Örnsköldsvik, Sweden -- Cole Caufield (Stevens Points, Wis.) scored twice, but the U.S. Under-18 Men's National fell to Russia, 3-2, in the shootout here today in the semifinals of the 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Men’s World Championship.
Team USA will compete for the bronze medal tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. ET/3:30 p.m. local and is live on NHL Network.
“I thought despite having a slow start, the guys really turned it on and played a strong game overall,” said John Wroblewski (Nennah, Wis.), head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team. “Russia deserves a lot of credit for the way they played as well, they were very thorough and Askorov was a frustrating goaltender to go against. We need to have our best foot forward to come home with some hardware tomorrow.”
Team USA and Russia were scoreless through the first period despite multiple power-play opportunities by the U.S. Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.) stood tall throughout the opening frame, stopping all 14 Russian shots on goal.
Russia took the lead with 1:36 remaining in the second period with a shorthanded goal, giving them a 1-0 advantage entering the final 20 minutes.
Caufield tied the game on the power play 12 seconds into the final frame with a diving shot from the bottom of the right circle off a feed from Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.). The goal gave Caufield the record for all-time goals scored by an American at the U18 Men’s Worlds (17), and Hughes the record for most points at a single U18 Men’s Worlds as an American (17).
He struck again 3:16 into the third period when he one-timed a rebound off a Case McCarthy (Clarence Center, N.Y.) shot from the point.
Russia found the equalizer with 12:33 remaining off a shot from the point that found its way through traffic, concluding the regulation scoring and forcing overtime.
A ten-minute, four-on-four overtime produced scoring opportunities on both sides, with the U.S. outshooting the Russians 6-4, but neither team was able to end the game.
Shootout attempts by Alex Turcotte (Island Lake, Ill.), Caufield, Hughes, and Boldy were all stopped by Russian netminder Yaroslav Askorav, and Rodian Amirov scored for Russia to take the game 3-2.
NOTES: Cole Caufield was named U.S. Player of the Game … Team USA outshot Russia 42-34, went 1-for-8 on the power play and killed off all four Russian power play attempts … Cam York, Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield were named the Three Best Players of the tournament for Team USA ... 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 |