RUSSIA VS. CZECH REPUBLIC REWIND
Vojtech Doktor shot the puck from the high circle and Jakub Lauko put home the rebound at 7:50 of the opening frame to give the Czech Republic an early, 1-0 lead.
Russia tied the game, 1-1 at 10:32 when Vladislav Mikhailov put the puck in the net from the slot.
Russian forward Ivan Morozov took advantage of a forced a turnover, short-handed at center ice to break the 1-1 tie at the 15:41 mark of the first.
The Czech Republic tied the game 2-2 at 18:52 of the second after the puck went off the cross bar and into the net off of Russia’s Daniil Isaev.
Andrei Svechnikov sent the puck to Grigory Denisenko in the slot who put Russia up, 3-2 and started the first of seven unanswered Russian goals.
Denisenko netted his second of the game on a penalty shot at 16:01 of the second period.
Semyon Kizimov extended Russia’s lead, 5-2 at 5:23 of the third before Mikhailov netted his second of the game at 7:31.
Svechnikov netted two goals 2:25 apart late in the third period before Anton Malyshev added the ninth and final Russian goal.
FINLAND VS. SWEDEN REWIND
Both teams came out strong in the first period, netting a combined five goals.
Finland opened scoring with Arttu Nevasaari putting the puck in the net at 7:53 of the opening frame.
Sweden answered back with two goals from Simon Lundmark and Oskac Bäck at 9:11 and 10:25 to take a 2-1 lead.
After giving up a 1-0 lead and two goals, Finland scored three straight to lead, 4-2 early in the second period.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi gave Finland a 3-2 lead at 15:46 of the first before Nevasaari netted his second of the game on the power play at 6:03 of the second period.
Kotkaniemi netted his second of the game, and fourth point of the night, sending a wrister in from the slot at 16:12 of the third to give Finland the 5-2 lead.
Sweden scored at 19:51 of the third for a final score of 5-3.
RUSSIA VS. FINLAND REWIND:
Russia defeated Finland Wednesday afternoon, 4-0. Russian goaltender Amir Miftakhof made 28 saves to earn the tournament’s first shutout performance.
USA VS CZECH REPUBLIC REWIND:
The Czech Republic defeated USA, 6-2 Wednesday night. Matej Blumel netted a natural hat trick and scored four goals on the night with one goal in the first off the powerplay, two goals in the second period at 13:02 and 18:45 marks, and one in the third.
TOURNAMENT REWIND
Finland defeated the Czech Republic, 3-2 in the opening game of the 2018 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament at USA Hockey Arena.
Jesse Moilanen scored the eventual game winner for Finland at the 14:01 of the second period. After a series of passes from Niklas Nordgren, Moilanen sent the puck in over the glove of the Czech Republic’s Lukáš Dostál.
The Czech Republic pulled within one at 5:45 of the third period but eventually fell short. Adam Gajarsky netted the Czech Republic's second goal on the power play, on a shot from the point.
Dostál finished the game with 23 saves for the Czech Republic while Finland’s Justus Annunen finished the game with 22 saves.
The U.S. National Under-18 Team defeated Sweden, 5-1 in its opening game of the Under-18 Five Nations Tournament at USA Hockey Arena behind three point nights from Bode Wilde (Birmingham, Mich.), Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) and Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.).
Drew DeRidder (Fenton, Mich.) tallied 22 saves in the win while Sweden’s Jesper Eliasson recorded 28 saves.
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
Each team will compete in four games, with points awarded for wins (3), overtime wins (2) and overtime losses (1). The first-place team will be determined based on final point standings.
TOP NHL-ELIGIBLE TALENT
Of the 112 players in the tournament, 72 are rated by NHL's Central Scouting Bureau for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
Thirty-one players in the tournament are rated in the Top 40 of the North American or International skaters.
Team USA has the most players on the Central Scouting list with 18.
U18 FIVE NATIONS HISTORY
The Under-18 Five Nations and Four Nations tournaments are held twice a season. The U.S. has placed first in at least one of the two yearly events dating back to the 2007-08 season. In total, the U.S. has won the event 19 times since the U.S. began participating in 1997-1998.
The U.S. has won both of the yearly tournaments five times (2003-04, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2016-17).
NOVEMBER'S FIVE NATIONS
In the November U18 Five Nations tournament in Finland, the U18s went 1-0-2-1 (W-OTW-OTL, L) in the tournament to tie the Czech Republic for third place. Joel Farabee (Cicero, N.Y.) and Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) led Team USA in the tournament with three points (1-2-3) in their three games.