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U.S. Tops Canada East, 7-0, in WJAC Pre-Tournament Game

By USA Hockey, 12/08/17, 8:00PM EST

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TRURO, N.S. –  Jack Dugan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) registered two goals and an assist while five other U.S. players scored as the U.S. Junior Select Team topped Canada East, 7-0, here tonight in its pre-tournament game ahead of the World Junior A Challenge.

"I thought our group played hard,” said PK O'Handley, head coach of the 2017 U.S. Junior Select Team. “We did enough right things to have success and it was a good start for our team." 

Graham Slaggert (South Bend, Ind.) opened the scoring for Team USA with a power-play goal at 10:37 into the first frame. Despite outshooting Canada East, 13-4, the U.S. entered the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. 

At 6:43 into the second stanza, Curtis Hall (Princeton, N.J.) lit the lamp to give the U.S. a two-goal advantage. Jack Randl (Carpentersville, Ill.) then notched a goal just around the ten-minute mark, furthering the U.S. lead to 3-0.

Jack Dugan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) then tallied a pair of goals just over three minutes apart to make it 5-0 less than five minutes into the final frame. At the 13-minute mark, Nolan Walker (Anchorage, Alaska) added a goal before Blake McLaughlin (Grand Rapids, Minn.) converted just under 30 seconds later to account for the 7-0 final. 

Ryan Bischel (Erie, Pa.) started in goal for the U.S. and stopped all nine shots he faced. Jake Kurcharski (Erie, Pa.) entered in relief midway through the second period and turned aside 11 shots to preserve the shutout.

Team USA opens play in the World Junior A Challenge against the Czech Republic on Monday (Dec. 11) at 2:30 p.m. ET at RECC Arena in Truro, Nova Scotia. The game will be streamed live on HockeyTV.com. 

NOTES: The World Junior A Challenge is in its twelfth year, and the U.S. is competing for the eleventh time … All U.S. players currently play in the United States Hockey League, the lone Tier I junior hockey league in the United States. For the full U.S. roster, click here … For complete coverage of Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge, click here… The 2017 field includes Canada East, Canada West, Czech Republic, Russia, Switzerland and the United States … Team USA has captured the World Junior A Challenge title seven times (2008-10, 2012-14, 2016).

2018 WJAC

World Junior A Challenge History

U.S. SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Round Time (Local/ET) Location Stream
Fri., Dec. 8 Canada East W, 7-0 7:30 p.m./6:30 p.m. RECC Arena
Truro, N.S.
Mon., Dec. 11 Czech Republic L, 2-4 3:30 p.m./2:30 p.m. RECC Arena
Truro, N.S.
HockeyTV
Tues., Dec. 12 Canada West W, 2-1 7:30 p.m./6:30 p.m. RECC Arena
Truro, N.S.
HockeyTV
Wed., Dec. 13 Switzerland
Quarterfinals
W, 3-1 3:30 p.m./2:30 p.m. RECC Arena
Truro, N.S.
HockeyTV
Thurs., Dec.14 Russia
Semifinals
W, 5-0 3:30 p.m./2:30 p.m. RECC Arena
Truro, N.S.
HockeyTV
Sat., Dec. 16 Canada West
Championship Game
L, 1-5 3p.m./2 p.m. RECC Arena
Truro, N.S.

2017 World Junior A Challenge News