Dec. 27, 1999
SKELLEFTEA, Sweden — The United States used goals from University of Maine right wing Barrett Heisten and Boston College defenseman Richard Orpik and 27 saves by Boston University’s Rich DiPietro to claim a 2-2 tie with the Czech Republic, in early-round action Sunday at the World Junior Championship.
Three Notre Dame forwards helped Team USA post the opening tie, with sophomore David Inman and freshman Connor Dunlop skating on the second line while sophomore Brett Henning centered the fourth line. Dunlop won six of 13 faceoffs as the second-line center, with three shots on goal. Inman-who joined Michigan State’s Adam Hall as the second-line wings–had two shots on goal and one penalty. Henning drew three faceoffs, winning one.
Heisten–who like the Notre Dame threesome is one of six players that will miss the upcoming Norwest Denver Cup–opened the scoring just four minutes into the game, scoring on the power play off a pass from University of Minnesota center Jeff Taffe (3:52).
The Czech Republic netted the equalizer midway through the second period, on a goal by Martin Haylat (33:25), but the U.S. retook the lead moments later on Orpik’s unassisted goal (37:00).
Center Josef Vasicek-who had assisted on the first Czech goal–provided the game’s final goal with a power-play goal, assisted by linemate Havlat (48:45).
The Czech Republic–which opened with a 5-2 win over Slovakia- on Christmas day–converted just one of eight power-play chances while the U.S. went 1-for-6. Zdenek Smid made 29 saves for the Czech Republic, with the U.S. holding a 31-29 shot edge.
NOTES: The U.S. first forward line included Michigan center Andy Hilbert, with Wisconsin’s Brad Winchester and Harvard’s Brett Nowak on the wings ? Taffe centered the third line, alongside BU’s Pat Aufiero and Heisten ? Henning’s linemates included Northeastern’s Willie Levesque and New Hampshire’s Pat Foley ? the defensive pairings included: Orpik and Minnesota’s Jordan Leopold, Colorado College’s Mike Stuart and Maine’s Doug Janik, Michigan’s Jeff Jillson and UMass-Lowell’s Ron Hainsey ? the team’s last four players included BU defenseman Daniel Cavanaugh and BU forward John Sabo (both were late replacements to the U.S. roster) ? the tournament format includes round-robin play between two five-team groups ? other Group A action included Canada’s 3-2 win over Finland on Christmas day and a 1-1 tie between Slovakia and Finland on Sunday ? the rest of the U.S. schedule in the round-robin includes games vs. Slovakia (Dec. 28), Finland (Dec. 29) and Canada (Dec. 31).
CZECH REPUBLIC 0 1 1 - 2UNITED STATES 1 1 0 - 2
1st: U.S. 1. Barrett Heisten (Jeff Taffe), PP, 3:52.2nd: C.R. 1. Martin Havlat (Josef Vasicek) 33:25, U.S. 2. Richard Orpik(unassisted) 37:00. 3rd: C.R. 2. Josef Vasicek (Martin Havlat), PP, 48:45.
Shots: C.R. 9-9-11/29, U.S. 9-8-10/31.Saves: C.R. (Zdenek Smid) 7-11-11/29, U.S. (Rick DiPietro) 9-8-10/27.Power Play: C.R. 1-for-8, U.S. 1-for-6.Penalties: C.R. 6 for 12:00, U.S. 8 for 16:00.