MCCOLGAN SCORES SHOOTOUT WINNER AT TEAM USA CAMP
Kelowna Rockets sniper Shane McCoglan scored the only goal of a shootout to break a tie at the Team USA World Junior Development camp and help propel his team White to a series win.
Teams White and Blue each won a game at the USA camp, so the sides played a scoreless five minute overtime before a shootout was needed to name a winner. McColgan sealed the deal with his goal, the only goal of the shootout.
J.T. Miller (East Palestine, Ohio) recorded two goals to propel USA White to a 4-2 win over USA Blue in the second and final intrasquad scrimmage at the 2011 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp.
The contest featured 44 U.S. players auditioning for a spot on the U.S. National Junior Team that will take part in the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26, 2011-Jan. 5, 2012, in Calgary and Edmonton, Alta.
“It was a totally different game from last night,” said Dean Blais, head coach of the 2012 U.S. National Junior Team. “I thought the guys moved the puck very well and made hockey plays that they didn’t make in the first game.”
Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) opened up the scoring for USA White at 11:30 of the first period on the power play. Derek Forbort (Duluth, Minn.) sent a hard shot to the net where Grimaldi deflected it past USA Blue goaltender Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.).
USA White opened up a three goal lead thanks to back-to-back markers from Miller. The first came at 16:51 of the opening frame, with assists credited to Grimaldi and Kenny Agostino (Flanders, N.J.). Miller tacked on his second of the night on the power play at 9:45 of the second period to make it a 3-0 game heading into the final frame.
But USA Blue came out of the gates flying in the third period. Kevin Hayes (Dorchester, Mass.) received a pass from Austin Watson (Ann Arbor, Mich.) in the slot and beat USA White goaltender Stephan Michalek (Hartford, Conn.), who entered the game near its midpoint in place of John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
T.J. Tynan (Orland Park, Ill.) brought USA Blue within a goal midway through the third when he charged the net and received a connected off of a perfectly timed pass from Stefan Noesen (Plano, Texas).
However, USA Blue was unable to find the tying goal, as Agostino added an empty-net marker with 32 seconds remaining to secure the victory for USA White.
Gibson made 11 saves to earn the win, while Michalek made 19 saves and Iles had 24 stops in the loss.
With USA Blue having earned a win in the first intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday (Aug. 6), the two teams played a five-minute sudden-death overtime period to establish a series winner. The extra session went scoreless, leading to a shootout, where Shane McColgan (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) scored the lone goal to give USA White the series victory.
The 2011 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp will continue tomorrow (Aug. 8) when international competition begins. USA Blue will face Sweden at 1 p.m. EDT, and USA White will follow at 4:30 p.m. EDT with a tilt against Finland. A full schedule is below.
NOTES: Stephen Michalek replaced Will Yanakeff, who withdrew from the 2011 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp on Saturday (Aug. 7) due to injury. Yanakeff was replacing Mac Carruth, who was unable to attend the camp due to injury. … The 2012 U.S. National Junior Team will be selected in late December following a pre-tournament camp to be held in Alberta, Canada … All games from the 2011 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp will be streamed live and on demand at FASTHockey.com … Dean Blais, head men’s ice hockey coach at the University of Nebraska Omaha, will serve as head coach of the 2012 U.S. National Junior Team. He will be assisted by Scott Sandelin, head men’s ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Tom Ward, head ice hockey coach of the Shattuck-St. Mary’s School’s boys’ prep team; and Joe Exter, assistant men’s ice hockey coach at The Ohio State University … Dan Bylsma, head coach of the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins, and Mike Sullivan, assistant coach of the NHL’s New York Rangers, will also participate in Lake Placid as camp coaches … Jim Johannson, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations, is serving as the general manager of Team USA for the third consecutive year. Tim Taylor (Guilford, Conn.), former U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team head coach and longtime Yale University men’s ice hockey team head coach, is also serving his third straight year as Team USA’s director of player personnel.
