CANADA BLANKED BY U.S. IN SLEDGE DEVELOPMENT SERIES FINALE

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Kris Dutkiewicz (Kitchener, Ont./Kitchener Sidewinders) stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced, but Canada’s National Sledge Development Team couldn’t find the back of the net, falling 1-0 to the United States on Saturday in the finale of a three-game series.

The Canadians dropped the last two games of the series after opening with a 1-0 shootout win on Thursday.

Dutkiewicz continued his stand-out play in the Canadian goal; after making 17 saves Thursday, as well as both U.S. attempts in the shootout, he kept the Americans off the board for more than 41 minutes Saturday. In total, the Canadian netminder finished the series with a .976 save percentage and 0.50 goals-against average.

Canada’s best chance to score came late in the first period, when a pair of U.S. penalties led to a 56-second five-on-three advantage, but the Canadians couldn’t beat American goaltender Kyle Huckaby.

The U.S. finally broke through with less than four minutes to go in the third period; Vlad Lundquist did the honours on an American power play, scoring the game’s lone goal.

After a fairly even first period, with both teams managing six shots on goal, the U.S. controlled play in the final 30 minutes, outshooting Canada 11-5 in the second period and 7-2 in the third.

Canada lost five of six against the Americans during the 2013-14 season; the U.S. swept the Canadians in a three-game series in London, Ont., in January, with one of the games going to a shootout, and another to overtime.