hard and staying disciplined," said Jodi McKenna, head coach for Team USA. "We played well both offensively and defensively - it was a great start to the tournament."

Pelkey scored Team USA's first goal of the tournament at 6:12 of the opening frame when she skated in on the net from the end boards and slipped a backhanded shot past Czech netminder Veronika Hladikova. During a U.S. power play at 18:03, Paige Savage(Carrollton, Texas) found Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) on the doorstep and Carpenter one-timed a shot into the back of the net to double the U.S. advantage.

The U.S. extended its lead to 7-0 in the second period with five goals. Pelkey scored her second just :53 into the frame on a breakaway. Just over a minute later, Karley Sylvester(Warroad, Minn.) knocked one in during a scramble in front of the Czech net at 2:00.Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) and Sydney Daniels (Southwick, Mass.) tallied :29 apart, at 7:18 and 7:47, and Abby Ness (Roseau, Minn.) closed out the period scoring at 12:11.

In the third stanza, Pelkey completed her hat trick at 1:34 to put the U.S. up 8-0. Brandt then scored on the power play at 6:24 when she knocked in Michelle Picard's (Taunton, Mass.) rebound. Shiann Darkangelo (Brighton, Mich.) added a tally at 12:04 and Emily Pfalzer (Getzville, N.Y.) closed out the scoring with a shot from the top of the slot on the power play at 19:13.

Megan Miller (Long Grove, Ill.) stopped all eight shots she faced for the shutout, while Hladikova made 64 saves in the losing effort.

The U.S. returns to action tomorrow against Japan at 10 a.m. EST.

NOTES: The U.S. outshot the Czech Republic by a 75-8 count ... The U.S. was 3-for-9 on the power play, while holding the Czechs scoreless on four man-advantage opportunities ... Six U.S. players had multi-point games, including Amanda Pelkey (3-1--4), Hannah Brandt (2-1--3), Alex Carpenter (1-1--2), Sydney Daniels (1-1--2), Abby Ness (1-1--2) and Emily Pfalzer (1-1--2) ...  The eight-nation tournament, being played for the fourth time, includes Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States ... Team USA captured gold in each of the first two years of the tournament (2008, 2009), followed by a silver medal in 2010 ... Jodi McKenna, the head women's ice hockey coach at Wesleyan Univeristy, is serving as head coach for Team USA. She is assisted by Brian Durocher, head women's ice hockey coach at Boston University, and Jennifer Kranz, assistant women's ice hockey coach at St. Cloud State University ...Follow @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for live scoring updates during the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship. Scores will be designated with #U18wwc ... Follow the U.S. Women's National Program blog here... Find USA Hockey on Facebook at Facebook.com/USAHockey and Twitter at Twitter.com/USAHockey.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 2 5 4 -- 11
CZE 0 0 0 -- 0

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Pelkey (unassisted), 6:12 (4x4); 2, USA, Carpenter (Savage), 18:03 (pp). Penalties: CZE, Pecinova (hooking), 2:33; USA, Marvin (slashing), 4:45; CZE, Jirsova (body checking), 5:07; USA, Sylvester (hooking), 12:00; CZE, Vytiskova (tripping), 14:35; CZE, Tejralova (holding), 16:51.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Pelkey (Field), :53; 4, USA, Sylvester (unassisted), 2:00; 5, USA, Brandt (Pelkey), 7:18; 6, USA, Daniels (Trivigno, Ness), 7:47; 7, USA, Ness (Daniels, Pfalzer), 12:11. Penalties: USA, Trivigno (hooking), 3:26; CZE, Krizova (hooking), 13:31; CZE, Novakova (hooking), 18:59.

Third Period - Scoring: 8, USA, Pelkey (Brandt), 1:34; 9, USA, Brandt (Picard), 6:24 (pp); 10, USA, Darkangelo (Marvin), 12:04; 11, USA, Pfalzer (Skarupa, Carpenter), 19:13 (pp). Penalties: CZE, Solnickova (hooking), 5:35; USA, Daniels (hooking), 13:02; CZE, Tejralova (holding), 16:09; CZE, Tejralova (body checking), 18:22.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
USA 34 29 12 75
CZE 3 4 1 8
         
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Miller, 60:00 3-3 4-4 1-1 8-8
CZE, Hladikova, 60:00 34-32 29-24 12-8 75-64

Power Play: USA 3-9; CZE 0-4
Penalties: USA 4-8; CZE 9-18
Officials: Referee-Malin Axelsson (SWE); Linesmen-Magdalena Cerhitova (SVK), Haley Wieler (CAN)