FARGO, N.D. – William Wrenn (Anchorage, Alaska) and Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) each scored twice on the power play as the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team dropped a 6-5 decision to Russia in its final preliminary round game at the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship. Team USA finished in second in Group B with a 3-0-0-1 record.

In the opening stanza, Team USA captain Wrenn gave his team the 1-0 advantage on the power play at 12:14 when he one-timed Cam Fowler's (Farmington Hills, Mich.) pass from the left point and into the upper-left corner. At the 5:00 mark Chris Brown (Flower Mound, Texas) collected Jason Zucker's (Las Vegas, Nev.) rebound at the left side of the net, spun around and slid the puck through the legs of netminder Igor Bobkov. Adam Murray(Anchorage, Alaska) stopped all six shots he saw in first 20 minutes.

Just 1:17 into the second period, Russia drew within a goal when Evgeni Kuznetsov broke in on Murray and put a backhanded shot inside the left post. Russia tied it up when Vladimir Tarasenko slid a shot into the lower-right corner of the net at 6:40. Kirill Kabanov gave Russia the 3-2 lead when he poked in a rebound on the left side at 10:42. With Team USA on a man advantage at 14:37, Jerry D'Amigo (Binghamton, N.Y.) chipped a pass to Morin who sniped a wrist shot into the upper right corner of the net to knot the score, 3-3.

Wrenn struck again on the power-play after he slid the puck five-hole from the left side of the crease 4:18 into the third period to regain the lead for Team USA. Russia tied it up when Tarasenko's backhanded chip got past Murray at 8:50. Just 1:42 later, Tarasenko added a sorthanded goal to give the Russians a 5-4 advantage. Maxim Kitsyn added a power-play goal at 16:11 to double the Russian advantage. With just 1:13 to play, Morin netted his second goal of the game after he took Drew Shore's (Denver, Colo.) drop pass and wired a shot inside the left post. The goal proved to be extremely important, as it kept Team USA within one goal, thus keeping goal differential in the Americans' favor and securing second place in Group B over Russia.

Team USA will meet the Czech Republic on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Urban Plains Center in a quarterfinal match-up.

NOTES:William Wrenn was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... Team USA out shot Russia 55-26 ... The U.S. netted four power-play goals ... Kevin Lynch (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) leads Team USA with nine points (5-4), while Jeremy Morin (4-4--8) andJerry D'Amigo (2-6--8) are second with eight points apiece ... All of Team USA's games, along with all games that are being played at the Urban Plains Center will be webcast live on FASTHockey.com on a pay-per-view basis ... The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team has earned a medal in each of the last five IIHF World Under-18 Championships, including the gold (2005, 2006), silver (2004, 2007) and the bronze (2008). Team USA also captured the gold at the 2002 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

RUS 0 3 3 -- 6
USA 2 1 2 -- 5

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Wrenn (Fowler), 12:14 (pp); 2, USA, Brown (Zucker), 15:00. Penalties: RUS, Dvurechensky (tripping), 2:53; RUS, Kuznetsov (interference), 8:12; USA, D'Amigo (interference), 9:50; RUS, Kalashnikov (interference), 10:18; RUS, Chvanov (tripping), 10:44; USA, Treais (tripping), 11:37; RUS, Kabanov (interference), 11:49; USA, Merrill (interference), 17:56.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, RUS, Kuznetsov (Zaytsev), 1:17; 4, RUS, Tarasenko (Chvanov), 6:40; 5, RUS, Kabanov (Tarasenko, Chvanov), 10:42 (pp); 6, USA, Morin (D'Amigo, Shore), Penalties: USA, Fowler (hooking), 2:24; RUS, Sergeyev (slashing), 3:47; RUS, Kitsyn (interference), 6:52; USA, Valek (hooking), 9:50; USA, Henrion (high-sticking), 11:50; USA, Clendening (delay of game), 11:56; RUS, Kabanov (slashing), 13:36; RUS, Kabanov (cross-checking), 13:36.

Third Period - Scoring: 7, USA, Wrenn (D'Amigo, Morin), 4:18 (pp); 8, RUS, Tarasenko (Kabanov), 8:50; 9, RUS, Tarasenko (unassisted), 10:32; 10, RUS, Kitsyn (Burmistrov) 16:11; 11, USA, Morin (Shore), 18:47; Penalties: RUS, Sergeyev (hooking), 3:38; USA, Shore (roughing), 4:00; RUS, Zaytsev (roughing), 4:00; RUS, Kabanov (interference), 5:44; RUS, Kitsyn (tripping), 9:26; RUS, Pivtsakin (holding), 13:29; USA, Bourque (tripping), 13:12; RUS, Kitsyn (slashing), 18:14.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
RUS 6 13 7 26
USA 16 14 25 55
         
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
RUS, Bobkov, 16-14 14-13 25-23 55-50
USA, Murray, 6-6 13-10 7-4 26-20

Power Play: RUS 2-8; USA 4-14
Penalties: RUS 15-30; USA 9-18
Officials: Referees - Darcy Burchell (CAN), Aleksi Rantala (FIN); Linesmen - Matt MacPherson (CAN), Sakari Suominen (FIN)
Attendance: 3584