Dec. 31, 1999

SKELLEFTEA, Sweden – The United States hockey team finished round-robin play at the World Junior Championship on Friday by skating to a 1-1 tie versus rival Canada, with University of Minnesota center Jeff Taffe tying the game on a late power-play goal while Phillip Sauve made 28 saves in his first action at the tournament.

The tie pushed the U.S. (1-1-2) into a third-place finish in the Group A standings while Canada (2-1-1) tied the Czech Republic for first place, with the Czechs claiming the group’s No. 1 seed in the medal round due to a better goal differential (+5) than Canada’s +4 (those teams earlier had played to a 1-1 tie).

The U.S. faces a tough quarterfinal challenge in the medal round, versus the No. 2 seed from Group B and the host country Sweden (3-0-1). The U.S. also must shift cities, playing Sweden in Umea on Jan. 1 at 2:00 p.m. local time (8:00 a.m. EST). The winner returns to Skelleftea on Jan. 3 for a 3:30 semifinal game versus the Czech Republic-Kazakstan winner while the losers of both games will meet in Umea at 7:30.

Three Notre Dame players again skated on the U.S. forward lines, with freshman center Connor Dunlop and sophomore David Inman skating on the second line while sophomore Brett Henning centered the fourth line. Dunlop won six of his nine faceoffs while drawing a tripping penalty in the second period and a hooking penalty in the third. Inman- recorded one shot on goal from his right wing position while Henning won three of his seven faceoffs.

Sauve (Buffalo, N.Y.) had an impressive start, stopping several point-blank shots in the first period. Canada finally snuck a shot past the Drummondville star from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, on a power-play goal at the 3:00 mark of the second period after a slashing penalty on Boston College defenseman Brooks Orpik. Second-line right wing Eric Chouinard scored on a slapshot from the left faceoff circle, with assists coming from third-line defenseman Steven McCarthy and second-line center Mike Ribiera.

Canada held a 12-4 shot edge in the second period but the U.S. responded by outshooting its northern neighbors by a 13-5 count in the final 20 minutes. A slashing penalty on Chris Nielson set up the U.S. power play midway through the final period and Taffe scored with just eight second left on the man advantage (12:05). Taffe slid the puck underneath the left leg pad of Maxime, with assists from Harvard right wing Brett Nowak and UMass-Lowell defenseman Ron Hainsey.

NOTES: The U.S. first forward line on Friday again included Michigan State RW Adam Hall, Michigan C Andy Hilbert and Nowak ? Inman and Dunlop were joined on the second line by Northeastern’s Willie Levesque ? the third-line forwards included Boston University LW Daniel Cavanaugh, Taffe and Maine RW Barrett Heisten ? Henning was joined on the fourth line by BU’s John Sabo and New Hampshire RW Pat Foley ?Friday’s defensive pairings included: Michigan’s Jeff Jillson and Orpik, Colorado College’s Mike Stuart and Maine’s Doug Janik, and BU’s Pat Aufiero and Minnesota’s Jordan Leopold ? the team’s last two players included Hainsey and Wisconsin’s F Brad Winchester ? Friday’s other Group A game saw the Czech Republic beat Finland 4-3, helping the U.S. finish third (Finland went 1-2-1m with a win over the U.S.) while giving the Czech’s the goal differential edge on Canada ? Saturday’s other quarterfinal action will pit Group B winner Russia vs. Finland (6:00 p.m. in Umea) and Canada vs. Switzerland (2:00 p.m. in Skelleftea) … the U.S. power play is hitting at 14.3 percent in the tournament (3-for-21) while the U.S. penalty kill owns an 84.0 percentage (21-of-25).

USA        0        0        1        --        1Canada     0        1        0        --        1

First Period – Scoring: None. Penalties: Ryder, CAN (elbowing), 9:24, Willie Levesque, (interference), 11:27, Barrett Heisten, USA (tripping), 13:09, Malhotra, CAN (holding), 16:23.

Second Period – Scoring: 1, CAN, Eric Chouinard (Steven McCarthy, Mike Ribiera), 3:00 (pp). Penalties: Brooks Orpik, USA (slashing), 1:24, Barrett Heisten, USA (high-sticking), 5:20, Bell, CAN (boarding), 8:53, Connor Dunlop, USA (tripping), 11:49.

Third Period – Scoring: 2, USA, Jeff Taffe (Brett Nowak, Ron Hainsey). Penalties: Connor Dunlop, USA (holding), 3:48, Spezza, CAN (hooking), 4:13, Nielsen, CAN (slashing), 10:12, Rossiter, CAN (high-sticking), 11:21, Barrett Heisten, USA (high-sticking), 11:21.

Shots: USA 9-4-13/26, CAN 12-12-5/29.
Goaltenders: USA, Phillip Sauve (12-11-5/28), CAN, Maxime Ouellet
(9-4-12/25).
Power Play: USA 1-for-5, CAN 1-for-6
Penalties: USA 7 for 14:00, CAN 6 for 12:00.