Friday, February 10, 2012

U.S. tops Germany at Vlad Dzurilla

Press Release

PIESTANY, Slovakia - Curtis Frye (Northwood, N.H.) made 22 saves and 13 players recorded at least one point, as the U.S. National Under-17 Team blanked Germany, 8-0, in the 2012 Vlad Dzurilla Under-18 Tournament here this afternoon at the Piestany Ice Arena. With the victory, Team USA improved to 2-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L).

"This was a team effort all-around, from top to bottom," said Don Granato, head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team. "The guys skated hard and our goaltending was sharp."

Tyler Motte (St. Clair, Mich.) notched the first goal for Team USA at 9:23 of the opening frame. J.T. Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) and Hudson Fasching (Burnsville, Minn.) collected assists on the goal. The U.S. outshot Germany 17-6 in the period and held a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.

Team USA netted three consecutive goals in a span of 75 seconds in the second stanza. Kevin Labanc (Staten Island, N.Y.) tallied the first of three goals at 7:03. Evan Allen (Sterling Heights, Mich.) and Anthony Florentino (West Roxbury, Mass.) registered assists. Anthony Louis (Winfield, Ill.) notched the next goal at 7:37, with Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Connor Chatham (Belleville, Ill.) setting up the play. Louis connected with Kelleher at 8:18 and John Hayden (Greenwich, Conn.) at 14:15, giving the U.S. a 5-0 lead at the end of the second period.


Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wis.) tallied a goal just 55 seconds into the third period. Labanc and Andrew Copp (Ann Arbor, Mich.) recorded assists. Allen then found the back of the net at 6:26 to give Team USA a 7-0 lead. Kelleher and Butcher received helpers on the goal. Labanc and Copp helped set up Allen's second goal, a power-play marker, at 13:25.

Frye stopped all eight shots he faced in the period to close out the game and earn the shutout victory. Frye made 22 saves in the win for the U.S., while Kevin Reich turned aside 44 shots in the loss for Germany.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team concludes tournament play against Slovakia on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 11 a.m. EST. The game will be held at the Piestany Ice Arena. Team USA's complete schedule can be found below.

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

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