EDMONTON, Alberta - Trevor Zegras (Bedford, N.Y.) had two goals and two assists and Matthew Boldy (Millis, Mass.) scored three times as 16 different players recorded points in the U.S. National Junior Team’s 11-0 victory over Austria here tonight in preliminary round play of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
“It was a great bounce back win and I give a lot of credit to our leadership group to have the team ready,” said head coach Nate Leaman (East Greenwich, R.I.). “I thought we faced some adversity in the first period and I’m proud of the way that they fought through it and stayed with it and played hard until the end.”
The U.S. outshot Austria 22-3 in the opening frame and scored the only goal of the first 20 minutes at 15:31 when a puck bounced off defenseman Drew Helleson (Farmington, Minn.) out in front and through the legs of Austrian netminder Sebastian Wraneschitz at 15:31. Alex Turcotte (Chicago, Ill.) and Zegras drew assists on the play.
The U.S. extended its lead with six goals on 30 shots in the middle frame to take a 7-0 lead after 40 minutes. Boldy and Zegras led the charge with two goals apiece. Zegras sent the puck top shelf on Wraneschitz twice, including a shot off the back of the netminder’s helmet. Boldy went tape-to-tape on his first goal with Matthew Beniers (Hingham, Mass.) before scoring off the rebound on a Cam York (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) shot while on the power play.
Brendan Brisson (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and John Farinacci (Red Bank, N.J.) added to Team USA’s lead. Collecting the puck off his skate, Farinacci netted his shot from the combined efforts of Ryan Johnson (Irvine, Calif.) and Brett Berard (East Greenwich, R.I.) with 14:57 remaining. Brisson’s one-timer lasered in under the arm of Wraneschitz after receiving a pass from Jake Sanderson (Whitefish, Mont.) with 11:55 left in the period. Brisson’s goal came on the power play.
USA’s lead only grew in the third period opening with a goal from Berard as he flew up the ice and sized up with Austria’s defenseman, sinking the puck in the net. Forty-two seconds later, a battle for the puck against the boards was won by the U.S, as Moynihan and Tyler Kleven (Fargo, N.D.) passed back and forth before Brisson collected a rebound to put the U.S. up 9-0.
Team USA finished out the final frame scoring two more goals, including a hat trick goal from Boldy as he rushed the net for a tap-in pass from Zegras and Moynihan. Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.) scored a quick one-timer off a Brock Faber (Maple Grove, Minn.) feed. Colangelo’s goal came on the forward’s 19th birthday.
The United States (1-0-0-1) will face the Czech Republic (0-0-0-1) on Tuesday, with puck drop set for Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. ET on NHL Network.
NOTES: Trevor Zegras (Bedford, N.Y.) was named U.S. Player of the Game … U.S. outshot Austria, 73-10 … The U.S. went 2-fo- 3 on the power play and Austria was 0-for-2 … The 73 shots on goal Team USA recorded against Austria tonight marked the most since a 61-shot effort in a 12-0 win over Kazakhstan on Dec. 30, 2008, at the 2009 World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ontario.