PLYMOUTH, Mich. – The U.S. National Under-18 Team fell, 6-2, to the Czech Republic, despite outshooting them 46-24, Wednesday night in the fourth game of the 2018 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament at USA Hockey Arena.
The Czech Republic opened scoring at 3:21 of the first with a shot from the front of the net by Karel Plasek. Jakub Lauko added an assist on the play.
Just over a minute after, at the 4:31 mark, Joel Farabee (Cicero, N.Y) evened the score at one a piece. He sent the puck in from the bottom of the right circle on a pass from Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.).
Matej Blumel gave the Czech Republic the lead at the 7:50 mark of the first with a goal on the power play.
After a turnover, the Czech Republic extended its lead at 10:03 of the first to lead, 3-1 after 20 minutes.
At 3:27 of the second period, Jack DeBoer (Madison, N.J) put a shot on net that was redirected by Erik Middendorf (Scottsdale, Ariz.) for the second USA goal of the night. Mattias Samuelsson (Voorhees, N.J) also added an assist on the play.
Blumel netted a natural hat trick with two goals in the second period at 13:02 and 18:45 of the second period and one at the 16:01 mark of the third to give the Czech Republic a 6-2 final.
Drew DeRidder (Fenton, Mich.) and Jonathon Mor (Highland Park, Ill.) combined for 18 saves on the night. The Czech Republic’s Daniel Dvorak tallied 44 saves.
Team USA returns to action Friday, February 16 when they face off against Russia at 7 p.m. ET.
In the first game of the day, Russia defeated Finland, 4-0 with goals from Vasili Podkolzin, Ruslan Iskhakov, Andrei Svechnikov, and Ivan Morozov.
To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit USAHockeyNTDP.com/20185NationsTix or call the USA Hockey Arena box office at 734.453.8400.
2018 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament Schedule of Events
Date Game Time/Result
Tuesday, Feb. 13 Czech Republic vs. Finland FIN, 3-2
Sweden vs. USA USA, 5-1
Wednesday, Feb. 14 Finland vs. Russia
RUS, 4-0
Czech Republic vs. USA CZE, 6-2
Thursday, Feb. 15 Russia vs. Czech Republic 3:30 p.m.
Finland vs. Sweden 7:00 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 16 Sweden vs. Czech Republic 3:30 p.m.
USA vs. Russia 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 17 Russia vs. Sweden 3:30 p.m.
USA vs. Finland 7 p.m.
