JAMESTOWN, N.Y. – Kieffer Bellows (Edina, Minn./Portland Winterhawks), Josh Norris (Oxford, Mich./Univ. of Michigan) and Riley Tufte (Ham Lake, Minn./Univ. of Minnesota Duluth) each scored twice as the U.S. National Junior Team blanked Belarus, 14-0, in its first pre-tournament game ahead of the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.
“This was a great team win that, at times, really showed the style of play we want to execute in Buffalo,” said Bob Motzko, head coach of the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team. “We’re looking for good detail and habits in little parts of our game and I think we can pick a lot of good things out of this game. As a staff, we have some difficult decisions to make here as we look ahead to Sweden on Friday and get closer to finalizing our roster.”
The U.S. National Junior Team (1-0-0-0/W-OTW-OTL-L) will close pre-tournament action on Friday (Dec. 22) when it takes on Sweden at the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pa. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on HockeyTV.com. Tickets are on sale now here.
For the complete game recap, click here.
2018 IIHF World Junior Championship • Team USA Schedule
Dec. 26, 2017 – Jan. 5, 2018 – Buffalo, New York – KeyBank Center
NHL Network to televise live all U.S tournament games
Date Opponent Time (ET)/Result Round Location
Wed., Dec. 20 Belarus W, 14-0 Pre-Tournament Northwest Arena
Jamestown, N.Y.
Fri., Dec. 22 Sweden 7:00 p.m. Pre-Tournament Erie Insurance Arena
Erie, Pa.
Tues., Dec. 26 Denmark 8:00 p.m. Preliminary KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
Thurs., Dec. 28 Slovakia 8:00 p.m. Preliminary KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
Fri., Dec. 29 Canada 3:00 p.m. Preliminary New Era Field
Orchard Park, N.Y.
Sun., Dec. 31 Finland 4:00 p.m. Preliminary KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
Tues., Jan. 2 TBD TBD Quarterfinals KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
Thurs., Jan. 4 TBD TBD Semifinals KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
Fri., Jan. 5 TBD 4:00 p.m. Bronze-Medal Game KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
TBD 8:00 p.m. Gold-Medal Game KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
NOTES: The final 23-player roster, which is expected to be named by Dec. 23, will represent the United States in the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Buffalo, New York, from Dec. 26, 2017 – Jan. 5, 2018 … The U.S. will play in the first ever outdoor game in tournament play when it takes on Canada at New Era Field on Dec. 29, 2017. Tickets for that game, as well as all other tournament games, are available here … Jim Johannson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) is serving as the general manager of Team USA for the eighth consecutive year … Bob Motzko (St. Cloud, Minn.) is serving as head coach for the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team and is joined behind the bench by assistant coaches Greg Brown (Scituate, Mass.), Grant Potulny (Grand Forks, N.D.), Kris Mayotte (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Steve Miller (Littleton, Colo.) … USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams .
