ON TO THE MEDAL ROUND

The U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team scored four third period goals and held a 41-17 shot advantage to earn a 5-1 victory against Russia here today in the quarterfinals of the 2018 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship at Traktor Ice Rink.  

The victory marked the first quarterfinal victory against Russia in the history of the tournament and improved its record against Russia to 7-1-0-10 (W-OTW-OTL-L) all-time. 

The victory also secured Team USA a spot in the semifinal for the 16th consecutive year. 

The U.S. will now face the Czech Republic in the semifinal on Saturday. Opening faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. local (10:30 a.m. ET) and can be seen live on NHL Network.

“I thought our defense did a great job handling the speed and talent of Russia’s line rushes,” said Seth Appert (Cottage Grove, Minn./USAH NTDP), head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team. “We’ve done a really good job offensively throughout this tournament and our continued focus on improving our defensive play will help us keep getting better in every game we play.”

UPDATING QUARTERFINAL HISTORY

The U.S. played in its 11th quarterfinal matchup i20-year0 year history of the IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship today. In the previous 10 quarterfinal matchups the U.S. has only lost once. The loss came back in 2001 when the U.S. made its first appearance in the quarterfinals. The U.S. lost to the Czech Republic 5-4 in overtime. Since that point, the U.S. has now won the straight quarterfinal matchups, including three against the Czech Republic, who they will now face in tomorrow's semifinal matchup. 


Joel Farabee celebrating a goal during the NTDP regular season | Photo by Rena Laverty

Joel Farabee (Cicero, N.Y.) is tied for second in Team USA goals (4) and shots on goal (24) and scored the short-handed game-winning goal for the U.S. against Russia today. Currently playing in his second IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship, Farabee was only one of two players to be called up from the Under-17 age group last year. Last April, the Boston University commit had six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in the tournament, helping Team USA win their tenth gold medal.

Recently, NHL.com highlighted Joel as one of the NHL Central Scouting’s top ranked prospects. To read the profile, click here. Scroll below to see some of his ‘Favorites.’

Favorite NHL Player: Patrick Kane

Favorite NHL Team: Buffalo Sabres

Favorite Movie: Semi Pro

Favorite Off-Ice Activity: Golf

Favorite Netflix Binge: White Collar

Favorite Pump-Up Song: Congratulations by Post Malone

Favorite Meal: Chicken Parm

Favorite App: Twitter