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Gameday: U.S. Concludes Hlinka Gretzky Cup vs. Czech Republic

By USA Hockey, 08/09/19, 5:30AM EDT

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Team USA to face host nation in fifth-place game

BRECLAV, Czech Republic – The U.S. Under-18 Men's Select team wraps up action at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup with a matchup against the Czech Republic today at 9:30 a.m. ET. Live scoring for today's game can be found here

Today's Opponent: Czech Republic

Team USA is 3-2 (W-L) in its last five tournament games against the Czech Republic. Last year, the U.S. defeated the Czechs, 6-2, in the preliminary-round opener. Robert Mastrosimone (East Islip, N.Y.), a second-round selection in this year's NHL Draft, tallied two goals in the victory. The U.S. suffered a 7-3 setback to the Czechs during the 2017 tournament, going on to take fifth place at the event after defeating Finland, 4-3, in overtime.

During the 2016 tournament, the U.S. defeated the Czechs, 4-2, in preliminary play before falling, 4-3, to them in the championship game. The two teams entered the third period locked in a 3-3 tie, but a late goal from Czechia's Ondrej Machala gave the Czechs a 4-3 advantage, and the U.S. was unable to notch an equalizer. The U.S. earned a 4-3 victory over the Czech Republic at the 2015 event. 

Game 3 Recap: 

A back-and-forth rally between the U.S. and Sweden Wednesday in Piestany, Slovakia ended in the latter team's favor when Sweden defeated Team USA in a shootout to earn a semifinal berth. 

After closing out regulation locked in a 4-4 tie, neither the U.S. nor Sweden could convert in the five-minute overtime period, and instead settled the game with a penalty shootout. Cross Hanas (Highland Village, Texas) and Mark Estapa (St. Clair, Mich.) made penalty shots for the U.S., but Sweden prevailed in the seventh round off the stick of Daniel Ljungman. 

Louden Hogg (Edina, Minn.) made a tournament-high 25 saves in the net. 

Like (Grand)father, Like (Grand)son: 

U.S. defenseman Wyatt Kaiser (Ham Lake, Minn.) is not the first skater in his family to don the Team USA jersey in an international competition. His grandfather, Blane Comstock, represented the United States in three World Championships and appeared on the world stage as a goaltender for U.S. Olympic Team at the 1976 Winter Olympics. For the full story, click here

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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