BRECLAV, Czech Republic – The U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team fell, 3-1, to the Czech Republic here at Fosfa Arena in its final exhibition matchup ahead of the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
“I thought our team had a good first period, but we learned a solid lesson in the second period,” said head coach Pat Ferschweiler. “I thought they outworked us in the second and third periods. At the end of the day, they were the better team and we’ll have to be better if we want a chance to beat Russia on Monday.”
Following a scoreless first period, Jack Williams (Biddeford, Maine) gave Team USA a 1-0 lead midway through the second period after burying a feed from Mark Estapa (St. Clair, Mich.), but the Czech Republic responded with a pair of goals less than two minutes apart to take a 2-1 advantage heading into the second intermission.
The U.S. generated several scoring chances throughout the final frame but could not capitalize, and the Czech Republic added a goal on a penalty shot with just more than six minutes to play to account for the 3-1 final.
Goaltenders Louden Hogg (Edina, Minn.) made 16 saves in the net for the U.S. while Colin Purcell (Shaker Heights, Ohio) stopped nine shots.
The U.S. opens play in the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup against Russia Monday (Aug. 5) at Easton Arena in Pieštany, Slovakia. Puck drop for the pool play contest is set for 3:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. ET).
NOTES: Louden Hogg was named the U.S. Player of the Game … Team USA was 0-3 on the power play, while the Czech Republic was 0-6 … Follow Team USA throughout the tournament by clicking here.
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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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