Örnsköldsvik, Sweden -- Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) had three goals and an assist, Cole Caufield (Stevens Points, Wis.) scored his tournament-leading 12th goal, Trevor Zegras (Bedford, N.Y.) recorded four assists, and Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.) made 21 saves to help the U.S. Under-18 Men's National to a 6-0 win over Finland here today in the quarterfinals of the 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Men’s World Championship.
“I thought a lot of guys played exactly how they needed to for us to succeed,” said John Wroblewski (Nennah, Wis.), head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team. “It started with our goaltending. Our defense did a really nice job. It was a great, all-around team effort.”
Matthew Beniers (Hingham, Mass.) put Team USA ahead 6:25 into play after scoring on a breakaway when he split the Finnish defenders after intercepting a stretch pass from Alex Vlasic (Wilmette, Ill.).
Hughes doubled the lead when he tipped in a Trevor Zegras (Bedford, N.Y.) shot at 11:06.
Team USA successfully killed off a penalty late in the opening frame, with multiple stops from Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.), to maintain the two-goal advantage entering the middle period.
Hughes netted his second of the game and seventh of the tournament when he shot five-hole on Finnish goaltender Roope Taponen 4:56 into the second period.
With 50.6 seconds remaining in the middle stanza, Zegras backhanded a pass to Hughes out front, who completed the hat trick to hold the all-time U.S. record for points scored at the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship.
Cole Caufield (Stevens Point, Wis.) scored with 7:52 left in the game off a feed from Hughes, before Bobby Brink (Minnetonka, Minn.) concluded the scoring 44 seconds later, accounting for the 6-0 final.
Knight made 21 saves in the victory for his first shutout of the tournament.
NOTES: Jack Hughes was named U.S. Player of the Game … Team USA outshot Finland 35-21, went 0-for-4 on the power play and killed off all four Finnish power play attempts ... Team USA news, interviews, highlights and more can be found at TeamUSA.USAHockey.com ... For the official IIHF home for the U18 Men's World Championship, click here .. 21 of the 22 players on the U.S. roster come from USA Hockey's National Team Development Program ... The U.S. enters the tournament having captured a record 15 consecutive medals, including gold medals in seven of the last ten years (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) ... Team USA has won 10 gold medals all-time, the most of any country in IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship history... Follow @USAHockey on Twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with the #U18Worlds tag ... For additional coverage, visit the USA Hockey Facebook page and Instagram account.)
All games at Fjallraven Center
DATE | OPPONENT/ROUND | LOCATION | TIME (LOCAL/ET)/RESULT | TELEVISION | U.S. Player of the Game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fri., April 12 | Finland Exhibition |
Heinola, Finland | L, 0-1 | None | Cam York |
Sat., April 13 | Switzerland Exhibition |
Heinola, Finland | W, 8-0 | None | Jack Hughes |
Thu., April 18 | Sweden Preliminary |
Fjallraven Center Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
W, 6-1 | NHL Network | Cole Caufield |
Fri., April 19 | Slovakia Preliminary |
Fjallraven Center Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
W, 12-5 | NHL Network | Jack Hughes |
Sun., April 21 | Russia Preliminary |
Fjallraven Center Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
W, 6-3 | NHL Network | Alex Turcotte |
Tue., April 23 | Latvia Preliminary |
Fjallraven Center Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
W, 7-1 | NHL Network | John Beecher |
Thu., April 25 | Finland Quarterfinals |
Fjallraven Center Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
W, 6-0 | NHL Network | Jack Hughes |
Sat., April 27 | Russia Semifinals |
Fjallraven Center Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
L, 2-3 (SO) | NHL Network | Cole Caufield |
Sun., April 28 | Canada Bronze-Medal Game |
Fjallraven Center Ornskoldsvik, Sweden |
W 5-2 | NHL Network | Cam York |