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U.S. Defeats Hungary in Exhibition Ahead of Hlinka Gretzky Cup

By USA Hockey, 08/01/19, 12:15PM EDT

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Hanas scores two goals, Ellis tallies game-winner in pre-tournament test

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Cross Hanas (Highland Village, Texas) led the U.S. with two goals as the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team defeated Hungary 6-4 in an exhibition matchup Thursday night at Ujpesti Jegcsarnok Arena ahead of the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Noah Ellis (Urbandale, Iowa) notched the game-winner for Team USA in the third period and Alex Gagne (Bedford, N.H) collected two assists in the victory. 

“It was great team effort," said head coach Pat Ferschweiler. "We did a lot of good things, and we have some things to improve on. We’re looking forward to the next game.”

The U.S. will take on the Czech Republic in its final exhibition matchup ahead of preliminary-round play Saturday (Aug. 3) at Ice Bors Arena in Breclav, Czech Republic. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. ET). The game will be streamed on HokejkaTV.

After trailing Hungary 1-0 at the 10:28 mark of the first period, Alex Gaffney (Norton Shores, Mich.) opened the scoring for Team USA, beating Hungarian goaltender Markus Levente glove-side less than 30 seconds later to tie the game.

Hanas scored his first of the contest on a give-and-go feed from Ben Schoen (Maumee, Ohio), giving the U.S. a 2-1 lead to end the first period. 

After Hungary equalized a minute into the second period, Ryan Beck (Linden, Mich.) regained the lead for Team USA and the score remained 3-2 in favor of the U.S. going into the second break.

Team USA and Hungary exchanged scoring in the third period. Hanas nabbed his second of the night and gave the U.S. a two-goal lead early in the final stanza. Hungary answered with a pair of goals to knot the score 4-4 with 12:57 to play.

The back-and-forth scoring ended in Team USA’s favor when Ellis tallied the game-winner with 10 minutes to play and Mark Estapa (St. Clair, Mich) added an insurance goal to secure a 6-4 victory.

Colin Purcell (Shaker Heights, Ohio) saved four of six shots in goal for Team USA, and Louden Hogg (Edina, Minn.) made six saves in the relief effort. 

For the complete game statistics, click here.

NOTES: Alex Gaffney (Norton Shores, Mich.) was named the U.S. Player of the Game ... The U.S. outshot Hungary 38-14 ... 10 different skaters tallied points for Team USA

2019 U.S. Roster

2019 Homepage

U.S. Schedule

Date Opponent Round Time (Local/ET)/Result Location Streaming Statistics U.S. Player of Game
Thurs., Aug. 1 Hungary (Under-20) Exhibition W, 6-4 Budapest, Hungary Live Stream
Box Score Alex Gaffney
Sat., Aug. 3 Czech Republic Exhibition L, 1-3 Břeclav, Czech Republic Requires VPN with Czech IP Address Box Score Louden Hogg
Mon., Aug. 5 Russia Preliminary L, 2-6
Piešťany, Slovakia Requires VPN with Slovakia IP Address
Box Score Jake Ratzlaff
Tues., Aug. 6 Slovakia Preliminary W, 4-3 (OT)
Piešťany, Slovakia Requires VPN with Slovakia IP Address
Box Score Ryan Beck
Wed., Aug. 7 Sweden Preliminary L, 4-5 (SOL)
Piešťany, Slovakia Requires VPN with Slovakia IP Address
Box Score Ryan Kirwan
Fri., Aug. 9 Czech Republic Fifth-Place Game L, 3-4 (OT)
Břeclav, Czech Republic Requires VPN with Czech IP Address
Box Score Wyatt Kaiser

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