Hall’s goal keeps Americans in Hlinka Championship hunt

A day-two rebound helped the American U-18 squad keep itself in the medal hunt, but it faces a must-win against the host Czech Republic team on Wednesday (Aug. 9, 2017) if it hopes to be competing for medals this year.

Team Sweden put Team USA behind the eight-ball in its opening game Monday, firing four goals in 5:43 in the second period.

As a result, after banking an early goal from Philippe Lapointe, 17, from Hinsdale, IL and carrying a 1-0 lead past the game’s halfway mark suddenly found itself looking up at a 4-1 deficit and it never recovered. Ryder Donovan, 16, from Duluth, MN picked up the lone assist on Lapointe’s goal, scored at even strength.

Team USA paid a heavy price for wearing out a path to the sin bit, putting Sweden on the power play 10 times resulting in four of the team’s six goals. Meanwhile, the Americans were not only 0-3 on the powerplay, but also surrendered a ‘shorty’ amid that 5:43 span as Marcus Westfalt scored for Tre Kronor. That was the goal that stood up as the game winner.

Lukas Wemblom, who also fired a pair, finally found a way past Isaiah Saville,16, from Alaska, in goal for Team USA on a Swedish powerplay. That set up a flurry as Westfalt fired his goal a little over two minutes later and Samuel Fagemo added another with 72 seconds to play in the middle period, again on a powerplay. The Americans finally got back to even strength but surrendered its fourth goal of the period 21 seconds later, off the stick of Filip Johansson.

Wemblom and Fagemo both fired their second goals of the contest in the final eight minutes, eliminating any shot at a USA comeback.

In other action on Monday in the Czech Republic Pool, the host Czech side defeated Switzerland 6-2.

In the Slovakia rounds, Russia defeated Canada 4-3 in a shootout while Finland defeated Slovakia 6-1.

USA 2 Switzerland 1

In this short tournament, a single loss puts a team’s back to the wall but the USA answered the bell on Tuesday as Curtis Hall’s goal just past the halfway mark of the second period broke a 1-1 draw and sent the Americans to a 2-1 win over Switzerland. Hall, is a 17-year-old forward from New Jersey who will likely suit up for the Youngstown Phantoms for a second season this fall, on his way to Yale University beginning in 2018. Lapointe and Jacob Semik, 17, from Canton, MI picked up assists on the Hall marker.

Meanwhile, Ben Kraws, a 17-year-old goaltender from New Jersey played his part, turning aside 14 of the 15 shots he faced as the Americans doubled their Swiss counterparts in shots on goal by a 30-15 margin.

The Americans once again opened the scoring as Jack Drury, a 17-year-old forward from Winnetka, IL found the mesh just 69 seconds into the contest, converting a feed from Adam Samuelsson, a 17-year-old defenseman from New York. Drury will be back with the Waterloo Black Hawks this season on his way to Harvard next year and Samuelsson will be a member of the U-18 US National Development Team before heading to Boston College.

Gian-Marco Wetter, a forward from the U-20 Davos squad, fired the lone goal for the Swiss side, late in the opening period.

Sweden continued to roll over the competition in other Czech Republic pool play, defeating the host side by a 7-3 score to clinch a spot among the top two teams in the pool.

While Sweden wraps up pool play Wednesday it will be Team USA and the host Czech side lining up in a battle that will decide second place in the division. Only one will move to the medal rounds while the other will have to play consolation matches.

Russia continued its winning ways in Slovakia with a 9-3 tripling of the host team while Canada broke into the win column with a 5-1 win against Finland. Finland faces a must win against Russia on Wednesday while Canada will wrap up against Slovakia.