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U.S. National Under-18 Knocked Off by Russia, 5-4, in Overtime

By USA Hockey, 02/06/15, 2:30PM EST

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Charles McAvoy & Matthew Tkachuk Each Record Two Points in Five Nations Contest.

KRAVARE, Czech Republic - Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) and Charlie McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y.) each scored one goal and added one assist, but the U.S. National Under-18 Team fell in overtime to Russia, 5-4, here today. With the loss, Team USA is now 0-1-1-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the 2015 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament.

Team USA opened the scoring five minutes into the game when Tkachuk scored on the power play. Following a turnover just inside the offensive blue line, Joseph Masonius (Spring Lake, N.J.) threaded a pass to McAvoy at the right point. McAvoy stopped the pass, looked up and fired toward the net. Tkachuk swooped in and redirected the shot through Russian goaltender Ilya Samsonov's pads to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. Team Russia collected three goals in the final 12:40 of the frame - including two on the man-advantage - to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.

Russia drew a penalty shot and scored on the attempt with 5:24 to play in the second stanza to build its lead to 4-1. The U.S. answered before the end of the period as Nicholas Boka (Plymouth, Mich.) found the back of the net from the slot to pull Team USA within a pair of goals. With the puck bouncing high in the zone, Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.) slapped it deep to Jack Roslovic (Columbus, Ohio). Roslovic waited, moved toward the circle and touched a pass onto the stick of Boka wheeling up the middle of the slot. Boka quickly gathered the puck and shot it into the top corner for a power-play tally.

The U.S. comeback bid continued just 5:12 into the third frame. With the United States enjoying a five-on-three man-advantage, Luke Kunin (Chesterfield, Mo.) slipped to the left dot, found a lane and hit his spot to make it 4-3. Then, just 40 seconds later, McAvoy executed a give-and-go with Grant Gabriele (Brighton, Mich.), which ended with McAvoy one-timing the feed into the top right corner to tie the game at 4-4. Despite heavy pressure and a 23-3 advantage in shots on goal in the third, Team USA couldn't strike for the game-winner, and the Russians converted on a power play in overtime to end the contest.

Michael Lackey (Washington, D.C.) started in goal for Team USA and made 15 saves.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team continues play in the Under-18 Five Nations Tournament tomorrow (Feb. 7) when it battles Finland. Opening face-off is slated for 10 a.m. ET.

Notes

Charles McAvoy was named player of the game for the United States ... Team USA outshot Russia, 55-20 ... The Under-18 Team went 4-8 on the power play, while Russia connected on three of its 10 power plays ... Follow @USAHockeyScores for live scoring updates from the tournament. Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #U18FiveNations ... Don Granato, head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team, is leading the squad in the Czech Republic, along with assistant coach Nick Fohr and intern assistant coach J.D. Forrest ... All 22 players on the roster are from USA Hockey's National Team Development Program ... For the complete Under-18 Team roster, click here ... Team USA is the defending champion at the Under-18 Five Nations Tournament and has won the event seven times (1999, 2005, 2007-09, 2011, 2014) ... The U.S. National Under-18 Team trains with The Hockey IntelliGym, a revolutionary software program that trains hockey sense. To learn more, visit USAHockeyIntelliGym.com.

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