skip navigation

Gameday: U18 Men's National Team Faces Slovakia To Continue U18 MWC Preliminary Play

By USA Hockey, 04/19/19, 5:00AM EDT

Share

Watch live on NHL Network, puck drop set for 9:30 a.m. ET

The U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team faces Slovakia to continue Group B Preliminary play at the 2019 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship here at Fjallraven Center in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden.

All-time, the U.S. is 8-0-0-2-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) against Slovakia and has outscored them 61-20. In preliminary matchups, Team USA is 6-0-0-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) against Slovakia and has outscored them 48-16. The two teams last met in 2015 for a preliminary game, where the U.S. topped the Slovaks 10-0. The last time Slovakia medaled in the IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship was in 2003, claiming a silver medal.

U.S. VS. SWEDEN RECAP
Team USA topped host country Sweden 6-1 in its first preliminary game yesterday (April 18). Cole Caufield netted a hat trick and Spencer Knight made 29 saves in the victory. John Beecher, Case McCarthy and Alex Turcotte also netted goals for Team USA.

2019 IIHF U18 MWC: ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
The 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Men's World Championship is being held in Ornskoldsvik (A3 Arena) and Umea (Fjallraven Center), Sweden. This will mark the second time Sweden has hosted the tournament, with the previous location being Angelholm/Halmstad (2006) where the U.S. took home gold, defeating Finland 3-1. Unlike this year, the 2006 event saw the U.S. enter the tournament as the defending gold medalist. In the end, Team USA won consecutive gold medals for the first time with Patrick Kane leading the tournament in scoring with 12 points.

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING
Nineteen players currently on the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team roster were named to the National Hockey League Central Scouting Bureau's Final Rankings for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Players listed include forwards Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) at No. 1, Alex Turcotte (Island Lake, Ill.) at No. 4, Trevor Zegras (Bedford, N.Y.) at No.  6, Cole Caufield (Stevens Point, Wis.) at No. 8, Matthew Boldy (Millis, Mass.) at No. 9, John Beecher (Elmira, N.Y.) at No. 49, Judd Caulfield (Grand Forks, N.D.) at No. 67, Patrick Moynihan (Millis, Mass.) at No. 73, Owen Lindmark (Naperville, Ill.) at No. 93 and Michael Gildon (Plano, Texas) No. 110.

Defenseman include Cam York (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) at No. 12, Alex Vlasic (Wilmette, Ill.) at No. 38, Henry Thrun (Southborough, Mass.) at No. 39, Drew Helleson (Farmington, Minn.) at No. 46, Marshall Warren (Laurel Hollow, N.Y.) at No. 61, and Domenick Fensore (Thornwood, N.Y.) at No. 68, Case McCarthy (Clarence Center, N.Y.) at No. 77.

In addition, goaltender Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.) is rated as the top-ranked North American prospect among eligible goaltenders, and Cameron Rowe (Wilmette, Ill.) is rated at No. 4.

2019 U.S. Tournament Schedule

All games at Fjallraven Center

DATE OPPONENT/ROUND LOCATION TIME (LOCAL/ET)/RESULT TELEVISION U.S. Player of the Game
Fri., April 12 Finland
Exhibition
Heinola, Finland L, 0-1 None Cam York
Sat., April 13 Switzerland
Exhibition
Heinola, Finland W, 8-0 None Jack Hughes
Thu., April 18 Sweden
Preliminary
Fjallraven Center
Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
W, 6-1 NHL Network Cole Caufield
Fri., April 19 Slovakia
Preliminary
Fjallraven Center
Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
W, 12-5 NHL Network Jack Hughes
Sun., April 21 Russia
Preliminary
Fjallraven Center
Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
W, 6-3 NHL Network Alex Turcotte
Tue., April 23 Latvia
Preliminary
Fjallraven Center
Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
W, 7-1 NHL Network John Beecher
Thu., April 25 Finland
Quarterfinals
Fjallraven Center
Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
W, 6-0 NHL Network Jack Hughes
Sat., April 27 Russia
Semifinals
Fjallraven Center
Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
L, 2-3 (SO) NHL Network Cole Caufield
Sun., April 28 Canada
Bronze-Medal Game
Fjallraven Center
Ornskoldsvik, Sweden
W 5-2 NHL Network Cam York

U.S. Roster

Tournament Homepage


2019 U.S. U18 World Championship News