HAMEENLINNA, Finland — The U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team got a pair of goals from Mattias Samuelsson (Vorhees, N.J.) but dropped a 4-3 shootout decision here today to Finland in its third game of the 2017 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament.
Finland jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals at 5:03 and 15:19 of the opening period. Samuelsson cut the deficit in half just 0:40 after Finland’s second tally with Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) and Joel Farabee (Cicero, N.Y.) drawing assists on the play.
Finland re-gained a two-goal advantage early in the second period, but Farabee answered right back to keep Team USA close, finding the back of the net off a pass from Patrick Giles (Chevy Chase, Md.) at 9:58. With 3:05 remaining in the second period, Samuelsson evened the game with his second goal of the game. Wahlstrom and Farabee were credited with assists.
Neither team could get the go-ahead goal in the third period or through overtime. In the shootout, Finland came out ahead by a 4-2 margin to pick up the victory. Wahlstrom and Trevor Janicke (Maple Grove, Minn.) netted the two U.S. goals in the shootout.
The U.S. National Under-18 Team will return to action tomorrow Sunday (Nov. 12) at 4 p.m. (10 a.m. ET) against the Czech Republic in its final game of the tournament.
NOTES: The U.S. was 1-6 on the power play while Finland went 0-6 … Team USA is 0-0-2-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the 2017 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament with one game left to play … Live streaming, schedule, statistics and full schedule information can be found on the official tournament website here … The Team USA tournament homepage can be found here … Along with the U.S., the 2017 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament features the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland … Complete tournament history can be found here … Follow @USAHockeyNTDP on Twitter for tournament updates and join the conversation on social media by using #5NationsU18 … Seth Appert (Cottage Grove, Minn.) is leading the U.S. National Under-18 Team in the 2017 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament. Joining Appert are associate coach Nick Fohr (Grand Forks, N.D.), goaltending coach Kevin Reiter (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and intern assistant coach Mason Graddock (Stowe, Vt.).
(USA Hockey Photo)
