FÜSSEN, Germany –The U.S. Under-17 Men's Select Team suffered its first loss of the 2019 Five Nations Tournament after falling, 6-3, to the Czech Republic today at Füssen Arena.
"It's a disappointing result tonight with a tough loss," said head coach Matt Curley. "Tomorrow we have a chance to rebound and try to finish out the tournament strong."
Team USA closes out its 2019 Five Nations campaign with a matchup against host-nation Germany on Saturday (Aug. 17) at Füssen Arena. Puck drop is slated for 4:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. ET) and the game will be streamed live on SportDeutschland.tv.
Jackson Blake (Eden Prairie, Minn.) gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead 5:44 into the opening stanza, but the Czechs responded with a powerplay tally of their own three minutes later to tie the game.
Team USA regained the lead near the midway point of the frame after Luke Buss (Kansas City, Mo.) picked up the loose puck in the neutral zone and outraced everyone for a breakaway tally to make it a 2-1 game.
Czechia once again responded as Jiri Tichacek snuck the puck in behind Hobie Hedquist (Heron Lake, Minn.) to tie the game with 19 seconds remaining in the first period.
The U.S. generated several quality chances in the middle frame, but goaltender Tomas Suchanek stood tall in the net as the Czechs scored three goals to take a 5-2 lead heading into the third period.
Matt Argentina (Philadelphia, Penn.) cut the Czech’s lead to 5-3 in the opening seconds of the final frame. With Team USA possessing a 5-on-3 powerplay, Kenny Connors (Glen Mills, Penn.) found Argentina for a shot he slipped past Suchanek to tally his sixth point of the tournament.
Highlights
Despite outshooting the Czechs in the final stanza, the U.S. could not rally as the Czech Republic added a sixth goal with 2:09 to play in regulation to account for the 6-3 final.
For full game statistics, click here.
NOTES: Kenny Connors (1G, 6A) leads the tournament in scoring with seven points … Jackson Blake and Connors each tallied multi-point efforts … Follow Team USA throughout the 2019 Five Nations Tournament here.
U.S. Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Time (Local/ET)/Result | Streaming | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Aug. 9 | Red Bull Academy U-18 (Exh.) | W, 7-1 | N/A | N/A |
| Sun., Aug. 11 | Germany (Exh.) | W, 5-0 | N/A | N/A |
| Tues., Aug. 13 | Slovakia | W, 9-3 | SportDeutschland.tv | Box Score |
| Thurs., Aug. 15 | Switzerland | W, 5-2 | SportDeutschland.tv | Box Score |
| Fri., Aug. 16 | Czech Republic | L, 3-6 | SportDeutschland.tv | Box Score |
| Sat., Aug. 17 | Germany | W, 7-3 | SportDeutschland.tv | Box Score |
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