USA Women's Hockey

WOODRIDGE, Ill. - Brittany Ammerman (River Vale, N.J.) and Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.) each scored three goals as the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team defeated Japan, 11-1, here tonight at Walter Bush Rink in Team USA's first preliminary-round game of the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship.

"We were able the move the puck well and had good speed throughout the game," said Katie King, Team USA's head coach. "It was a good way to start the tournament. Finland will be a more physical opponent tomorrow night and we'll have to be on our game even more to be successful."

Team USA tallied twice in the first period, with Ammerman opening the scoring at 11:57 when her shot beat Japanese goaltender Ai Tokoro low to the blocker side. Alex Carpenter(North Reading, Mass.) made it 2-0 with four minutes remaining in the frame after intercepting a Japanese pass at the blue line while shorthanded and sending a shot from the slot between Tokoro's legs.

In the second period, the U.S. put up five goals to take a 7-0 lead. Lyndsey Fry (Chandler, Ariz.) scored the frame's first tally from the slot at 3:41, while Ammerman notched her second goal of the game at 8:51 after snapping a shot from the right circle high to the blocker side. At 11:08, Rachael Bona (Coon Rapids, Minn.) gave the U.S. a 5-0 advantage after collecting the loose puck in the slot and wristing a shot past Tokoro. Zoe Hickel (Anchorage, Alaska) made it 6-0 at 19:45 when she fired a shot from the bottom of the circle past the glove of Tokoro, while Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Md.) closed out the period's scoring by jamming a rebound in with three seconds remaining.

In the third period, Coyne scored three straight goals for the U.S., with the first coming at 9:18. Moeko Fujimoto netted Japan's lone goal at 10:50, and Coyne answered less than two minutes later with a rebound goal to the right of new Japanese goaltender Shizuka Takahashi. At 16:09, Coyne potted her third goal from the same spot, while Ammerman closed out the game's scoring at 16:51.

U.S. netminder Aubree Moore (Bowie, Md.) turned aside seven shots in her Team USA debut.

Team USA plays Finland tomorrow (March 28) in its second preliminary-round game at 7:30 p.m. CDT. 

NOTES: Kendall Coyne was named Team USA's player of the game ... The U.S. and Japan were both 0-for-3 on the power play ... All tournament games are available via live webstream at USAHockey.FASTHockey.com... Media can obtain tournament photos at ImagesOnIce.net... The IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championship, which is being held for the first time on U.S. soil at the Seven Bridges Ice Arena, is being held for the third time ... The eight-nation tournament includes Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Japan, Russia, Sweden and the United States ... The U.S. is the two-time defending world champion, after capturing gold in Füssen, Germany, in 2009, and in Calgary in 2008 ... Katie King, three-time Olympian and head women's hockey coach at Boston College, is Team USA's head coach, withShelley Looney, two-time Olympian and girls'/women's hockey director for the New Jersey Colonials, and Catherine Hanson, former U.S. Women's National Team member who spent seven seasons as an assistant women's hockey coach at The Ohio State University, serving as assistant coaches ... For more information on the 2010 IIHF World Women's Under-18 Championship, visit Chicago2010Hockey.com.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

JPN 0 - 0 - 1 - 1
USA 2 - 5 - 4 - 11

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Ammerman (Hickel), 11:57; 2, USA, Carpenter (unassisted), 16:00 (sh). Penalties: USA, Ammerman (interference), 1:21; USA, Gedman (slashing), 14:31; USA,Hickel (tripping), 18:36.

Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Fry (Mangene), 3:41; 4, USA, Ammerman (Bizzari), 8:51; 5, USA, Bona (Pfalzer), 11:08; 6, USA, Hickel (Slavin, Carpenter), 19:45; 7, USA, Hickel (Lorence), 19:57. Penalties: JPN, Baba (hooking), 5:22.

Third Period - Scoring: 8, USA, Coyne (Gedman, Slavin), 9:18; 9, JPN, Fujimoto (unassisted), 10:50; 10, USA, Coyne (Mangene, Pelkey), 12:49; 11, USA, Coyne (Pelkey), 16:09; 12, USA, Ammerman (Bizzari, Picard), 16:51. Penalties: JPN, Hori (tripping), 7:10; JPN, Ukita (slashing), 17:30.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
JPN 3 3 2 8
USA 11 20 25 56
         
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
JPN, Tokoro, 40:00 11-9 20-15 x-x 31-24
JPN, Takahashi, 20:00 x-x x-x 25-21 25-21
USA, Moore, 60:00 3-3 3-3 2-1 8-7

Power Play: JPN 0-3; USA 0-3

Penalties: JPN 3-6; USA 3-6
Officials: Referee-Radka Ruzickova (CZE); Linesmen-Helene Roy (CAN), Veronika Stenzel (GER)