ZLIN, Czech Republic -- Kate Flug (Roseville, Minn.), MaryAnne Kennedy-Menefee (Lansing, Mich.) and Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Md.) each recorded two goals to help the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team to a 7-1 victory against Germany in the semifinals of the 2012 IIHF Women's World U18 Championship. With the victory, Team USA improves to 4-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) and will play the winner of the Canada-Sweden semifinal in the gold-medal game on Saturday (Jan. 7) at 1 p.m. EST.
"We came out in the first five minutes and played very well to set the pace," said Heather Linstad, head coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team. "We're gearing towards what we wanted to do by making it to the gold-medal game and playing well."
Flug opened the scoring at 4:03 of the first period with a defelection off of a Courtney Burke (Albany, N.Y.) shot. Germany evened the score at 11:24, but Team USA captain Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) beat German netminder Janina Fuchs with a shot under the crossbar at 12:52 to help the U.S. reclaim the lead. Skarupa found the back of the net at 18:46 to give Team USA a 3-1 advantage entering the first intermission.
Despite outshooting Germany, 32-2, in the second period, Kennedy-Menefee scored the lone goal of the frame when she deflected in a shot from Anne Pankowski (Laguna Hills, Calif.).
Kennedy-Menefee connected on another rebound from Pankowski at 10:45 to put the U.S. up 5-1 midway through the third period. Skarupa tallied her 11th goal of the tournament at 11:03 before Flug scored her second of the night at 14:45 to round out the 7-1 victory.
Brianna Laing (Marblehead, Mass.) made five saves in the win, while Fuchs made 79 saves for Germany.
NOTES: Courtney Burke was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... Haley Skarupa leads the tournament in scoring with 11 points (11-0) ... Team USA recorded 86 shots on goal, while Germany had 6 ... Alex Carpenter is Team USA's captain ... The IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, being played for the fifth time, includes teams from Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States ... Team USA captured gold in each of the first two years of the tournament (2008, 2009) as well as last season (2011). In 2010, the team took home the silver medal ... Heather Linstad, head women's ice hockey coach at the University of Connecticut, is the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team for the 2011-12 season. She is assisted by Joel Johnson and Hilary Witt ... To follow the team in the Czech Republic, check out the U.S. Women's National Program blog by clicking here ... Post-game video interviews can be found by clicking here.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring By Period
| USA | 3 - | 1 - | 3 - | 7 |
| GER | 1 - | 0- | 0 - | 1 |
First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Flug (Burke), 4:03; 2, GER, Spielberger (Delarbre), 11:24; 3, USA, Carpenter (Pankowski, Kennedy-Menefee), 12:52; 4, USA, Skarupa (Burke), 18:46. Penalties: GER, Bartsch (tripping), 4:32; USA, LaShomb (roughing), 16:40.
Second Period -Scoring: 5, USA, Kennedy-Menefee (Pankowski, Carpenter). Penalties: USA, Daniels (slashing), 10:37.
Third Period - Scoring: 6, USA, Kennedy-Menefee (Pankowski), 10:45; 7, USA, Skarupa (unassisted), 11:03; 8, USA Flug (Illikainen), 14:45. Penalties: GER, Kluge (roughing), 2:43.
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Shots by Period
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1
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2
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3
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Total
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 31 | 32 | 23 | 86 |
| GER | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Goaltenders (SH/SV) | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total |
| USA, Laing, 60:00 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 6-5 |
| GER, Fuchs, 60:00 | 31-28 | 32-31 | 23-20 | 86-79 |
Power Play: USA 0-2; GER 0-2
Penalties: USA 2-4; GER 2-4
Tag(s): 2012
