| Thursday, August 15, 2019 Peart, Connors lead U.S. scoring effort FÜSSEN, Germany – Jack Peart (Grand Rapids, Mich.) scored twice and Kenny Connors (Glen Mills, Penn.) registered three assists as the U.S. Under-17 Men’s Select Team skated to a 5-2 win over Switzerland today at Füssen Arena to remain undefeated at the 2019 Five Nations Tournament. “It was a nice second test of the tournament against a very strong Swiss team,” said head coach Matt Curley. “We had a little adversity early in the game, but it was nice to see the guys come back and get the job done. It’s another nice win for us and we look forward to building upon it.” Team USA returns to action Friday (Aug. 16) when it takes on the Czech Republic at Füssen Arena. Puck drop is slated for 3 p.m. (9 a.m. ET) and will be streamed live on SportDeutschland.tv. The Swiss opened the scoring 10:22 into the first period after Lorenzo Cononica scooped the puck on a transition and redirected it past U.S goaltender Will Fox(Grosse Point, Mich.) to give Switzerland a 1-0 lead. With 30 seconds remaining in the first stanza, the U.S. nearly equalized after Jack Silich (Long Grove, Ill.) slipped a pass in behind the Swiss defense to Peart who fired from the crease, but Swiss goaltender Kevin Pocket came up with the save to maintain Switzerland’s one-goal lead over the U.S. heading to the first intermission. Early in the middle frame, Peart capitalized on his second shot from the top of the crease 1:34 into the period by burying a feed from Connors past Pocket. The two teams remained locked in a tie until the 13:38 mark when Jackson Blake(La Grange, Ill.) slipped a loose rebound in the crease past Pocket to give the U.S. a 2-1 advantage. Team USA stretched its lead to 3-1 with 4:43 remaining in the frame when Peart connected again after Connors’ pass split the Swiss defense and found him down low for his second goal of the night. Switzerland pulled within a goal of the U.S. off the stick of Jeremy Jabola 18 seconds later to make it a 3-2 game heading into the third period, but Tyler Haskins (Rochester, Minn.) and Simon Motew (Highland Park, Ill.) added a pair of insurance goals in the final frame to seal a 5-2 victory over Switzerland. For full game statistics, click here. NOTES: Jack Peart was named the U.S. Player of the Game … Three players recorded multi-point efforts in the win, including Kenny Connors who tallied three assists … The U.S. held Switzerland scoreless in four power play attempts … Follow Team USA throughout the 2019 Five Nations Tournament here. |
