Today's Opponent: Slovakia

Team USA is 5-0 (W-L) in its last five meetings with Slovakia at the Five Nations tournament, outscoring the Slovaks 32-7 over that span. 

The two teams most recently met in the 2018 event when the U.S. defeated Slovakia, 5-0, in its final outing of the tournament to finish third with a 2-2 (W-L) record. Mark Estapa (St. Clair, Mich.), Cross Hanas (Highland Village, Texas), Mackie Samoskevich (Sandy Hook, Conn.) and Jack Williams (Biddeford, Maine), who all recently competed at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, recorded goals in the win. 

Curley at the Helm: 

Matt Curley (Madrid, N.Y.) is the head coach of the 2019 U.S. Under-17 Men's Select Team after serving as an assistant coach during the 2018 event in Piestany, Slovakia where the team finished third. Curley recently finished his first year as the head coach of the University of Alaska Anchorage men's hockey team, and previously spent three seasons as the head coach of the Alps Hockey League's EC Red Bulls Juniors team in Salzburg, Austria. Curley is assisted by Mike Corbett (Green Bay, Wis.), Rich Hansen (New York, N.Y.) and Dave Caruso (Roswell, Ga.) 

About the Tournament: 

The Under-17 Five Nations Tournament takes place annually and features a round-robin style tournament in which the U.S. competes alongside the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia and Switzerland. The 2019 U.S. Under-17 Select Team roster was chosen from players skating at USA Hockey's 2019 Boys Select 16 Player Development Camp in Amherst, New York.