MOSCOW, Russia -- The 2007 U.S. Men’s National Team received third-period tallies from Chad LaRose (Fraser, Mich./Carolina Hurricanes) and Andrew Hutchinson(Evanston, Ill./Carolina Hurricanes/Michigan State University) to rally back from a two-goal deficit, but dropped a 4-3 decision to the Czech Republic on a late goal here tonight in the Preliminary Round of the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship.

Team USA, which claimed the No. 2 seed in Group B, now owns a 2-0-0-1 record (W-OTW-OTL-L) record heading into the Qualification Round.

“We played an extremely skilled Czech team tonight,” said Mike Sullivan, head coach of Team USA. “I thought we offered them too much respect early. We’re better when we’re on the attack as opposed to backing off and defending. I give our guys a lot of credit. We played with a never-say-die attitude, particularly in the third period.”

The Czech Republic’s Petr Caslava scored the lone goal of the first period when he tipped in a pass from Jaroslav Hlinka on the power play at the 16:52 mark.

The teams traded goals in the second period to make it a 2-1 contest. Team USA’s Ryan Suter (Madison, Wis./Nashville Predators/University of Wisconsin) evened the game with a power play tally at 4:42, while Zbynek Irgl’s shot from the right faceoff circle beat United States netminder John Grahame (Denver, Colo./Carolina Hurricanes/Lake Superior State University) to the far side at 14:37.

A goal by Petr Tenkrat gave the Czech Republic a 3-1 lead 7:51 into the third period. LaRose then brought Team USA back within a goal when he notched a shorthanded tally from the right faceoff circle off a feed from Keith Ballard (Baudette, Minn./Phoenix Coyotes/University of Minnesota) at 13:59.

Hutchinson tied the game with a power play blast from the point at the 15:37 mark of the final frame, but Jaroslav Bednar notched the game-winning goal for the Czech Republic with just 1:08 remaining in the contest.

Grahame stopped 20 of 24 shots in goal for Team USA. The United States finished 2-for-9 on the power play, while Belarus was 1-for-6 with the man advantage.

The United States will face either Slovakia or Canada on Thursday (May 3) in the first Qualification Round game for both teams. Opening faceoff is set for 4:15 p.m. (local time)/8:15 a.m. (EDT).

NOTES: Team USA claimed a spot in the Qualification Round by earning the No. 2 seed in Group B. The top three teams from each of the four Preliminary Round groups advance to the Qualification Round . . . All 56 games of the 2007 IIHF World Championship are available live and on-demand at WCSN.com. In addition, select games, including all Team USA contests, are available on DISH Network Pay-Per-View . . . Barry Smith, head coach and director of hockey operations with SKA St. Petersburg of the Russian Elite League, is serving as associate head coach of Team USA, while David Quinn, associate head coach for the Boston University men’s ice hockey team, is serving as assistant coach.

SCORING SUMMARY

Scoring By Period
CZE  1-1-2 -- 4
USA  0-1-2 -- 3

First Period – Scoring: 1, CZE, Caslava (Hlinka, Vyborny), 16:52 (pp). Penalties: CZE, Olesz (roughing), 1:48; CZE, Tenkrat (interference), 7:49; CZE, Smid (cross-checking), 8:40; USA, Clark (slashing), 9:39; USA, LaRose (slashing), 14:36; USA, Suter (delay of game), 16:37.

Second Period – Scoring: 2, USA, Suter (Stempniak, Kessel), 4:42 (pp); 3, CZE, Irgl (Olesz, Plekanec), 14:37. Penalties: CZE, Platil (high-sticking), 4:04; CZE, Zidlicky (high-sticking), 7:21; USA, Ballard (interference), 10:19; CZE, Platil (interference), 15:14.

Third Period – Scoring: 4, Tenkrat (Marek), 7:51; 5, USA, LaRose (Ballard), 13:59 (sh); 6, USA, Hutchinson (Suter, Kessel), 15:37 (pp); 7, CZE, Bednar (Marek), 18:52. Penalties: CZE, Novotny (holding), 2:12; CZE, Smid (roughing), 4:12; CZE, Smid (game misconduct), 4:12; CZE, Cechmanek (goalkeeper penalty), 4:12; CZE, Novotny (roughing), 4:12; USA, Grahame (goalkeeper penalty), 4:12; USA, Stempniak (roughing), 4:12; USA, Stempniak (game misconduct), 4:12; USA, Kessel (roughing), 4:12; CZE, Cechmanek (goalkeeper penalty); USA, Alberts (roughing), 10:08; USA, Alberts (slashing), 12:31; CZE, Hubacek (holding), 15:26.

Shots By Period           1      2      3      TOTAL
CZE                       7      14     3       24
USA                       7      10     6       23

Goaltending (SH-SV)       1      2      3      TOTAL
CZE, Cechmanek, 60:00    7-7   10-9    6-4     23-20
USA, Grahame, 59:09      7-6   14-13   3-1     24-20

Power Play: CZE, 1-6, USA 2-9
Penalties: CZE  13-47, USA 10-41
Attendance: 6,100