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U.S. Falls to Finland, 3-2, in OT at MWC Exhibition

By usahockey.com, 05/03/16, 1:45PM EDT

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Schroeder, Compher Score U.S. Goals


HELSINKI, Finland — Team USA twice erased one-goal deficits and goaltenders Keith Kinkaid (Farmingville, N.Y.) and Mike Condon (Holliston, Mass.) combined for 25 saves, but the U.S. Men's National Team fell to Finland in overtime, 3-2, in its lone exhibition game ahead of beginning play in the 2016 IIHF Men's World Championship.

"It was good to get a game under out belt," said John Hynes, head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team. "It was a close, competitive game in a great environment that included a lot of different situations. We're disappointed that we didn't come out on top obviously, but this is a game we'll learn from and use to get ready for our game with Canada on Friday."

The U.S. nearly jumped out in front 8:30 into the game on a Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich.) breakaway opportunity that beat Finnish goaltender Mikko Koskinen between the pads, but the puck bounced off the left post and away from the net.

Finland’s Teemu Pulkkinen opened the scoring at 17:43 when he buried a one-timer from the left circle during a Finnish power play. Just 33 seconds later, Jordan Schroeder (Lakeville, Minn.) evened the score for Team USA when he backhanded a loose puck home from out in front.

Finland had a five-on-three advantage for 1:32 early in the second period when a U.S. penalty late in the first frame and a delay of game at :11 of the second put two Team USA players in the box. The hosts capitalized with just :13 left in the two-man advantage with Pulkkinen finished a tic-tac-toe scoring play that Kinkaid had no chance on.

The U.S. had its first power play opportunity of the game when Sebastian Aho was whistled for hooking at 9:18. Team USA was unable to convert on the man advantage, but :15 after Aho left the box, JT Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) picked up the puck and backhanded it past Koskinen to make it 2-2.

The U.S. was unable to capitalize with the man advantage for the first 1:50 of the third period. Schroeder nearly netted his second with about seven minutes remaining in regulation on a one-timer from the right faceoff dot, but his attempt was denied.

Midway through the five-minute overtime period, Leo Komarov scored on a rebound to give Finland the 3-2 win.

Kinkaid stopped 12 shots through the first half of the game while Condon had 13 saves on 14 shots.

Team USA will open play in the 2016 IIHF Men's World Championship against Canada at 11:30 a.m. ET Friday (May 6) in St. Petersburg, Russia. The game will be broadcast live on NBCSN and a live stream will be available on NBC Sports Live Extra.

NOTES: For complete game statistics, click here ... The staff and players of the 2016 U.S. Men's National Team are selected by the U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Group, led by Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. Other members include Stan Bowman (Chicago Blackhawks), Dean Lombardi (Los Angeles Kings), David Poile (Nashville Predators), Ray Shero (New Jersey Devils), Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers) and Don Waddell (Carolina Hurricanes). In addition, Chris Drury (New York Rangers) is serving as a member of the management group for the 2016 U.S. Men's National Team ... The 2016 IIHF Men's World Championship will include teams from 16 nations, split into two groups of eight. Teams will play a round-robin format within their group and the top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The U.S. will play its seven preliminary round games in St. Petersburg at Yubileiny Arena … USA Hockey's international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams.

Team USA Schedule

Date Opponent Time (Local/ET)
May 3 Finland (exhibition) L, 2-3 OT
May 6 Canada L, 1-5
May 7 Belarus W, 6-3
May 9 Finland L, 2-3
May 12 France W, 4-0
May 13 Hungary W, 5-1
May 15 Germany L, 2-3
May 17 Slovakia L, 2-3 OT
May 19 Czech Republic (quarterfinal) W, 2-1 SO
May 21 Canada
Semifinals
L, 3-4
May 22 Russia
Bronze Medal Game
L, 2-7

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