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*Photos courtesy of PuckSnack.com.
SUNDSVALL, Sweden - Jack Roslovic (Columbus, Ohio) netted three goals and Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.) earned three assists as the U.S. National Under-18 Team bested Switzerland, 7-1, here today at Energi Arena. With the victory, Team USA improves to 2-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) at the 2014 Under-18 Four Nations Tournament.
The United States put Switzerland on notice 5:53 into the opening frame. Matthews circled with the puck, keeping away from defenders and drawing attention before flipping it to an open Roslovic in slot for score. Less than two minutes later, Team USA struck on the power play. Cycling the puck at the top of the zone, Matthews fired a shot that was redirected into the net by Roslovic. Joseph Masonius (Spring Lake, N.J.) also assisted. The U.S. went up 3-0 when Grant Gabriele (Brighton, Mich.) found Roslovic with a cross-ice pass and Roslovic one-timed it into the cage. Matthews collected the secondary assist. Christian Fischer (Wayne, Ill.) pushed the Team USA lead to four, wrapping around the net and sneaking the puck past Swiss netminder Matteo Ritz at 14:08. Jordan Greenway (Potsdam, N.Y.) helped set up the play and earned an assist. Michael Floodstrand (Hinsdale, Ill.) followed up a Troy Terry (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) chance and knocked a rebound in with seven seconds remaining in the period for the fifth U.S. tally.
Jeremy Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.) connected with Colin White (Hanover, Mass.) on the power play at 5:44 of the second stanza to make it 6-0 in favor of the United States. Luke Kunin (Chesterfield, Mo.) also assisted. Switzerland found the board in the closing minutes of the middle period to inch closer to Team USA, 6-1.
White potted the lone goal of the final frame, sending a shot past Ritz at 8:58. Bracco skated down the right side and found a streaking White in the slot for the tally. Steven Ruggiero (Kings Park, N.Y.) also assisted.
Luke Opilka (St. Louis, Mo.) turned aside 26 shots in the win for the U.S., while Ritz kicked out 28 shots in the loss for Switzerland.
The U.S. National Under-18 Team will close out tournament play tomorrow (Nov. 9) against Sweden. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. EST at Energi Arena.
Team USA outshot Switzerland, 35-27 ... The U.S. went 2-6 on the power play while Switzerland went 0-5 ... The official tournament website can be found here ... Tournament games will be broadcast live online here, on a pay-per-view basis ... Follow @USANTDP and @USAHockeyScores on Twitter for tournament updates and join the conversation on social media by using #4NationsU18 ... The roster is made up entirely of members of the 2014-15 U.S. National Under-18 Team, part of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program based in Ann Arbor, Michigan ... The U.S. squad will compete against teams from Finland, Sweden and Switzerland in the round-robin tournament ... The United States has won six of the last seven Under-18 Four Nations Tournaments, including the 2012 event, which was played at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Ice Cube, home of the NTDP ... Don Granato (Downers Grove, Ill.) is leading the U.S. National Under-18 Team for the second time in the event, having previously coached the U.S. to a first-place finish in 2012. Joining Granato on the bench will be assistant coach Nick Fohr (Grand Forks, N.D.).