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Gameday: U.S. Men Face France In Prelims

By USA Hockey, 05/11/19, 10:50PM EDT

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Watch live on NHL Network at 6:15 a.m. ET

The U.S. will look to rebound and pick up its first win of the 83rd IIHF Men’s World Championship here today against France. Opening faceoff is set for 12:15 p.m. local time (6:15 a.m. ET) and the game can be seen live on NHL Network in the U.S.

The two countries have met 10 previous times, with the U.S. winning all but one of those encounters. In the last meeting, which occurred at the 2016 world championship in Russia, the U.S. got goals from defensemen Chris Wideman, Connor Murphy, and Brady Skjei, along with forward JT Compher, plus 19 saves from Mike Condon in a 4-0 blanking of France.

Team USA's likely starter in goal today is Thatcher Demko. The San Diego, California, native, who attended Boston College and prior to that played with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, will be making his IIHF Men’s World Championship debut. He is, no stranger to the international stage, having donned the U.S. sweater at both the 2014 and 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2013 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship. All total, Demko is 4-2-0-5 (w-otw-otl-l) with a 2.06 goals against average and .916 save percentage in major international play.

Christian Wolanin will also be in the lineup today. He did not dress in Friday’s game vs. Slovakia. Wolanin played collegiately at the University of North Dakota and this season was in the Ottawa Senators lineup for 30 games. He is the son of Craig Wolanin, who had a 13-year NHL career.

The U.S. will also play tomorrow (May 13) against Finland to finish the first of two “back-to-backs” in the world championship. Team USA will also play consecutive games against Denmark and Germany on May 18-19.


U.S. Game Schedule

Date Opponent/Round Time (Local/ET)/Result Location Television U.S. Player of the Game
Tues., May 7 Germany
Pre-Tournament
W, 5-2 SAP Arena
Mannheim, Germany
Live Stream Johnny Gaudreau
Fri., May 10 Slovakia
Preliminary
L, 1-4 Steel Arena
Kosice, Slovakia
NHL Network Jack Eichel
Sun., May 12 France
Preliminary
W, 7-1 Steel Arena
Kosice, Slovakia
NHL Network Alex DeBrincat
Mon., May 13 Finland
Preliminary
OTW, 3-2 Steel Arena
Kosice, Slovakia
NHL Network Brady Skjei
Wed., May 15 Great Britain
Preliminary
W, 6-3 Steel Arena
Kosice, Slovakia
NHL Network Patrick Kane
Sat., May 18 Denmark
Preliminary
W, 7-1 Steel Arena
Kosice, Slovakia
NHL Network Dylan Larkin
Sun., May 19 Germany
Preliminary
W, 3-1 Steel Arena
Kosice, Slovakia
NHL Network Alec Martinez
Tues., May 21 Canada
Preliminary
L, 0-3 Steel Arena
Kosice, Slovakia
NHL Network Cory Schneider
Thurs., May 23 Russia
Quarterfinal
L, 3-4 Ondrej Nepela Arena
Bratislava, Slovakia
NHL Network Jack Hughes

2019 U.S. Roster

Sights & Sounds

IIHF Tournament Website

U.S. Men's Worlds History


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