USA to Play Germany Tonight
TONIGHT’S CONTEST — The U.S. National Junior Team will face
Germany tonight in its third preliminary-round game of the 2011
International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.
Team USA enters the contest as the top seed in Group A, having
won the gold medal last year at the 2010 IIHF World Junior
Championship in Regina and Saskatoon, Sask. Meanwhile,
Germany did not compete in the 2010 IIHF World Junior
Championship, and earned its spot in this year’s tournament after
finishing in first place in last year’s Division I Group A tournament.
Team USA can clinch a spot on the playoff round with a win tonight.
• LAST TIME OUT — On Tuesday (Dec. 28), Team USA topped
Slovakia, 6-1, in its second preliminary-round game. Kyle Palmieri
(Montvale, N.J./Syracuse Cruch) scored twice in the opening period
and the U.S. tallied three power-play goals in total en route to the win.
• TEAM USA VS. GERMANY — The U.S. National Junior Team and
Germany have met seven times since Germany’s reunification, with
Team USA holding a 6-0-1-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) advantage. The
teams’ last meeting was two years ago, when the U.S. defeated
Germany, 8-2, at the 2009 World Junior Championship in Ottawa.
The U.S. also owns a 10-0-0-3-0 record against West Germany.
12/26/08 8-2 W Preliminary Round
12/26/06 1-2 OTL Preliminary Round
12/31/96 8-0 W Preliminary Round
1/1/95 5-3 W Round Robin
12/29/93 7-2 W Round Robin
12/30/92 4-3 W Round Robin
12/27/91 6-2 W Round Robin
• BALANCED ATTACK — In two games so far at the 2011 IIHF
World Junior Championship, Team USA has featured a balanced
scoring attack. 13 different players on the U.S. roster have recorded
a point. Of the nine players yet to crack the scoresheet, two are goaltenders
and two (Jeremy Morin and Brock Nelson) did not skate
against Slovakia last Tuesday (Dec. 28). Meanwhile, Brian
Dumoulin (Biddeford, Maine/Boston College) leads Team USA with
a plus-3 rating, while Kyle Palmieri and Nick Bjugstad (Blaine,
Minn./Univ. of Minnesota) top the U.S. with nine shots each
