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Both the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams are taking part in their first international tournaments of the season, with the Under-18 Team in Switzerland for the Five Nations Tournament while the Under-17 Team continues at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in British Columbia.
FIVE NATIONS: The Five Nations Tournament in Monthey, Switzerland, features the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Team USA.
The U18s open against the Czech Republic today before taking on Sweden on Thursday, Finland on Saturday and host Switzerland on Sunday.
“The first international tournament is always a good measuring stick,” U18 coach Danton Cole said. “It allows us to see how we measure us and where other teams are at this point.”
The U18s ran their unbeaten streak to six games with a 3-2 shootout win over Chicago on Friday. Zach Walker (Boise, Idaho) and Graham McPhee (Bethesda, Md.) tallied the goals in regulation, while Adam Fox (Jericho, N.Y.) and Kieffer Bellows (Edina, Minn.) scored the only two goals in the shootout. Goalies Joseph Woll (St. Louis, Mo.) and Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) combined for 29 saves.
HOCKEY CHALLENGE: The U17s opened the World U17 Challenge with a 6-1 win over the Czech Republic on Sunday and continue against Canada White on Monday. The tournament is being held in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, British Columbia.
Team USA closes out round-robin play against Canada Black on Tuesday. Quarterfinal play begins Thursday, while semifinals are Friday and the medal games Saturday.
*Update: The U.S. defeated Canada White, 7-5, and Canada Black, 6-1, to earn the first seed in Group A. They will face Sweden, the fourth seed in Group B, on Thursday.
Against the Czech Republic, Scott Reedy (Prior Lake, Minn.) scored twice while Jacob Tortora (Victor, N.Y.), Joey Cassetti (Pleasanton, Calif.), Sasha Chmelevski (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Tommy Miller (West Bloomfield, Mich.) had single markers. Goalie Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) kicked out 26 of 27 shots to earn the win.
The U17s opened pre-tournament action with a 4-3 win against Canada Red on Friday.
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.