Team USA wins U17 Five Nations, claims silver at Ivan Hlinka

 

By @MichaelCaples –

A pair of teams representing the United States had successful tournaments in international summer hockey play this week.

The United States Under-17 Select Team posted a perfect 4-0-0-0 record to win the 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Frisco, Texas, while the Under-18 Select Team finished in second place at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup in Breclav, Czech Republic.

The U17 Team – which featured five Michigan natives – posted a 6-2 win over Switzerland, a 10-1 win over Slovakia, a 6-1 win over the Czech Republic and a 9-2 win over Germany.

How the Michigan natives fared:

Jacob Semik (Canton) – 4 games played, 2 goals, 4 assists, 2 penalties

Calen Kiefiuk (Macomb) – 4 games played, 2 goals, 3 assists, 8 penalties

Christian Krygier (Novi) – 4 games played, 0 goals, 5 assists, 2 penalties

Jeremy Davidson (Kalamazoo) – 4 games played, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 penalty

Drew DeRidder (Fenton) – 4 games played, 2 wins (2-0-0 record), .940 save percentage, 1.50 goals-against average

Meanwhile, the U18 Team was perfect until the final game of the Ivan Hlinka tournament, beating Slovakia 8-1 in an exhibition, then recording a 4-3 (OT) win over Finland, a 4-3 win over Switzerland, a 4-2 win over the Czech Republid and a 4-3 (OT) win over Russia to reach the title game.

There, the host country Czech Republic got revenge, beating the U.S. 4-3 in a rematch.

The U.S. U18 squad also featured five Michigan boys, and Northville native Sasha Chmelevski led the tournament in scoring with 10 points.

How the Michigan natives fared:

Sasha Chmelevski (Northville) – 5 games played, 5 goals, 5 assists, 1 penalty

Ivan Lodnia (Novi) – 5 games played, 3 goals, 1 assist, no penalties

Tommy Miller (West Bloomfield) – 5 games played, 1 goal, 1 assist, no penalties

Ronald Brickey (Burtchville) – 5 games played, no scoring line

Evan Dougherty (Kalamazoo) – 5 games played, no scoring line