SUNDSVALL, Sweden — Josh Norris (Oxford, Mich.) scored a goal with under two minutes remaining in the third period to fuel the U.S. National Under-18 Team’s 5-3 victory against Russia at the 2017 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Sundsvall Energi Arena.
Joey Cassetti (Pleasanton, Calif.) evened the game a little over three minutes into the third period when he redirected a blue line shot from David Farrance (Victor, N.Y.) before Team USA finally broke the tie at the 18:20 mark of the period. Brady Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) sent a no-look backhand pass from behind the net to a circling Norris, who shot it low short side past Russia goaltender Petr Kochetkov.
With the victory, the U.S. sits atop the tournament standings with nine points and a record of 3-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L). The U18s have now won their last five international contests and will face tournament host, Sweden, tomorrow at 6 a.m. ET.
NOTES: U.S. goaltender Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) finished the game with 22 saves on 25 shots … Team USA went 0-2 on the power play and 3-4 on the penalty kill … The U18s outshot Russia 38-25 … Grant Mismash and Quinn Hughes are tied for the tournament lead in points (5) … Follow @usahockeyntdp on Twitter for tournament updates and join the conversation on social media by using the hashtags #5NationsU18.
