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January 5,
2004
U.S. National Junior Team
Captures First Gold Medal In 28-Year History Of
IIHF World Junior Championship
Team USA Notches Three Unanswered
Third-Period Goals To Defeat Canada, 4-3
HELSINKI, Finland --
The United States National Junior Team captured
its first gold medal in the 28-year history of the
International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior
Championship here tonight with a come-from-behind
4-3 victory over rival Canada. Trailing 3-1 after
two periods, the U.S. tallied three unanswered
goals - two by forward Patrick O'Sullivan
(Sterling Heights, Mich./ Mississauga Ice Dogs) --
in the final frame.
The 10-nation
tournament features the world's top ice hockey
players under 20 years of age, and the U.S.
fashioned an undefeated 6-0-0 mark on the way to
its historic gold medal. Canada, which entered the
game with a 21-4-3 record against the U.S.,
finished with silver for the third consecutive
year.
"This is a group with tremendous
will," said U.S. head coach Mike Eaves (Madison,
Wis.). "To go along with that will, they also have
tremendous skill. When you have that kind of
combination, you're going to be a contender every
time you step on the ice. Sometimes, when the
going gets tough, the skill doesn't
matter."
In front of 7,364 fans --
including many Canadian backers -- Team USA fell
behind in the first period for the first time in
the tournament. A misplayed puck at the U.S. blue
line allowed Nigel Dawes to gain the zone with
speed and close in at the top of the left faceoff
circle, where he snapped a shot high over U.S.
goaltender Al Montoya's (Glenview, Ill./Univ. of
Michigan) glove and inside the far post at
3:25.
The U.S. answered at 8:57, after
defenseman Dan Richmond (Lake Zurich, Ill./London
Knights) moved low to foil a breakout and found
Dan Fritsche (Parma, Ohio/Columbus Blue Jackets)
behind Canada's net. The right-handed Fritsche
took a step out front, to Canadian goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury's left, and pulled a backhander
low through the goaltender's pads.
As in
the first, Canada opened the scoring in the second
frame on a Dawes strike, though the goal came much
earlier than it did in the first. On his second of
the game, Dawes tipped a snapshot from Mike
Richards high over Montoya's shoulder at the 0:12
mark. The lead was extended at 12:56 of the second
on a short-side Anthony Stewart goal that gave
Canada a 3-1 advantage at the end of
two.
The third period began tentatively,
but the U.S., after juggling lines, converted two
scoring chances in under three minutes. At the
4:39 mark O'Sullivan, who was trailing the play,
took a pass from Patrick Eaves (Faribault,
Minn./Boston College) and roofed a short-side
snapshot over Fleury, who had given O'Sullivan
little room.
At 6:58 Zach Parise
(Faribault, Minn./University of North Dakota)
gained speed on the outside and dropped a pass to
Richmond, who moved a chipped puck to the net.
Ryan Kesler (Livonia, Mich./Manitoba Moose),
camped at the time alone in front of Fleury, snuck
a shot through to knot the game at 3-3.
The
U.S. game-winner, the team's third unanswered
goal, came courtesy of a fortuitous bounce.
Fleury, in an attempt to clear the puck while
under forechecking pressure from O'Sullivan, hit
teammate Braydon Coburn and the puck ricocheted in
the opposite direction and into the back of the
net at 14:48.
"The harder you work," said
Eaves, "the more luck you have."
U.S.
netminder Al Montoya (Glenview, Ill./Univ of
Michigan) made 27 saves, many of them very
challenging, on 30 shots. Fleury stopped 24 of 28
shots.
Team USA, facing a six-on-five with
Fleury pulled from the net, held off a number of
scoring bids late in the third. The Americans were
able to maintain the lead and win its fourth medal
ever in the tournament and first since losing in
the 1997 Gold-Medal Game to Canada.
"What
this does," said Eaves, "is substantiate the USA
Hockey National Team Development Program. It's not
the perfect program, but, obviously, it's doing
something some very good things. We still need to
learn from other countries, but we have something
good going. Let's run with it."
Parise tied
for the scoring lead with 11 points (5-6) at the
2004 IIHF World Junior Championship and was named
the Tournament Most Valuable Player. He was also
one of the IIHF's three Directorate Award Winners
and was selected to the All-Tournament Team by the
media. Montoya received the goaltender Directorate
Award and was also chosen to the All-Tournament
Team.
In earlier action, Finland delighted
the home crowd with a come-from-behind 2-1 win
over the Czech Republic in the Bronze-Medal Game.
Exclusive audiocasts of Team USA's games can be
found archived on USA Hockey's website, www.USAHockey.com.
The
United States will host next year's IIHF World
Junior Championship from Dec. 25, 2004 through
January 4, 2005 in Grand Forks, N.D., and Thief
River Falls, Minn.
GAME SUMMARY
United States 1 - 0 -
3 -
4
Canada
1 - 2 - 0 - 3
First Period: Scoring: 1, CAN,
Dawes (Stewart), 3:25. 2, USA, Fritsche (Richmond,
Moore), 8:57. Penalties: Crosby, CAN (hooking),
9:52; Likens, USA (charging), 16:04.
Second Period: Scoring: 3,
CAN, Dawes (Richards, Stewart), 0:12. 4, CAN,
Stewart (Dawes), 12:56. Penalties: Phaneuf, CAN
(high sticking), 1:16; Stuart, USA (roughing),
5:58; Suter, USA (interference), 7:16; Gorges, CAN
(cross checking), 10:35.
Third Period: Scoring: 5, USA,
O'Sullivan (Eaves, Stafford), 4:39. 6, USA, Kesler
(Richmond), 6:58. 7, USA, O'Sullivan (unassisted),
14:48.
Shots: USA: 12 - 6 - 10 - 28.
CAN: 12 - 11 - 7 - 30.
Goaltenders: USA: Montoya (30
shots, 27 saves). CAN: Fleury (28 shots, 24
saves).
Referee: Thomas Andersson.
Linesmen: Stefan Fonselius, Seppo Lindroos.
2004 IIHF World Junior Championship
December
26, 2003 - January 5, 2004; Helsinki &
Hameenlinna, Finland
Team USA Schedule
Date Time
(Local/EST)
Matchup
Dec. 23
5:00 p.m./10 a.m. USA 1, Finland 4
(exhib.)
Dec. 26 6:30
p.m./11:30 a.m.Austria 0, USA
8
Dec. 28 3:00
p.m./8:00 a.m. Slovakia 0, USA
5
Dec. 30 4:00
p.m./9:00 a.m. USA 4, Sweden
3
Dec. 31 4:00
p.m./9:00 a.m. Russia 1, USA
4
Jan. 3
7:00 p.m./12:00 p.m.Finland 1, USA 2
(Semifinals)
Jan.
5 6:30 p.m./11:30 a.m.USA
4, Canada 3 (Gold-Medal)Helinki
Tournament MVP: Zach Parise
(USA)
Directorate Award Winners: Al
Montoya (USA), goaltender; Sami Lepisto (FIN),
defenseman; Zach Parise (USA),
forward.
All-Tournament
Team: Al Montoya (USA), goaltender; Sami
Lepisto (FIN), defenseman; Dion Phaneuf (CAN),
defenseman; Zach Parise (USA), forward; Jeff
Carter (CAN), forward; Valtteri Filppula (FIN),
forward. |
