MAGNITOGORSK, Russia – Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass./USAH NTDP) scored his tournament leading fourth goal and goaltender Spencer Knight(Darien, Conn./USAH NTDP) made 38 saves for the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team in 3-1 loss against Sweden here this afternoon in the third preliminary round game of the 2018 IIHF Under-18 World Championship at Metallurg Arena.
“I thought both teams played, hard, fast and competitive and both goalies were absolutely fantastic,” said Seth Appert (Cottage Grove, Minn./USAH NTDP), head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team. “Both teams played their tails off and it came down to Sweden getting one more bounce go their way.”
Wahlstrom capitalized on an early Sweden penalty by scoring his fourth goal at 2:25 of the first period when he gathered a rebound off a shot from Joel Farabee (Cicero, N.Y./USAH NTDP) and banked the puck off Sweden goaltender Olof Lindbom. Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla./USAH NTDP) also collected an assist on the play.
Sweden responded with a power play of their own at 10:51 knotting the score 1-1.
Knight made 15 saves in the first period, including several in the final minutes of the first period with the U.S. on the penalty kill, to keep the game even after 20 minutes.
In the second period, both teams had two power plays but neither was able to capitalize so the game stayed tied heading into the final frame.
The U.S. was unable to capitalize on its fifth power play midway through the third period. Sweden scored the game-winner on the power play with just 1:04 left in regulation and added an empty-net goal to account for the 3-1 final.
Team USA ends preliminary round play with a matchup on Tuesday (April 24) against Belarus. Opening faceoff is set for 3:30 p.m. local (6:30 a.m. ET) and can be seen live on NHL Network.
Team USA Schedule
2018 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship
Date Opponent Round Location Time (Local/ET)
April 19 Canada Preliminary Metallurg Ice Rink
Magnitogorsk, Russia L, 4-6
April 20 Switzerland Preliminary Metallurg Ice Rink
Magnitogorsk, Russia W, 8-5
April 22 Sweden Preliminary Metallurg Ice Rink
Magnitogorsk, Russia L, 1-3
April 24 Belarus Preliminary Metallurg Ice Rink
Magnitogorsk, Russia 3:30 p.m./6:30 a.m.
April 26 TBD Quarterfinals TBD TBD
April 28 TBD Semifinals Traktor Ice Rink
Chelyabinsk, Russia TBD
April 29 TBD Gold/Bronze Medal Games Traktor Ice Rink
Chelyabinsk, Russia TBD
NOTES: Sweden outshot the U.S. 41-37 … Team USA went 1-5 on the power play and Sweden was 2-6 … Team USA is now 12-2-0-3-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) against Sweden all-time in the U18 Men’s World Championship … The U.S. is 61-0-1-17-1 in preliminary games (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) … The U.S. enters the tournament having captured a record 14 consecutive medals, including gold medals in seven of the last nine years (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) … Team USA has won 10 gold medals all-time, the most of any country in IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship history. The event began in 1999. Team USA earned its first gold medal in 2002 … For complete tournament information visit u18worlds2018.iihf.hockey. Team USA News, interviews, highlights and more can be found on the Team USA website … Follow @USAHockey on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with the #U18Worlds tag … For additional coverage, visit the USA Hockey Facebook page and Instagram account … USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams.
