Team USA's medal aspirations at this World Junior took a hit with a loss to Russia today. And man, was it ever a tough-luck loss.
Johnny Gaudreau sparked the Americans with a glorious scoring chance just seconds into the game, but Russian goaltender Andrei Makarov stretched across the crease to make a remarkable toe save. That seemed to be the story of the game, as the U.S. settled down after an early goal by Russia but couldn't get more than one puck behind Makarov in a 2-1 preliminary round loss.
It was opportunity after opportunity for Team USA but Makarov was solid, making the saves he had to make as well as some stops that changed the momentum of the game. After a while it seemed to frustrate the U.S. but they forged on, and had several chances to take a lead in the latter stages of the second period.
Albert Yarullin capitalized on a bad U.S. penalty in the opening minutes and ripped a one-timer past goaltender John Gibson for a 1-0 lead that energized the home crowd. But Team USA had a better response, and though it didn't score, settled into the hockey game and began to instill its style as the first period closed.
Some late-breaking news tonight courtesy of NHL Network's Rob Simpson on Twitter.
A few days after submitting a roster with six defensemen prior to Team USA's opening game vs. Germany, head coach Phil Housley and the USA Hockey management staff have finally decided on their roster. Simpson has reported that Patrick Sieloff, a Windsor Spitfires blueliner and Calgary Flames draft pick (2012), will be added to the U.S. roster as the seventh defenseman and is expected to dress later today vs. Russia.
With every exciting outcome, there is disappointment...and thy name is Matt Grzelcyk right now. The Boston University product will be heading home tomorrow, per Simpson, and will rejoin the Terriers in time for a Jan. 4 game at home.
Sieloff fits into the U.S. defense as a physical defensive defenseman who is known to be a good skater. If the penalty kill were to struggle, his presence gives Housley another option to turn to -- especially if Team USA dresses seven defensemen (and Simpson hints that may be the case).
Here is the official group of defensemen for the U.S.: Seth Jones, Jacob Trouba, Mike Reilly, Jake McCabe, Shayne Gostisbehere, Patrick Sieloff, Connor Murphy.
Team USA and Russia are about eight hours from dropping the puck on a pivotal preliminary round game, so make sure to join me once again on Twitter (@RobMixer) and catch all of our World Junior coverage right here on BlueJackets.com.
Lukas Sedlak has managed to fly under the radar ever since he was drafted by the Blue Jackets.
He was a sixth-round pick of Columbus (No. 158 overall) at the 2011 NHL Draft in St. Paul, Minn., and as it so often turns out for a late-round pick, you don't really hear much from them until they've reached the professional ranks. But Sedlak didn't sulk -- he improved steadily every year.
Now as a 19-year-old in a pivotal year of World Junior tournament eligibility, Sedlak has earned the trust of the Czech Republic national junior team's coaching and management staff, and was named the team's captain shortly before the tournament began.
In 2011, he captained the Czech Republic junior team at the U18 World Junior Championship, tallying three goals in five tournament games in the midst of a stellar campaign with Ceske's U20 team back home. But it wasn't a rosy finish for the Czechs at that tournament, finishing in eighth place and looking overmatched on most nights.
But it was that following summer when the "under the radar" aspect of his game seemed to relent, if only a little bit. Sedlak was picked up by Chicoutimi (QMJHL) in the first round of the 2011 CHL Import Draft -- the annual draft that distributes European players to Canadian junior teams (Oscar Dansk was assigned to Erie this same way) -- and decided it was time to test his game against the best junior players in North America.
Sean Kuraly and Connor Murphy talked before this year's World Junior tournament about being representatives for the state of Ohio, and ambassadors for the sport of hockey in central Ohio.
Both players made their World Junior debut today in Team USA's 8-0 win over Germany, but beneath the surface of an impressive all-around performance, it was about more than just an opening victory.
Ohio was center stage this morning and its natives were in the spotlight, playing a leading role for the United States. Kuraly was at center ice for the opening faceoff (which he won cleanly) and also scored the first goal of the tournament -- a gorgeous backhand through the five-hole of German goalie Marvin Cupper.
Connor Murphy, who was reportedly injured in a pre-tournament game and had to have his medical situation cleared before the U.S. could finalize its roster, played with American captain Jake McCabe in a shutdown-type role and looked solid. No doubt there were some nerves for the two Columbus products, but they each played well and played a lot as the game progressed.
Phil Housley couldn't have drawn it up much better to start the tournament.
The first-time U.S. head coach had seen flashes of brilliance from his team all summer and into last week's national junior team training camp, but he also saw a group of players that would give him many difficult decisions -- beginning with selecting the team.
Housley got a good look at (most of) his final group today as Team USA rolled to an 8-0 win over Germany in its first game of the 2013 World Junior tournament in Ufa, Russia. Eight different U.S. players scored goals in today's game, including three defensemen, and it was the kind of well-rounded effort that Team USA had to begin tournament play with.
The Americans' line of Alex Galchenyuk, Sean Kuraly and Riley Barber were electric all game long, and they got started just 19 seconds into the game.
Not only did Kuraly -- a Dublin native -- win the opening faceoff, he was on the finishing end of a beautiful play started by Blue Jackets draft pick Mike Reilly. Reilly sent a 150-foot stretch pass to the offensive blue line, where Galchenyuk tipped it to Barber who sent Kuraly in home free.
With one slick backhand deke, Kuraly slid the puck between the legs of German goaltender Marvin Cupper for a 1-0 USA lead. Unfortunately for the Germans, it was just the beginning of a long day at the rink.
This was a very Merry Christmas for Mike Reilly, who put all of his cards on the table in an effort to make Team USA's final roster.
It started with an impressive showing at USA Hockey's national junior team evaluation camp last summer in Lake Placid, and the confidence gained from that transferred to his freshman season at the University of Minnesota. Reilly got comfortable and adjusted to college hockey faster than some expected, and his ice time has gradually increased as a result.
U.S. head coach Phil Housley seemingly liked Reilly right away. After all, he possesses a lot of the same skills Housley became famous for throughout his storied NHL career (disclaimer: this is in no way a comparison of the two, just so we're clear).
Reilly has tremendous foot speed, puck skills and the ever-important quality scouts look for known as a "hockey sense." He thinks the game extremely well and knows when to lead and join the rush -- making him a valuable asset, especially in a short tournament setting.
The coaching and management staff for USA Hockey agreed. When final World Junior rosters were submitted this morning in Ufa, Russia, Reilly's name was among the six defenseman registered for the United States.
The International Ice Hockey Federation apparently did not share the same opinion as Canada head coach Steve Spott.
Two days after Boone Jenner delivered a hard open-ice hit to Jesper Pettersson of Sweden -- causing a dislocated shoulder and broken wrist for the Swedish defenseman -- the IIHF underwent a thorough disciplinary review of the hit, which became a hot topic of conversation in the hockey world over the weekend.
Video footage of the hit and replays show Pettersson making a transition pass out of his own zone, and about a second later, absorbing a massive hit from Jenner that sent him hard to the ice. The IIHF says in its press release that Jenner's suspension comes as a result of the hit being late, and with no intention of making a play on the puck.
Both Jenner and Spott spoke with TSN and media on-site after the game against Sweden and defended the hit. Jenner said he thought the hit was clean because he kept his arms and shoulders down, and was simply "finishing his check." Spott agreed and didn't think the incident merited supplementary discipline.
Alas, a three-game suspension for Jenner was announced this afternoon, meaning he will miss Canada's games against Germany, Slovakia and the United States.
