PLYMOUTH, Michigan – A total of 15 U.S. National Under-18 Team players registered a point in Team USA’s 6-2 victory against the Czech Republic in the third game of the 2016 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament Friday night at USA Hockey Arena.
With the victory, Team USA sits atop the standings after four days of play. The U.S. can claim first place in the tournament with a victory over Finland in tomorrow’s 7 p.m. ET matchup at USA Hockey Arena.
Team USA got on the board early with a goal from Nate Knoepke (Farmington, Minn.) at the 2:20 mark of the first period. Scott Reedy (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Joey Cassetti (Pleasanton, Calif.) assisted on the play.
The U.S. doubled their lead minutes later when Reedy buried a rebound goal off a shot from teammate Grant Mismash (Edina, Minn.). Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) also recorded an assist on the play.
Following a short-handed goal from the Czech Republic, Sean Dhooghe (Aurora, Ill.) received a stretch pass from David Farrance (Victor, N.Y.) and buried a shot high glove side past Czech Republic goaltender Jiri Patera to cap the U.S. scoring in the first period.
After the Czech Republic pulled within one goal early in the second period, Mismash buried another U.S. rebound attempt at 9:13 mark off a rush play to the net by defenseman Quinn Hughes (Orlando, Fla.). Phil Kemp (Greenwich, Conn.) also assisted on the play.
Team USA secured the win with goals from Josh Norris (Oxford, Mich.) and Logan Cockerill (Brighton, Mich.) in the third period. Randy Hernandez (Miami, Fla.), Tyler Inamoto (Barrington, Ill.), Jacob Tortora (Victor, N.Y.), and Graham Slaggert (South Bend, Ind.) recorded assists on the final U.S. goals.
Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) earned his second victory of the tournament while stopping 20 shots.
Tickets for tomorrow’s final games are available at USAHockeyArena.com.
Notes: Video highlights from all U.S. National Under-18 Team games are available on the USA Hockey National Team Development Program YouTube Channel … The final two games of the tournament will take place tomorrow and will be streamed live on HockeyTV.com … The first-place team will be determined based on final point standings … Five Nations news, notes, recaps, tickets and multimedia can be found on the Five Nations Tournament website … Follow @USAHockeyNTDP and @USAHockeyArena on Twitter for tournament updates and join the conversation on social media by using #FiveNationsU18.
Team USA Schedule – 2016 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament
Nov. 1 – 5 | Plymouth, Mich.
Date Opponent Venue Time/Results
Tues., Nov. 1 Switzerland USA Hockey Arena W, 7-0
Wed., Nov. 2 Sweden USA Hockey Arena L, 2-1
Fri., Nov. 4 Czech Republic USA Hockey Arena W, 6-2
Sat., Nov. 5 Finland USA Hockey Arena 7 p.m. ET
