BRECLAV, Czech Republic – Sasha Chmelevski (Northville, Mich.) tallied three points as the United States Under-18 Select Team rallied from a two-goal deficit to earn a 4-3 victory over Switzerland in the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup.
“Our guys didn’t get rattled” said Clark Donatelli (Providence, R.I.), head coach of the 2016 U.S. Under-18 Select Team. “We’re working really hard and we found a way to battle back and win today.”
Switzerland jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on a pair of goals scored just 46 seconds apart by Ramon Tanner and Nando Eggenberger, but the U.S. answered with two first period goals of its own, the first coming from Michael Pastujov (Bradenton, Fla.) who scored 44 seconds after Eggenberger’s tally to halve the Swiss lead. Chmelevski then scored his first of two goals on the day, beating Swiss goaltender Joel Messerli with a wrist shot late in the opening period to tie the game, 2-2.
USA Hockey
Scoreboard tells the tale
Pre-game huddle, USA vs. Switzerland