The U.S. Under-18 Select Team scored a pair of power-play goals and added an empty net tally to earn a 3-1 win against the Czech Republic at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament on Friday.
With the victory, Team USA finished fifth in the tournament. The Americans posted a 1-2-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) overall record, losing only once in four outings.
"We played our best defensive game of the tournament this afternoon," U.S. coach Seth Appert said. "We're disappointed to win four out of our five games this week, including the exhibition, and not have a shot at first place. But, as a staff, we couldn't be more proud of our players."
The U.S. took a 1-0 lead four minutes into the game, when Nicholas Schilkey scored the lone first-period goal via the power play.
Following a scoreless second period, the Czech Republic knotted the score at 4:32 of the third. But Alex Galchenyuk responded with a power-play goal just over two minutes later to restore Team USA's one-goal edge.
With less than two minutes remaining in the period, Daniel O'Regan added an empty-net goal to secure the win for Team USA. U.S. goalie Jon Gillies made 21 saves in the win, while the Czech Republic's Marek Langhamer stopped 14 shots.
The tournament includes teams from Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.
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