WHITBY, Ont. – Eleven U.S. players contributed points and goaltender Kris Oldham (Anchorage, Alaska/Omaha Lancers) stopped 17 of 18 shots as the U.S. Junior Select Team defeated Canada East, 7-1, to earn a third-place finish at the 2015 World Junior A Challenge here tonight.
“For these guys to pour their hearts out for each other and their country was really something special,” said Cary Eades (Fargo, N.D./Fargo Force), head coach of the U.S. Junior Select Team. “We really represented ourselves, the USHL, USA Hockey and finished this tournament out the proper way tonight.”
The U.S. outshot Canada East, 12-3, in the opening period, but neither team was able to find the back of the net.
Rem Pitlick (Plymouth, Minn./Muskegon Lumberjacks) opened the scoring :19 into the second frame when he got his stick on a loose puck in the Canada East crease. A minute later, Max Zimmer (Medina, Minn./Chicago Steel) doubled Team USA’s lead when his shot from the point trickled past Canada East goaltender Colton Point into the lower left corner of the net.
At 8:45, Grant Jozefek (Chester, N.J./Lincoln Stars) finished a shot by Josh Wilkins (Raleigh, N.C./Sioux City Musketeers) to bring the score to 3-0. Five minutes later during a U.S. power play, Chase Pearson (Alpharetta, Ga./Youngstown Phantoms) converted on a rebound at the right post. Canada East quickly responded with its first tally of the game to make it 4-1 heading into the third period.
Callahan Burke (Boxborough, Mass./Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) fired a shot into the upper corner at 8:59 of the final period to extend the U.S. lead. Three minutes later, Liam Pecararo (Canton, Mass./Waterloo Black Hawks) and Zimmer converted :14 apart to account for the 7-1 final.
NOTES: Team USA finished the tournament with a 3-2-0-0 (W-L-OTW-OTL) record … The U.S. outshot Canada East, 36-18 … The U.S. went 1-for-4 on the power play; Canada East was 0-for-2 … Click here for complete game statistics … The 2015 World Junior A Challenge includes Canada East, Canada West, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Russia and the United States … The World Junior A Challenge is in its 10th year, and the U.S. is competing for the ninth time.
