2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge

KIRWAN NOTCHES FIVE POINTS AS UNITED STATES ROUTS GERMANY

by Wendy Graves

NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. – Three American skaters contributed multiple goals – and 15 players found their way onto the scoresheet – as the United States hammered Germany 14-1 on Day 2 of the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Jordan Greenway and Luke Kirwan scored hat tricks, and Colin White added two goals to pace the American attack. Kirwan also added two assists. The line of Kirwan, White and Jeremy Bracco combined for 10 points.

Bracco, Matthew Tkachuk, Charles McAvoy, Dennis Yan, Christian Evers and Luke Kunin also scored for the United States, which improved to 2-0 in Group B.

Lois Spitzner scored the lone goal for Germany, which dropped to 0-2 overall.

The floodgates opened eight minutes into the first period, when Tkachuk scored on the power play. In a sign of things to come, and the United States now leading 2-0, a German defender accidently blocked a clearing attempt by his teammate, and when trying to clear the puck himself promptly delivered the puck right to Auston Matthews, who fed McAvoy for the third goal for the U.S.

With Kirwan serving a tripping minor shortly thereafter, Germany finally had the chance to assert some offensive pressure of its own. But even on the power play the Germans seemed to be on their heels.

When Kirwan batted the puck out of mid-air to score his second goal 30 seconds before the end of the first period and Bracco scored 46 seconds into the second period, the rout was officially on. The team scored five more times before the second intermission.

Germany finally got on the board 15 minutes into the second period. When Spitzner flicked a shot past American goalie Luke Opilka, the crowd greeted him with the loudest ovation of the afternoon.

The United States found the back of the net four more times in a seven-minute span of the third period to finish the scoring.

Germany next plays Russia on Tuesday afternoon (2 p.m. AT) in Port Hawkesbury, N.S., while the United States takes on Atlantic on New Year’s Eve in Sydney, N.S. (7 p.m. AT).