COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Robert Christy (Saint Paul, Minn.) scored twice and goaltender Kyle Chauvette (New Boston, N.H.) recorded an 11-save shutout as the United States Under-17 Men’s Select Team defeated Germany 6-0 today in the third game of the Five Nations Tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
“It was a solid effort by the boys today.” said U.S. head coach Pat Ferschweiler (Rochester, Minn.). “I thought we were clearly the better team all along, all we did was execute at a fairly high level. I think we were a little tired from three games in a row; we are going to get a great rest tonight and prepare for that championship game tomorrow.”
Jake Hale (Minneapolis, Minn.) struck first at 1:45 of the opening period with a short-handed goal off a feed from Mike Koster (Chaska, Minn.). The U.S. extended its lead with 5:06 remaining in the first frame when John Farinacci (Chatham, N.J.) shot high-glove, giving Team USA a 2-0 advantage entering the first intermission.
With 2:30 left in the middle period, Robert Christy (Saint Paul, Minn.) converted a pass from Lukas Svejkovsky (Point Roberts, Wash.) to put Team USA up 3-0 entering the final stanza.
Eighteen seconds into the third period, Grant Silianoff (Edina, Minn.) one- timed a pass from Farinacci over the German goaltender to increase the U.S. lead. Then, Christy capitalized on a German turnover to score a backhanded goal 7:30 into the frame, making the score 5-0. The U.S. extended its lead again with 9:52 remaining in the game on a Josh Nodler (Oak Park, Mich.) power-play goal, accounting for the 6-0 final.
Team USA (3-0) will meet the Czech Republic tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. local time / 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time in a showdown to decide the tournament top spot. With a victory, the U.S. will clinch a third consecutive Five Nations Tournament championship.
Follow the U.S. Under-17 Men’s Select Team every step of the way at TeamUSA.USAHockey.com. Watch the live stream of tomorrow’s championship game.
Notes: The U.S. outshot Germany 41-11 … Christy was named the U.S. Player of the Game.
(USA Hockey Photo)
