U.S. National Junior Team Drops
Second Consecutive Game at the
World Junior Championship, 6-3, to
the Czech Republic
BRANDON, Manitoba (December 28, 1998)
The U.S. National Junior Team dropped its
second consecutive game at the 1999 World
Junior Championship, 6-3, to the Czech
Republic
at the Keystone Centre on Monday night.
The loss
kept the U.S. in last place in the
five-team Pool A
and in jeopardy of failing to advance to
medal-round play.
The top three finishers in each pool
advance to the
medal round.
For the second consecutive game, the U.S.
was
stymied by outstanding opposition
goaltending.
This time, Czech Republic netminder
Vlastimil
Lakosil stopped 33 U.S. shots, including
19 in the
third period as Team USA dominated the
final 20
minutes in a frantic effort to rally from
a 4-3
second-intermission deficit.
U.S. starting goaltender Chris Madden
(Liverpool,
N.Y./Guelph Storm) stopped 16 of 20 Czech
Republic shots before being replaced after
the
second period by Joe Blackburn (Livonia,
Mich./Michigan State Spartans), who
stopped three
of the four shots he faced.
The U.S. went ahead 1-0 at 4:16 of the
first period
as David Legwand (Grosse Pointe Woods,
Mich./Plymouth Whalers) made a perfect pass
from behind the net to Matt Doman (Sartell,
Minn./Wisconsin Badgers), who tapped the
puck
between the pads of Lakosil for his first
goal of the
tournament.
The Czech Republic tied the game at 6:42
on the
power play as Petr Mika flipped his second
rebound attempt in front over the pads of
Madden.
At 10:10 of the first, the Czech Republic
went
ahead for the first time as Mario
Cartelli's
power-play slapshot from the right point
was neatly
deflected in by Martin Lamich. The goal
came five
seconds after Madden had denied Lamich on a
breakaway with a stick save.
The U.S. tied the game at two with 52
seconds
remaining in the first, as Scott Gomez
(Alaska,
Anchorage/Tri-City Americans), stationed
at the
right point, took a hard carom shot from
Jordon
Leopold (Golden Valley, Minn./Minnesota
Golden
Gophers) off the back boards and slammed
in a
quick shot.
Thirty-eight seconds into the second
period, Mika
put the Czech Republic ahead 3-2 by
tipping a soft
one-handed shot in front off a centering
feed past
Madden's blocker and inside the left post.
Gomez
then scored his second goal of the night
at 12:30 of
the second, as he picked up a loose puck
in front,
spun around and tucked in a point-blank
attempt.
Then with the U.S. on the power play, the
Czech
Republic stunned the crowd with a
shorthanded
goal at 14:51 as Vaclav Pletka skated up
the left
boards and blasted a slapshot from the
faceoff
circle past Madden's glove and inside the
right
post.
The Czech Republic notched its insurance
fifth
goal of the night at 13:51 of the third
period as U.S.
defenseman Doug Janik (Agawam, Mass./Maine
Black Bears) fell between the faceoff
circles in his
own zone and gave up possession of the
puck.
Michal Travnicek grabbed the puck, went in
and
beat Blackburn with a well-placed shot
inside the
left post. Tomas Divisek finished it off
at 18:57 by
scoring into an empty net.
The U.S. now faces must-win games Wednesday
night against Slovakia in Selkirk (8:00
p.m. EST)
and Thursday night against Canada in
Winnipeg
(6:00 p.m. EST).
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