By Michael Caples –
With the help of four Michigan natives, Team USA is once again victorious in a prestigious amateur tournament.
The American squad beat Sweden 7-0 in the gold medal game of the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Under-18 Championship on Sunday, marking the fourth straight tournament win for the U.S. The team, which is the National Team Development Program U18 squad with a few additions, went undefeated in six tournament games – all played in the Czech Republic.
Michigan produced four of the players on the Team USA roster – Andrew Copp (Ann Arbor), Riley Barber (Livonia), Patrick Sieloff (Ann Arbor), and Jacob Trouba (Rochester). All of the Michigan-born players skate with the NTDP in Ann Arbor.
Andrew Copp (forward) – The Ann Arbor native recorded one assist, five shots on goal, and finished with an even plus/minus in the six games. He has not given a verbal commitment to any schools.
Riley Barber (forward) – The Miami commit posted one goal and two assists in his six games in the Czech Republic, along with one penalty. He finished +2 in the tournament.
Patrick Sieloff (defenseman) – Sieloff, who will be joining Barber at Miami, finished with a +3 rating. The assistant captain didn’t record any points, but was part of a defensive core that allowed only four goals over six games.
Jacob Trouba (defenseman) – The Michigan commit had one goal and two assists in six games for the U.S. squad. Also serving as an assistant captain, Trouba finished +5, and had four penalties in the tournament.
Other notes: Collin Olson (Apple Valley, Minn.), Seth Jones (Plano, Texas) and Matthew Lane (Rochester, N.Y.) were named Team USA’s best three players for the tournament…Olson played in five of the six games, while Michigan commit Jared Rutledge played in game. Rutledge posted a shutout with 17 saves in the one game he appeared in…Jones had eight points in the tournament…Lane had seven…Nicolas Kerdiles (Irvine, Calif.) led Team USA in scoring with nine points.
Check out this celebration video after the U.S. team captured gold: