U.S. Under-17 Select Team Earns 6-4 Win over Slovakia at 2011 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament

Press Release

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Daniel Vanderwiel (Island Lake, Ill.) scored three times, as the U.S. Under-17 Select Team earned a 6-4 victory over Slovakia in its third game of the 2011 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament.

With the win, Team USA improved to a perfect 3-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L), thereby clinching first place for the tournament with one game still remaining.

"It feels great to clinch the tournament title," said Bob Corkum, head coach of the U.S. Under-17 Select Team. "But we still have unfinished business tomorrow against Switzerland, as one of our goals here was to go undefeated."

Both teams traded goals in the first period. Vanderwiel netted his first of the game seven minutes into the contest, but Slovakia answered with a goal two minutes later.

After Slovakia took a brief 2-1 lead one minute into the middle frame, Team USA rattled off three straight goals off the sticks of Vanderwiel, Vinni Lettieri (Excelsior, Minn.) and Shane Eiserman (West Newbury, Mass.) to claim a two-goal advantage midway through the second.

Despite a pair of goals by Slovakia's Andrej Listiak that temporarily tied the game, 4-4, the U.S. regained its two-goal lead in the third period thanks to a goal by Michael Brodzinski (Ham Lake, Minn.) and Vanderwiel's third tally of the night.

U.S. goalie Devin Williams (Saginaw, Mich.), who replaced starter Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.) at the start of the third, denied Slovakia's comeback bid by stopping all 11 shots he faced in the game's final 20 minutes. Demko, meanwhile, finished the night with 13 saves.

The U.S. will next face Switzerland tomorrow (Aug. 13) in its final game of the tournament. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. EDT.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)