CALGARY, Alta. – Kate Bacon (Chanhassen, Minn.) and Brooke Ammerman (River Vale, N.J.) scored two goals apiece as the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team blanked the Czech Republic, 8-0, to advance to the gold-medal game of the inaugural 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's U18 Championship here tonight at the Father David Bauer Arena.
Team USA will suit up for the for the gold-medal game tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. MST against the winner of tonight's Canada vs. Sweden semifinal contest.
Six players tallied in the U.S. victory, while 12 contributed to the scoring. Team USA scored twice in the first and third periods and posted four second-frame goals for the 8-0 score, while out shooting the Czechs 49-11.
"I'm really pleased with the way we played tonight," said Katey Stone, head coach for Team USA and also the head women's ice hockey coach at Harvard University. "We've really gotten better as the week went on and we're playing the kind of hockey we want to be playing going into the championship game. We had balanced offense tonight, with our four lines scoring two goals apiece. We made smart plays and put a lot of pressure on the Czechs. We look forward to the challenge of tomorrow's game."
Team USA gained a 2-0 lead in the first half of the opening frame. Bacon put the Americans on the board first when she tapped in a rebound during a scramble in front of Czech netminder Katerina Becevova at 2:28. Corey Stearns (Falmouth, Mass.) andElizabeth Turgeon (Cherry Hills Village, Colo.) earned assists on the play.
Captain Sarah Erickson (LaPorte, Minn.) potted her fifth goal of the tournament at the 7:19 mark during a U.S. power play, as she roofed Amanda Kessel's (Madison, Wis.) rebound at the goalmouth for a 2-0 score that held through the remainder of the frame.
The Americans turned it up a notch in the second period and lit the lamp four times to extend their lead to 6-0. Bacon scored for the second time in the game at 2:13, putting one high from the left post as Becevova went down. Madison Packer (Birmingham, Mich.) was next to tally for Team USA, as she put a wrist shot high stick side off a feed from Ashley Cottrell (Sterling Heights, Mich.) at 4:46.
Just 28 seconds after the Czech's Pavlina Horalkova was whistled for cross-checking, Kessel and Erickson combined for U.S. power-play goal No. 2 of the night at 5:52 for a 5-0 score. Ammerman closed out second-period scoring at 11:39 after stealing the puck from a Czech player at the left sideboards in the U.S. zone, walking it in, winding up and hitting the top of the far corner.
The final stanza saw another pair of U.S. tallies, first from Ammerman at 10:23 when she took a pass from Meagan Mangene (Manorville, N.Y.) and flipped it into the net from the right faceoff circle. Cottrell was last to score after Packer carried the puck into the Czech zone and sent it across to Cottrell, who put it in the open left side of the net at 12:10.
Alyssa Grogan (Eagan, Minn.) and Rebecca Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.) combined for the shutout in net for Team USA with a total of 11 saves.
NOTES: Sarah Erickson was named the U.S. Player of the Game ...Team USA went 2-for-5 on the power play, while holding the Czechs scoreless on four man-advantage opportunities ... Ashley Cottrell (5-5--10) and Amanda Kessel (3-7--10) lead the U.S. team in scoring ... Joining Katey Stone on the coaching staff as assistant coaches areErin Whitten Hamlen, associate women’s ice hockey coach at the University of New Hampshire, and Bob Deraney, head women’s ice hockey coach at Providence College.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring By Period
USA 2 4 2 -- 8
CZE 0 0 0 -- 0
First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Bacon (Stearns, Turgeon), 2:28; 2, USA, Erickson (Kessel), 7:19 (pp); Penalties: CZE, Horalkova (elbowing), 4:21; CZE, Horalkova (hooking), 4:21; USA, Packer (interference), 9:58; CZE, Manhartova (tripping), 13:58.
Second Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Bacon (Stearns), 2:13; 4, USA, Packer (Cottrell, Steadman), 4:46; 5, USA, Kessel (Erickson, Coyne), 5:52 (pp); 6, USA, Ammerman (unassisted), 11:39. Penalties: CZE, Horalkova (cross-checking), CZE, Becevova (cross-checking), 8:05; USA, Steadman (slashing), 13:12; USA, Kessel (interference), 17:17.
Third Period - Scoring: 7, USA, Ammerman (Mangene, Sherry), 10:23; 8, USA, Cottrell (Packer), 12:10. Penalties: USA, Turgeon (body-checking), 5:51.
Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
USA 16 14 19 49
CZE 5 3 3 11
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Grogan, 60:00 5-5 1-1 x-x 6-6
USA, Ruegsegger, 60:00 x-x 2-2 3-3 5-5
CZE, Becevova, 60:00 16-14 14-10 19-17 49-41
Power Play:USA 2-5; CZE 0-4
Penalties: USA 4-8; CZE 5-10
Officials: Referee-Marie Picavet (FRA); Linesmen-Jonna Partanen (FIN), Haley Weiler (CAN)
Tag(s): 2008
