KAZAN, Russia - The U.S. National Under-18 Team filed a 43-10 shot advantage and received points from 11 different players en route to earning a 5-0 victory over Denmark here Thursday night. The contest served as a tune up for Team USA in preparation for the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship, which begins this Sunday (April 13).

"This was a very good game for us to play to get re-connected as a group in live action," said John Hynes, head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team. "Now we have to focus on starting the tournament off strong against Switzerland on Sunday."

Team USA lit up the scoreboard first as Robbie Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) netted his 16th goal of the year at the 13:48 mark of the first period. Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Ryan Hegarty (Arlington, Mass.) each picked up assists on the play. Hegarty sent the puck through the neutral zone to Kristo, who directed a pass from the left circle onto the stick off Czarnik right in front of Denmark's net. Czarnik then slipped a low shot through the legs of goaltender Nikolaj Norbak.

Kyle Palmieri (Montvale, N.J.) gave the United States a 2-0 advantage when he converted a breakaway at 4:44 of the second stanza, thanks to a helper from David Warsofsky (Marshfield, Mass.). The defenseman whistled a cross-ice pass from Team USA's zone onto Palmieri's stick just inside the Denmark's blue line, giving Palmieri a wide-open lane to the net. Palmieri then made a move to his forehand, but reversed to his back hand, and lifted a shot up high past Norbak on the stick side.

Later in the period, Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) helped Team USA open a 3-0 lead with a power-play marker at the 11:48 mark. Jordan Schroeder (Prior Lake, Minn.) handed out the lone assist on the goal, which represented his team-best 48th point of the 2007-08 campaign. Schroeder sent a pass from the right point that Morin used to place a shot from the bottom of the left circle into the back of the net.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team added two additional goals in the final frame — one courtesy of Kevin McCarey (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and another off the stick of Aaron Ness(Roseau, Minn.). McCarey wristed a shallow angle shot from the bottom of the right circle by Norbak at 11:31, after taking a timely feed from Patrick Gaul (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Ness scored during a man advantage with five seconds left in the game. Colin Moore (Medfield, Mass.) skated the puck around the Denmark net and found Ness positioned in the slot. Ness took Moore's pass and fired it inside the left post.

Joe Cannata (Wakefield, Mass.) made eight saves in 29:50 of action, while Brandon Maxwell (Winter Park, Fla.) stopped two shots in the second-half of the game. Norbak finished with 38 saves for Denmark.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team (28-20-2-4) kicks off the 2008 IIHF World Under-18 Championship vs. Switzerland at Arena Kazan Sunday (April 13). Opening faceoff is slated for 7 p.m. local time and 11 a.m. EDT.

Notes: The 2008 IIHF World Under-18 Championship will feature the best athletes under the age of 18 with participating teams including the United States, Belarus, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland ... Team USA won the silver medal at the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship and won the gold medal at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship in both 2005 and 2006 to mark the first time in U.S. hockey history that a team has earned back-to-back gold medals at an IIHF event.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

DEN 0 0 0 0
USA 1 2 2 5

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Czarnik (Kristo, Hegarty), 13:48. Penalties: USA, Wohlberg (hooking), 2:46; DEN, Svendsen (cross checking), 3:18; USA, Czarnik (boarding), 4:18; USA, Lofquist (boarding), 6:31; DEN, Jensen A. (holding the stick), 11:24; USA, Czarnik (boarding), 14:11; DEN, Svendsen (boarding), 17:40.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, USA, Palmieri (Warsofsky), 4:44; 3, USA, Morin (Schroeder), 11:48 (pp). Penalties: DEN, Jensen A. (hooking), 1:06; USA, Morin (high sticking), 6:43; DEN, Jensen J. (holding the stick), 11:06; DEN, Nielsen (tripping), 13:10; DEN, Christiansen (elbowing), 18:57.

Third Period - Scoring: 4, USA, McCarey (Gaul), 15:31; 5, USA, Ness (Moore), 19:55 (pp). Penalties: USA, Palmieri (tripping), 1:37; USA, Florek (tripping), 8:05; USA, Pryor (holding), 10:20; DEN, Mieritz (hooking), 19:23.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
DEN   7 1 2 10
USA   12 23 8 43
           
Goaltenders (SH/SV)   1 2 3 Total
DEN, Norbak, 60:00   12-11 23-21 8-6 43-38
USA, Maxwell, 30:03   x-x 0-0 2-2 2-2
USA, Cannata, 29:50   7-7 1-1 x-x 8-8

Power Play: DEN 0-8; USA 2-8
Penalties: DEN 8-16; USA 8-16
Officials: Referee - n/a; Linesmen - n/a
Attendance: 79