Asunto: USA U-20 Team

Wanted to update everyone on the U20 Team's performance at the World Championships this year. First thing's first: Team USA finished first in Division II with a 7-0 record and earned promotion into Division I for next year. Additionally, since we had clinched the top spot before our last game, we had a chance to empty the bench and get some 19 year olds a chance to play together and get a taste for competitive international hockey before next year's friendly schedule.

Big thanks to everyone who developed the quality players this team needed to make it happen. Grateful to everyone who was on the team this year, but wanted to make sure I recognized some of the team's top players. Alternate Captain Mahmoud Champion led the tournament in goals (7), points (11), and three star selections (5). Ignacio Chandler led all defensemen in the tournament with 6 assists (tied for third among all players, along with teammate Ernesto Smith) and was second among defensemen in scoring with 7 points. Goalie LeBron Shelby posted a 5-0 record with 2 shutouts. Ross Boudreau finished second in the tournament with 6 goals. Captain Gabe Goss and Alternate Captain Winston Connelly provided leadership and were integral to the team's defensive efforts. Obviously, more players were key to the team finishing first in the tournament in goals (32) and goals against (6).

Looking forward to next season, if chosen to continue on with the team. I am hoping to build towards contending for promotion back to the Top Division, but am also focusing on baby steps, and setting a minimum goal of not getting relegated back to Division II.

Great job! None of the games were really close either. I can't wait to see how the team does in Division I.

Congrats! This was a pretty strong group with some promising prospects for the senior team barring bad luck with CL.

Great job! "Goalie LeBron Shelby" is the best thing I've read so far today lol. Keep up the good work!

This ended up being a disappointing season for the U20 team. I thought we played pretty well in a lot of games, controlling the play and generating chances, but ended up being snakebit and not able to finish on those chances.

It started out well with a dominant 5-2 win over Brazil, but then the wheels came off. We lost in a shootout to Spain despite outshooting them 47-22, got dominated by a good Finland team, and then lost 3-2 to Slovenia in a game where we outshot them 33-26. Despite these struggles, we were in a position to advance with a win over Turkey, but never recovered after falling behind 4-0 in the first. We outshot Turkey 30-22, and pulled to within 5-4 before Turkey scored an empty net goal. The team showed great heart with a big win against Netherlands in the relegation round, and could have avoided relegation with a win against Lithuania, but that game went like the rest of the tournament, and we lost 1-0 despite outshooting them 40-24.

Despite our struggles, there were some strong performances. Second line center and returning player Marlon Roach scored 7 points, including a team leading 5 goals. First line left winger Lesley Rich also had 7 points, following up an 8 point performance last year. Second line left winger Rayshawn Schaefer led the team with 5 assists. Spencer Brink and Erik Crawford led all USA defensemen with 4 points. Finally, the team continuing to battle until the end was largely due to the leadership of captain Ignacio Chandler, and alternate captains Gordon Leonard and Russell Chapa.

We didn't get the outcome we wanted, but I enjoyed the chance to coach the team, and I hope to return next year and promote back to Division 1 to keep fighting.

Keep up the good work!

Hello,
I am running for the World Division I, U20 category, Portugal. If you're interested in my candidacy, I'll be happy for your vote. Thank you in advance. Good luck in the game and at the World Cup.
Znalec

I don't think we can vote in Portugal's elections!

It's an election for who will host the World Championships, the U20 category of division I in particular. The U.S. hockey national team managers can vote, but only those three managers.

The four organizers for the winning bids get credits. Generally, the winner will be whoever creates the best logo, mascot, and if they are particularly ambitious, a website.

With most playoff games complete, the bulk of the players are in Norway ready for the championships. We are hoping to put together a strong showing like we did the last time we were in Division II, and I think we've got the roster to do it. I'm announcing that we have named Dylan Macon, one of our most productive returning players from last season, as team captain. The alternate captains are Morton Currier, who also played last season and is a strong, well-rounded winger, and Erik Crawford, a strong offensive defenseman who will quarterback our powerplay unit on the point and was a major contributor on last year's team. Hoping to get us back to Division I next season.

Best of luck in the tournament!

Go Go USA!

Good news USA fans, the U20 team finished first in the Division II World Championships and will be promoted! For those of you who did not follow the team, I'll give a quick recap. We started off with a scarier than it should have been 2-0 win against Ireland. Despite outshooting them 41-12, we struggled to pull away and never scored an even strength goal. Fortunately, the defense held strong, and we got two powerplay goals to get the win.

Next, we dropped a game 3-1 to Belarus where we struggled throughout the game. This made the next match against Turkey pretty much a must win, and the boys responded with a 6-2 win over Turkey. Next, we got two comfortable wins in games we were heavily favored in, beating Bosnia 6-2 and Estonia 6-1. This left us on the bubble for promotion with games against who (at the time) were the top two teams in the standings. We won close games against Ukraine (2-0) and Norway (3-1) to clinch first place and promotion to Division I.

As always, I want to make sure I recognize some of the strong performances. To win a tournament like this, you sometimes need your best players to be your best players, and our first line forwards delivered. Captain Dylan Macon (6 goals, 6 assists) and left winger Rudolph Tinsley (4 goals, 8 assists) tied for the tournament lead with 12 points, and their center, Ed Martin (6 goals, 5 assists) tied for third with 11 points. Furthermore, Macon led all tournament participants by being selected to the three stars in 5 of the 7 games. We got stellar goaltending, with Charles Malcom finishing second in the tournament with a 95.45 save percentage (first among goalies with more than two games) and two shutouts, including a 31 save shutout in a must-win 2-0 victory over Ukraine. Roy Compton backed him up well, logging a 90.91 save percentage, including wins in two starts that let us rest the starter in some of the games we were favored in. Eldridge Miles was probably the most pleasant surprise. He would not have even gotten on the ice but for an injury to another defenseman, and then played well enough that I had to keep playing him in most games even after the injured player was back. In only 6 games as a fourth line defenseman, he finished tied for sixth among all defensemen in the tournament with 4 points.

Thank you to everyone for your support, and for continuing to sign and train elite young American talent. Looking forward to hopefully getting reelected and competing in Division I next season.

Nice job!