The fellas from Finland are not having the best time here in Lake Placid as Team USA handed them their third loss in as many days and the frustration was visible. The Americans got goals from Stefan Matteau (NTDP - NJD), Sean Kuraly (Indiana - SJS), John Gaudreau (BC - CGY), Nic Kerdiles (NTDP - ANA) and Stefan Noesen (Plymouth - OTT) for the 5-2 win.
It was slow going in the first half of the opening period, but Matteau cleaned up a loose puck in the slot with a beautiful backhander off a juicy rebound from Tyler Biggs (Miami - TOR). Finland's Miro Aaltonen evened things up later in the period with a snipe from the top of the circle after a bad turnover at the blueline.
In the second, Kuraly continued to solidify a spot on this team with his fifth goal in four games as he pounced on a loose puck in the slot and earned his seventh point of the week. Gaudreau made it 3-1 when he scored from the wall off the rush while four-on-four. Aaltonen scored his second of the game - a gaping five hole - to give the Finns some life.
In the third, Kerdiles made it 4-2 by hacking and whacking at a rebound that finally went in and in similar fashion Noesen twisted the knife for the 5-2 final. In the last minute of the game, Finland was on the power play and pulled the goalie for the extra attacker and promptly lost the face off. The frustration of the Finns was evident as they tried to retrieve the puck. Nothing seemed to be working for them and while they had been rather feisty throughout the entire game, they took it up several notches at this point leaving just about every USA player eager for a rematch on Saturday in the last game of the camp. The players talk about it in the video blog from Day 5….
As far as players that stood out, Kuraly is just blowing it up. His development is actually the opposite of most in that he learned the defensive side of the game as a checking/shutdown centerman first and then figured out how to use that to his advantage and put some pucks in the net. So, as far as versatility goes, he's got it all and will be a huge asset to Team USA in Ufa.
I was also really impressed with Kerdiles. He's very mild-mannered off the ice, but he can be a real pistol on the ice when you get in his face. He played yesterday as the extra forward with some serious spit and vinegar and was rewarded for his hard work with a goal.
On the defensive side of things, Garret Haar (Western Michigan - WAS) was really smart with his positioning and using his body to create separation. He also showed a feisty side that we haven't seen much of from him thus far.
Tonight, they play Sweden at 4pm ET. You can watch live on www.fasthockey.com
I'll get you lines after morning skate….
UPDATE: Tonight's roster...
Gaudreau - Galchenyuk - Miller
Lucia - Kuraly - Noesen
Here's where it gets tricky, but I have...
Vesey - Trochek - Blackwell
Boucher - Boyd - Pietila
Kerdiles
On defense, I'm unsure of pairings, but these guys are playing...
Sieloff, Trouba, Jones, Gostisbehere, Grzelcyk, Haar and Skjei
In net, John Gibson will play the whole game.
USA is putting its best foot forward against Sweden.
UPDATE #2: They're breaking up the Galchenyuk line....Gaudreau - Trocheck - Kerdiles will play together tonight.
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While it's important for these guys to develop chemistry and learn their tendencies on the ice, we also thought it was important that they know how to spell each others' names so we decided to lighten the mood yesterday and play the name game. Here's what happened…..
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Day 1 Blog
Day 2 Blog
Day 3 Blog
Day 4 Blog
Julie
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