USA Tops Russia To Advance To Gold Medal Game at WJC

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    Randy Schultz
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    U.S. Advances to Gold-Medal Game of 2019 World Juniors
    Primeau makes 34 saves as Team USA tops Russia, 2-1
    VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Cayden Primeau (Voorhees, N.J./Northeastern University) made 34 saves as Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass./Boston College) and Sasha Chmelevski (Northville, Mich./Ottawa 67’s) scored to help the U.S. National Junior Team advance to the gold-medal game of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 2-1 semifinal victory over Russia.”When we got together on the (Dec.) 14th, we said this was the goal, to make it to the gold-medal game and our players made that a reality here tonight,” said Mike Hastings (Crookston, Minn./Minnesota State), head coach of the 2019 U.S. National Junior Team. “Give credit to Russia, who gave us everything we could handle. We battled through, earned a hard-fought win and now have a chance to go after what we came here for and that’s a gold medal.”With the win, the U.S. (5-0-1-0/W-OTW-OTL-L) will play for gold tomorrow against the winner of the Finland-Switzerland semifinal that is currently under way. Puck drop tomorrow (Jan. 5) is set for 5 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET) here at Rogers Arena and will be televised live on NHL Network.Tonight’s win secures a fourth-straight medal finish for the United States, the first time it has ever accomplished the feat. Team USA won gold in 2017 and earned bronze-medal finishes in 2016 and 2018.For the complete game recap, click here.2019 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship 
    Team USA Schedule – Dec. 26, 2018 – Jan. 5, 2019 – Vancouver & Victoria, B.C.
    All U.S. Tournament Games To Be Televised Live on NHL NetworkDateOpponent & RoundTime (ET)/ResultLocationThurs., Dec. 20Russia
    Pre-TournamentW, 3-2Kamloops, B.C.
    Sandman CentreSat., Dec. 22Czech Republic
    Pre-TournamentW, 6-2Langley, B.C.
    Langley Event CentreWed., Dec. 26Slovakia
    PreliminaryW, 2-1Victoria, B.C.
    Save-On-Foods Memorial CentreFri., Dec. 28Kazakhstan
    PreliminaryW, 8-2Victoria, B.C.
    Save-On-Foods Memorial CentreSat., Dec. 29Sweden
    PreliminaryOTL, 4-5Victoria, B.C.
    Save-On-Foods Memorial CentreMon., Dec. 31Finland
    PreliminaryW, 4-1Victoria, B.C.
    Save-On-Foods Memorial CentreWed., Jan. 2Czech Republic
    QuarterfinalW, 3-1Victoria, B.C.
    Save-On-Foods Memorial CentreFri., Jan. 4Russia
    SemifinalW, 2-1Vancouver, B.C.
    Rogers ArenaSat., Jan. 5Finland-Switzerland Winner
    Gold-Medal Game8:00 p.m.Vancouver, B.C.
    Rogers Arena NOTES: Goaltender Cayden Primeau was tabbed U.S. Player of the Game … The U.S. was outshot by Russia, 35-27, went 1-for-2 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. For complete game statistics, click here … Team USA will enter tomorrow’s gold-medal game with a 2-2-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) all-time in gold-medal games … A gold medal tomorrow will give the United States its fifth-ever gold medal in tournament play after winning in 2004, 2010, 2013 and 2017 … John Vanbiesbrouck (Detroit, Mich.), assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, is serving as the general manager of the U.S. National Junior Team … NHL Network is the official U.S. broadcaster of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship … For more information about the tournament, click here.

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