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Trailing 2-1 early in the second period, the USA took control of the game with four straight goals, but had to withstand a late surge by the host Czech Republic and eventually won 6-4 to finish fifth in the tournament. Mikey DeAngelo led the American offence with four points, with Cole Knuble netting a hat trick and defencemen Pasha Borashov and Hunter Brzustewicz each recording three assists.
Penalties: 6:7. PP goals: 2:3. SH goals: 0:0.
Referees: Jeřábek, Vrba – Komínek, Rožánek. Attendance: 300.
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Each team scored once in an evenly-played first period. Knuble opened the scoring for the Americans just shy of the seven-minute mark, sweeping in a loose puck in the crease after Bocharov’s initial shot hit hit a Czech defenceman in the hand and fell to the ice. Jiří Kulich tied it for the Czechs, sneaking in from the point after a faceoff and getting to a loose puck after Matyáš Šapovaliv’s initial shot was blocked. Less than a minute later, it looked like the Americans had regained the lead but the goal was called back as Cam Lund was called for slashing.
The Czechs took the lead a minute into the second period when Dominik Petr scored on a one-timer from the top of the circle, but after that the USA dominated the middle period, outshooting the Czechs 12-2.
DeAngelo tied it for the Americans on the power play, beating Michael Schattinger with a one-timer to the far side. Then DeAngelo set up the second goal of the game by Knuble, who circled the Czech net before firing a wrister that went through a big crowd in front.
It took just 11 seconds into the third period for the Americans to widen their lead, as DeAngelo took advantage of a fortuitous bounce off a stanchon behind the Czech goal and scored scored into the empty net, with Schattinger below the goal line. Then they made it 5-2 just 1:30 later with the teams skating 4-on-4, when Luke Devlin deflected Hunter Brzustewicz’s point shot.
But the Czechs still had a push left in them and battled back to make it close. First Jakub Hujer made it 5-3 with exactly 11 minutes to play when he took a pass from Jakub Hrdlička and fired a beautiul wrist shot over Bryan Marks’ glove. Then on the power play with just 4:53, Prčík sent a cross-ice pass to Kulich, who fired it short side and both players collected their second points of the night for the Czechs.
They wouldn’t get the equalizer though, as Knuble completed his hat trick by finishing off a nice three-way passing play, dodging a sliding Czech defender and beating Schattinger high blocker side.
Reactions
J.D. Forrest (head coach, Team USA): “Every time you play the Czechs in their own country, it’s going to be a tough game. We were happy with our effort for most of the game. It was a tough third period, we made a couple of mistakes and they were able to hang in there. I liked a lot of things our guys did and I think we got better throughout the week. Overall, this tournament is top-notch. The competition is as good as it gets at this age group. It’s run fantastically – everything from the host cities to the hotels, everybody being super accommodating – so we love coming over here. I wish we could have had a better result, but it’s a tough tournament and if you don’t start off well, it can be difficult.”
Jakub Petr (head coach, Team Czech Republic): “It's soon after the match, I don't want to be nasty. It was clear. The Americans skated better than us, they were stronger. We know that they have the skills they have. Overall, they were significantly better in the game. It's a little disappointing for me. On the other hand, we could make a better picture of our players. That can help us with further nominations throughout the season.
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