Men Top Finland at IIHF World Championship

MINSK, Belarus – Tyler Johnson (Spokane, Wash./Tampa Bay Lightning) scored  twice, Brock Nelson (Warroad, Minn./Univ. of North Dakota/N.Y. Islanders) had a single goal and goaltender Tim Thomas (Flint, Mich./Univ. of Vermont/Dallas Stars) turned in a 22-save effort to help the U.S. Men’s National Team hold off Finland, 3-1, in its penultimate preliminary-round game at the 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship here today.

“I was really happy to see our guys compete the way they did tonight,” said Peter Laviolette, head coach of the 2014 U.S. Men’s National Team. “I thought it was our strongest game of the tournament. Defensively, we were fairly tight and we made the most of our chances offensively. We realize that it was an important game for both teams.”

Nelson’s goal was scored on the first shift of the contest after the puck took an auspicious bounce off the glass. The play started when Seth Jones (Plano, Texas/Nashville Predators) fired the puck hard into the zone from center ice and Finland goaltender Pekka Rinne left his net to try and stop it. Before the puck got to Rinne, it deflected off a stanchion and right to Nelson at the doorstep, where he tapped it in to give the United States a 1-0 lead.

Both teams enjoyed limited offensive chances in the middle frame, thanks largely to sound defense at both ends and timely saves by Thomas and Rinne.

After a few big stops by Thomas in the early portion of the third period, Johnson scored from high in the zone at 6:42 to give Team USA a 2-0 advantage. Craig Smith (Madison, Wis./Univ. of Wisconsin/Nashville Predators) fed a pass in the neutral zone to Johnson, who walked to the middle of the ice just above the circles before threading a shot through a Finland defender and over Rinne’s glove. Jones recorded his second assist of the game and seventh of the championship on the play.

The Finns broke through to make it a 2-1 game with 3:14 remaining in the third stanza when a shot from the top of the right circle bounced off a stick in front of Thomas and found its way to the back of the net. Johnson scored an empty-netter in the final minute to close out the U.S. win.

The U.S. Men’s National Team (3-1-0-2) will conclude its preliminary-round schedule Tuesday (May 20) against Germany at 5:45 a.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.

NOTES: Tonight’s box score, photos and more comments from Head Coach Peter Laviolette are available here … Tyler Johnson was named Team USA’s best player … Seth Jones tallied multiple points for the third straight game. He had two assists tonight and leads Team USA with 2-7=9 totals in the tournament … The U.S. improved to 21-1-2-27-8 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) all-time against Finland in the IIHF Men’s World Championship … Team USA’s captain is Justin Abdelkader. The alternate captains are Craig Smith, Colin McDonald and Tim Stapleton … Peter Laviolette is serving as head coach of the 2014 U.S. Men’s National Team for the third time (2004-bronze, 2005). The assistant coaches are Joe Sacco, Phil Housley and Don Granato … For Team USA’s roster, click here … Twenty of the 25 members of Team USA played U.S. college hockey … Seven of the 25 players are products of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, including Jimmy Hayes, Seth Jones, Jake McCabe, Peter Mueller, Connor Murphy, Drew Shore and Jacob Trouba … Thirteen NHL teams are represented on the roster: Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets … The staff and players of the 2014 U.S. Men’s National Team are selected by the U.S. Men’s National Team Advisory Group, led by Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. Other members include Stan Bowman (Chicago Blackhawks), Brian Burke (Calgary Flames), Paul Holmgren (Philadelphia Flyers), Dean Lombardi (Los Angeles Kings), David Poile (Nashville Predators), Ray Shero, Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers), and Don Waddell (Pittsburgh Penguins). Tom Kurvers (Tampa Bay Lightning) is also part of the advisory group for this year’s championship … USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan, vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams … Sixteen teams are competing at the 2014 IIHF Men’s World Championship, divided into two groups of eight. Teams will play a round-robin format among their group with the top four teams from each group advancing to quarterfinals … NBC Sports Network is televising and streaming all Team USA games in the 2014 IIHF Men’s World Championship.