FRISCO, Texas – The United States Under-17 Select Team earned a 9-2 victory here tonight at the Dr. Pepper StarCenter over Germany and claimed the championship of the 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament with a perfect 4-0-0-0 record.
“I thought we played real hard all week long,” said Cory Laylin (St. Michael, Minn.), head coach of the 2016 U.S. Under-17 Select Team. “It was a great experience for these kids to come play against some of the best in the world and have success. It will be something they will never forget.”
Gavin Hain (Grand Rapids, Minn.) gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 12:44 of the first period. Hain collected a pass from Matt Gould (Weymouth, Mass.) at the left faceoff dot and fired a wrist shot past German goaltender Nils Kapteinat. Blake McLaughlin (Grand Rapids, Minn.) scored from the slot late in the period to double the U.S. lead.
John Malone (Madison, N.J.) increased the U.S. advantage to 3-0 when he one-timed a feed from Devlin McCabe (North Oaks, Mich.) past the glove of Kapteinat 3:26 into the middle period. Jack Drury (Winnetka, Ill.) netted his first goal of the tournament with a shot from the right circle late in the frame to stake the U.S. a 4-0 lead entering the second intermission.
Edwin Schitz got Germany on the board just :31 into the final period, but the U.S. responded with goals by McCabe, Hain and Calen Kiefiuk (Macomb, Mich.) just 4:24 apart to lead 7-1. McCabe scored his second marker at 11:03 of the period and Ryan Savage (Scottsdale, Ariz.) added a power-play goal just 1:09 later to increase the U.S. advantage to 9-1. Erik Betzold netted a goal on power play for Germany late in the period to make the final 9-2.
Isaiah Saville (Anchorage, Alaska) made 11 saves for the U.S. in the victory.
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RECAP: Switzerland 6, Slovakia 1
Switzerland topped Slovakia, 6-1, to open final day action of the 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco, Texas.
The teams combined to score three goals in the first 2:54 of play, beginning with Valentin Nussbaumer giving Switzerland an early 1-0 lead 1:56 into the contest. Nicolas Ferenyi evened the score, 1-1, for Slovakia only 24 seconds later, and just 34 seconds after Ferenyi’s tally, Jeremi Gerber staked the Swiss a 2-1 advantage with his third goal of the tournament.
Dylan Pena Triana extended the Swiss lead to 3-1 with his second goal of the week 11:06 into the middle frame before Gilian Kohler made it 4-1 with a power-play goal late in the period.
Pena Triana and Gerber also added third-period markers to account for the 6-1 final. Gerber finishes the tournament with a team-leading four goals.
Yann Fevre made 20 stops for the Swiss in the victory.
The victory clinches third place for Switzerland (2-2-0-0; W-OTW-OTL-L). Slovakia finishes the tournament with a 0-1-0-3 mark.
NOTES: The U.S. outshot Germany 54-13 in the contest … Isaiah Saville and Drew DeRidder (Fenton, Mich.) combined to stop 73-of-79 shots throughout the tournament for a .924 save percentage … Blake McLaughlin and Devlin McCabe tied for the tournament lead with 10 points each. McLaughlin led the tournament with six goals … The U.S. won the tournament for the second straight year… In addition to the United States, the 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament included teams from Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany … For complete Under-17 Five Nations tournament coverage, click here. … Ann Arbor, Michigan, was the last U.S. city to host the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament (2011) … The Dr Pepper StarCenter Arena, host site for the 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament, serves as the practice facility for the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars.
