KINGSTON, Ont.– Tage Thompson (Orange, Conn./University of Connecticut) scored twice and Joseph Woll (St. Louis, Mo./Boston College) stopped all 23 shots he faced as the U.S. National Junior Team shut out the Czech Republic, 4-0, here tonight at the Rogers K-Rock Centre.
“We felt we had a much better demeanor tonight,” said Bob Motzko (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud State University), head coach of the 2017 U.S. National Junior Team. “We got away from our game plan at times, but overall it was another real good step for us moving forward. We’re ready to get things going in Toronto next week.”
The game was the final tuneup for Team USA in preparation of the 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. Tournament play opens Monday, Dec. 26, with Team USA set to face Latvia at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Puck drop is set for 3:30 p.m ET and will be televised live on NHL Network.
Team USA Schedule
2017 IIHF World Junior Championship
Date Opponent Time (ET)/Result Round Location
Wed., Dec. 21 Switzerland W, 4-3 Pre-Tournament Oshawa, Ont.
Fri., Dec. 23 Czech Republic W, 4-0 Pre-Tournament Oshawa, Ont.
Mon., Dec. 26 Latvia 3:30 p.m. Preliminary Toront, Ont.
Wed., Dec. 28 Slovakia 7:30 p.m. Preliminary Toronto, Ont.
Thurs., Dec. 29 Russia 3:30 p.m. Preliminary Toronto, Ont.
Sat., Dec. 31 Canada 3:30 p.m. Preliminary Toronto, Ont.
Mon., Jan. 2 TBD TBD Quarterfinals TBD
Wed., Jan. 4 TBD TBD Semifinals Montreal, Que.
Thurs., Jan. 5 TBD 3:30 p.m. Bronze-Medal Game Montreal, Que.
TBD 8:00 p.m. Gold-Medal Game Montreal, Que.
NOTES: Team USA outshot the Czech Republic, 31-23, while going 0-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill … USA Hockey will announce the final roster for the 2017 U.S. National Junior Team tomorrow (Dec. 24) … Use the hashtag #USAWJC on Twitter to join the conversation about the 2017 U.S. National Junior Team … At the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship, the U.S. will compete in a group with Canada, Latvia, Russia and Slovakia. All U.S. games will be broadcast live on NHL Network. For more information about the tournament, please click here … Jim Johannson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations, is serving as the general manager of Team USA for the eighth consecutive year … Bob Motzko (St. Cloud, Minn.), head coach of the 2017 U.S. National Junior Team, is joined behind the bench by assistant coaches Greg Brown (Scituate, Mass.), Grant Potulny (Minneapolis, Minn.), Kris Mayotte (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Steve Miller (Colorado Springs, Colo.) … USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams.
