Friday, December 29, 2017

U.S. Edges Canada in Snowy WJC Shootout


Former Boston University forward Kiefer Bellows tallied Team USA’s first goal of the day on a power play in regulation, and then added another score in a shootout as the U.S. National Junior Team rebounded from a pair of two-goal deficits to defeat Canada, 4-3, in a round-robin game in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The game was held in snowy conditions before over 44,000 spectators at New Era Field in Orchard Park, N.Y., home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. It was the first outdoor match ever contested in the history of the WJC.

After Canada forged 2-0 and 3-1 leads, including the game-opening goal by Cale Makar (Massachusetts), Scott Perunovich (Minnesota-Duluth) got the U.S. within a goal early in the third period off a power-play set-up by Casey Mittelstadt (Minnesota). Mittelstadt then picked up his third assist of the afternoon when he orchestrated the tying goal by Brady Tkachuk (Boston University) later in the stanza.

Following a scoreless five-minute overtime period, Bellows and Tkachuk notched the only goals of the shootout to lift Team USA to the victory. Jake Oettinger (Boston University) finished with 19 saves and added an assist in regulation for the U.S., which lost to Slovakia on Thursday, and also did not allow a shootout goal in four tries by Canada.

The U.S., which outshot Canada, 36-22, now trails its first-place northern neighbor by two points in Group “A” play. The Americans will finish the round-robin portion of the tournament on Sunday against Finland, while the Canadians will take on winless Denmark on Saturday.

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