MONTREAL – Jake Guentzel (Woodbury, Minn./Tampa Bay Lightning) found the back of the net twice as the U.S. Men’s National Team scored three unanswered goals in a 3-1 victory over Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre tonight.
With the win, Team USA clinched a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game on Thursday (Feb. 20) and improved to 2-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in tournament play.
The game started with energy and emotions high, as both teams were physical to open the contest.
U.S. netminder Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce, Mich./Winnipeg Jets) denied Canada’s Mark Stone on a point-blank chance and smothered the rebound opportunity at the 4:36 mark of the opening frame.
HIGHLIGHTS
Connor McDavid opened the scoring for Canada, cashing in on a transition opportunity with 14:29 left in the first to jump out to a 1-0 lead.
Guentzel found a response for the U.S., as he fired a shot from the left circle through Canadian netminder Jordan Binnington’s five hole. Guentzel’s second tally of the tournament was assisted by Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass./Vegas Golden Knights) and knotted the game at 1-1 heading into the middle frame.
Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich./Detroit Red Wings) gave the U.S. a lead it would never relinquish at the 13:33 mark of the second, as he ripped a wrister past Binnington’s blocker, catching Canada on a 2-on-1 opportunity, to put his team ahead.
Team USA held a 2-1 advantage after 40 minutes of play.
Matt Boldy (Millis, Mass./Minnesota Wild) corralled a Canadian turnover with 11:42 left in the third and challenged with an opportunity in front of Binnington’s net but was denied.
Guentzel added his second tally of the night, scoring on an empty net with 1:21 remaining to account for the 3-1 final.
Hellebuyck held Canada off the scoresheet for the final 54:29 of the contest, making 25 saves enroute to the win.
The U.S. Men’s National Team is back in action for the final round-robin game, Monday (Feb. 17) against Sweden at TD Garden in Boston. Puck drop is slated for 8 p.m. ET and the contest will be broadcast on TNT.
NOTES: Jake Guentzel was named the U.S. Player of the Game … Canada outshot the U.S., 26-23 … Team USA went 0-for-1 on the power play, while Canada went 0-for-2.
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Source: usahockey.com