PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) made 34 saves and Sean Dhooghe (Aurora, Ill.) scored two shorthanded goals as the U.S. National Under-17 Team trumped Finland, 5-2, tonight at USA Hockey Arena. With the win, Team USA improves to 1-0-1-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament.
In the first stanza, Grant Mismash (Edina, Minn.) fed Brady Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) up the right wing for a short-side goal to open scoring at 2:14. St. Cyr picked up the secondary assist and turned aside all nine shots he faced in the period to help preserve the U.S. advantage.
Finland answered at 7:32 of the middle frame on the power play, but Team USA responded with back-to-back markers just over one minute apart. First, Dhooghe ripped a top-shelf shot over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s left shoulder for the second United States tally. Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) and Phil Kemp (Greenwich, Conn.) assisted on the shorthanded, go-ahead goal. From the defensive blue line, Josh Maniscalco (Perkiomenville, Pa.) sprung Mismash who lit the lamp off the ensuing breakaway at 10:30 to push the U.S. lead to two scores.
In the final period, with USA on the power play, David Farrance (Victor, N.Y.) wired a shot from the top of the slot for the fourth U.S. goal at 4:53. Finland pulled back within two goals midway through the frame, but a shorthanded, empty-net strike for Dhooghe, his second on the night, iced the victory for the United States.
The U.S. National Under-17 Team returns to the ice on Friday (Feb. 12) versus Sweden. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at USA Hockey Arena and live streaming is available via FASTHockey.com.
NOTES: The United States outshot Finland, 38-36 … Team USA went 1-3 on the power play while Finland went 1-6 … The U.S. roster is composed of 20 members from the 2015-16 U.S. National Under-17 Team, part of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program … Defenseman Reilly Walsh (Proctor Academy) and forward Vanya Lodnia (Erie Otters) are additions to the lineup … For a complete roster click here … Team USA is competing against teams from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden in the round-robin tournament … Team USA finished second in last year’s tournament held in Dmitrov, Russia … Follow @USAHockeyNTDP and @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for tournament updates and join the conversation on social media by using the #5NationsU17 tag.
Team USA Schedule | 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament
Feb. 9-13 | USA Hockey Arena | Plymouth, Michigan
Date Game Time (ET) / Result
Sat., Feb. 6 Czech Republic* W, 4-2
Tues., Feb. 9 Czech Republic L, 4-3 (OT)
Wed., Feb. 10 Finland W, 5-2
Fri., Feb. 12 Sweden 7:00 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 13 Russia 7:00 p.m.
*Pre-tournament game
