BUDAPEST, Hungary - Six players scored goals and 10 players recorded at least one point as the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team rolled past Hungary, 7-0, in its second game of the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women's World Championship here today.
"We generated a lot of shots and offensive momentum throughout the game," said Jeff Kampersal, head coach of the 2014 U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team. "There are still some things we are working on and trying to get more consistent, but we're making good progress."
A strong first period in which Team USA out-shot Hungary, 22-3, helped the United States build a 3-0 lead by the first intermission. Taylar Cianfarano (Oswego, N.Y.) put the U.S. on the board early when she wheeled into the zone, beat a defender down the left side and fired a shot past Hungarian goaltender Aniko Nemeth at 1:25. Abby Roque (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) doubled the Team USA advantage at 14:50 when she grabbed the puck in the corner, skated to the slot and unleashed a low backhander past Nemeth and just inside the far post. Then, just 1:55 later, Rebecca Gilmore (Wayland, Mass.) corralled a pass in the slot and picked the top corner to make it 3-0 USA.
The Americans increased the lead to 5-0 after two periods on goals by Victoria Sullivan (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Megan Keller (Farmington, Mich.). Sullivan scored at 11:47 when she grabbed a rebound at the edge of the crease and buried it just under Nemeth. Keller then made it 5-0 at 15:41 when she collected a cross-crease pass and tucked it into the open cage.
Cianfarano struck for her second goal of the contest at 17:31 of the final stanza before Taylor Williamson (Edina, Minn.) capped the scoring with three seconds remaining in the contest.
U.S. goaltender Kaitlin Burt (Lynn, Mass.) finished with five saves for the shutout.
The U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team (2-0-0-0) will conclude its preliminary-round schedule of the IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship with a tilt against Sweden on Wednesday (March 26). Puck-drop is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET.
Notes: Taylor Williamson was named U.S. Player of the Game ... Williamson led all U.S. players with three points (1-2=3) ... Taylar Cianfarano (2-0=2) and Lexie Laing (0-2=2) were the only other Team USA skaters to record multiple points ... Brooke Ahbe won nine of 10 draws to lead the U.S. in that category ... Maliya Rodgers tallied a game-high eight shots on net ... Megan Keller and Patricia Marshall both recorded a plus-three rating.