USA loses to Russia 7-4 in the U17 World Hockey Challenge Final

The USA was hoping to get revenge from the Team's only Group Stage Loss against Russia back on December 30 when Russian Goalie Nikita Serebryakov made 51 saves in a 3-2 win, despite a hard charging American Team that was beginning to figure him out late and that game that almost saw the Americans force OT in the 1st matchup.

This time, the Americans were caught up in a similar game where the Americans were able to fire up an impressive 49 shots on goal including 20 in the 3rd period, but it still wasn't enough as Russian Goalie was able to make the difference with the Russians leading 3-2 at the 2nd intermission.

It looked like the game would get away from the Americans in the 1st 8 minutes of the 3rd period when Sergei Tolchinski who scored on a penalty shot during a Short Handed Opportunity from a Rushan Rafikov Interference Penalty just 1:25 into the period, but the Penalty Shot Goal was good to give Russia a 4-2 lead.

Just 5 minutes later, Ivan Barbshev who was very impressive throughout the entire tournament scored his 4th goal of the event, it turned out to be such an important goal to go up by 3 at 5-2. It turned out to be a very important goal as the Americans J.T. Compher & Anthony Lewis scored twice with J.T. Compher & Anthony Lewis scoring within 3 minutes of each other to make it a 5-4 game with just 2:04 left in the 3rd period.  However, the Americans couldn't get any closer as the Russians scored two Empty Net Goals by Valeri Nichushkin & Sergei Tolchinski made it the 7-4 Final for Russia to win their 1st U17 World Hockey Challenge Title since 2000.

While the Americans won the Silver Medal for the 2nd straight year, overall the U17 World Hockey Challenge has been a strong tournament for the USA where they have finished on the Medal Podium every year since 2006, including a Gold Medal back in 2010 when the tournament was held in Timmins, Ontario.

Final Tournament Rankings

Gold Medal: Russia

Silver Medal: USA

Bronze Medal: CAN Ontario

4th Place: Sweden

5th Place: CAN Pacific

6th Place: CAN Quebec

7th Place: CAN Atlantic

8th Place: Czech Republic

9th Place: Germany

10th Place: CAN West



Press Release by USA Hockey

USA 4  Russia 7  (1-0, 1-3, 2-4)

Bronze Medal Game: CAN Ontario 5  Sweden 2  (0-0, 1-2, 4-0)

From Windsor, Ontario: Will Butcher and J.T. Compher had one goal and one assist each, as the U.S. National U17 Team fell to Russia, 7-4, in the championship game here tonight at the WFCU Center. With the defeat, Team USA finished the Tournament with a 4-0-0-2 record and placed 2nd in the 10 Team Tournament for the 2nd straight year.

"The effort was there, but fatigue was a factor tonight," said Don Granato, head coach of the U.S. National U17 Team. "We had a great experience at this tournament and will continue to grow as a team moving forward."

Evan Allen opened the scoring at 8:38 of the first frame when he chipped in a rebound shot by Tyler Kelleher. Kelleher made a quick move to his left to shake the Russian Defender and create the opportunity in front of the net. Steven Santini collected the 2nd assist on the goal. Team USA Goaltender Hunter Miska turned aside 10 shots in the period as the U.S. went into the 1st intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Russia notched two straight goals, the first tally shorthanded, at 12:04 and 15:07 of the 2nd stanza to capture the lead. Team USA answered on the power play when Butcher wristed a shot from just inside the blueline. Keaton Thompson and Compher registered assists on the goal. Russia regained the lead in the period when a puck deflected off a U.S. Defensemen's skate and over Miska's shoulder.

A penalty shot goal while shorthanded at 3:20 of the final frame increased Russia's lead to 4-2. Russia added another tally to go up by three goals at 8:26. Team USA responded on the power play when Scott Savage sent a cross ice pass to Butcher, who found Compher open in the left faceoff circle. Compher snapped a shot past Russian Goalie Nikita Serebryakov for the goal. With just two minutes remaining in regulation, Anthony Lewis made it a one goal game with a tip in tally. Kelleher earned his 2nd assist of the night on the play.

Down one goal, Team USA looked to compete the comeback and opted to pull its goalie in favor of an extra attacker. But Russia notched two empty net goals in the final minute of play to secure the win, 7-4. Miska made 27 saves, while Serebryakov stopped 45 shots in the victory for Russia.

Tournament Notes: John Hayden was named Team USA's player of the game.     The U.S. went 2/7 on the power play, while Russia went 0/2 on the man advantage. Team USA Recorded 49 shots on goal, while Russia had 34.    Gage Ausmus and J.T. Compter was named to the all Tournament Team. For Team USA's Full Roster, click here      The 2012 World U17 Challenge includes two pools of five teams. Pool A consists of teams from CAN Atlantic, Germany, CAN Pacific, Russia & CAN West. Pool B consists of teams from the Czech Republic, CAN Quebec, Russia, CAN Atlantic & the USA.    Exclusive videos will be posted on the USA Hockey Youtube Channel under the U17 World Challenge Playlist.  Follow USA Hockey on Twitter at @USAHockeyScores on twitter for live scoring updates during the tournament. Scores will be designated with #U17CHAL.    All Games during the World U17 Challenge will be available via live webcasts at www.fasthockey.com.  For additional coverage, visit USA Hockey National Team Development Facebook Page.   The U.S. U17 & U18 National Teams train with the Hockey IntelliGym, a revolutionary new software program released on October 1, 2010 that Tran's hockey sense. To learn more, visit www.usahockeyintelligym.com