Groll and McWard lead USA U-17 Selects past Slovakia

Team USA U-17 Selects are looking unstoppable at the halfway mark of the Five Nations tournament at Ostrava, Czech Republic following a lopsided 7-1 win against Team Slovakia on Friday (August 25, 2017).

Two games in, the Americans have now dispatched of Switzerland and Slovakia with a combined score of 15-2.

Meanwhile, the defense is being led by a solid tandem. This time it was Ethan Haider going the distance and turning aside 13 of 14 Slovakian chances. The 15-year-old native of Maple Grove, MN (Maple Grove High School) has been beaten just twice on 30 shots over five periods of play so far.

Team USA owned a 1-0 cushion after 20-minutes and both teams added one in the middle frame. The Americans put this one away though with its second unanswered five-goal period of the tournament.

Leading the charge for the American squad was Josh Groll, 16, from California (Anaheim Jr. Ducks 16U) who fired his third goal of the tournament at added a couple of assists as well. Cole McWard, a 16-year-old defenseman from Fenton, MO (St. Louis Blues 16U) also picked up a goal and two helpers in the game.

Other Team USA goals came from: Arthur Kaliyev, a 16-year-old native of New York (Hamilton Bulldogs – OHL); Grant Sillianov, a 16-year-old forward from Edina, MN (Shattuck St. Mary’s); Jake Hale, a 16-year-old forward from Minneapolis, MN (Dubuque Fighting Saints – USHL); John Farinacci, a 16-year-old native of New Jersey (Dexter School) and Ryan Johnson, a 16-year-old defender from California (Anaheim Jr. Ducks U-16).

Team USA will look to continue its solid play when it returns to the ice on Saturday (Aug. 26) to take on Germany before wrapping up against the host Czech Republic team on Sunday.