Asunto: USA U-20 Team

Sorry I'm late getting it out, but here is my annual recap of the World Championships. Our team played well, finishing third in the Division I tournament, falling one game short of promoting to the Top Division, but safely above the relegation threshhold.

Our first game was a heartbreaker, as we outshot Norway 33-23, but couldn't overcome three first period goals by Norway and fell 4-2. Team captain Clayton "Speedy" Gonzalez was a part of both of our goals, registering a goal and an assist.

We bounced back strong, pulling off a 5-3 upset win over Bulgaria. The second line was instrumental, with center Tayler Douglas scoring a goal and two assists, and winger Cobi Lawrence adding a goal and an assist. Defenseman and powerplay specialist Gordon Farmer added a goal and an assist, both on the powerplay.

After a rocky first couple of games, Jordan Mann came up huge against Denmark, stopping 34 of 36 shots on the way to a 4-2 win in a game where we were severely outshot. Winger Will Payne contributed a goal and an assist.

In our next game, we fell to Portugal 4-3 in a shootout. A shorthanded goal by winger Mick Stinson helped us get to overtime, and the one point we got for that ended up being crucial in our seeding.

We entered the last game of the preliminary round without a playoff spot secured, but beat Slovenia 2-1 behind another stellar performance in goal by Mann, as he stopped 31 of 32 shots. Speedy Gonzalez was involved in both goals, recording another goal and an assist, with Payne adding a powerplay tally.

This secured us the second seed from our group entering the playoffs. We emerged victorious in a quarterfinal matchup against rival Canada. Defenseman Walter Gonzalez, playing in his first game of the tournament after serving as a healthy scratch through the preliminary round, scored in the first period to give us a 1-0 lead, and Payne scored what ended up being the ultimate game winner in a 2-1 game.

This set the stage for a semifinal match, with promotion on the line, against Romania. Unfortunately, Romania scored three first period goals and sailed to a 4-1 victory, keeping us out of the title game and promotion to the Top Division.

Despite the disappointment against Romania, our boys showed up big time for the consolation game against Ukraine. Mann was excellent in net yet again, stopping 32 or 33 shots. Our top line center, Les Perez, scored a goal and an assist, and heled us win 3-1, securing third place.

Despite not getting to promotion, I think this was a successful tournament. I'm looking forward to next year, and getting to the championship game and promoting to the Top Division is our goal. As always, thanks for the opportunity to coach and for giving me such a great group of players to work with.

It's almost tournament time! I know I am always optimistic at this time of year, but I think this is one of the strongest rosters we have had since I started managing the U20 team. We have a deep roster, with some really strong 20 year olds, and some very good 19 year olds to fill out some spots. Also, the top American players in this age group were all reasonably well balanced, so I am not having to choose between players with a significant deficiency in their skill set. I have the roster for the tournament set pending any injuries between now and the start of the tournament, so looking forward to the players joining me as their teams wrap up playoffs.

Our starting goalie is going to be 19 year old Robert Andrade. Andrade is a veteran of international play, having made 12 appearances in U18 world championships posting a 89% save percentage and a 3.26 GAA.

The team captain will be defenseman Eric McClure. McClure was a big part of our team last year, logging a goal and 2 assists from the blueline.

Offensive Defenseman Gordon Farmer will be one of the alternatives. Farmer brings a heavy shot from the blue line, and gave us 2 goals and 4 assists in last year's tournament.

The other alternate captain will be left winger Mickey Schaefer. Schaefer is another returning player who scored a goal in last year's tournament.

As always, thank you for giving me this chance and developing such strong young players. Looking forward to competing and hopefully promoting back to the top division this season.

Hi everyone, here is my recap from last year's world championship. I thought we put forward a good showing. Unfortunately, we once again finished one game away from promotion, but our team gave a strong performance.

We came out strong in our first game against Bulgaria, building 2-0 and 3-1 leads. Things took a turn in the third period, where a pair of Bulgaria goals forced overtime. We lost in the extra frame, but did get a point for the standings. We were led by the third line in this game, with defenseman Dwayne Payne scoring a goal and an assist, and winger and alternate captain Mickey Schaefer adding a pair of assists.

In the next game we fell behind early, but then roared back to a 3-1 lead before eventually winning 3-2. The first line led the way, with winger Thad Felton scoring a goal and two assists, and a powerplay tally by center Joe Davis heldup as the game winner. I thought we played better than the scoreboard showed, as we outshot Austria 39-16.

We dominated Lithuania in the next game, outshooting them 51-19, even thought we only won 2-0. Winger Rock Schafer scored both of our goals and Robert Andrade pitched a 19 save shutout.

We also controlled the game against Denmark, building a 3-0 lead before Denmark scored a late goal to make it 3-1. We outshot them 43-26. The first line led the way, with Felton and center Gerhardt Carlson each recording a goal and an assist.

The Denmark game clinched both a spot in the playoffs and the top seed, so we took our foot off the gas a bit in our last pool game against UK. UK outshot us 40-12, but backup goal Tahj Barnett kept us in the game stopping 38 of 40 shots. He played well enough, I actually decided to roll with him into the playoff games.

In our quarterfinal game against Portugal, we fell behind 2-0 after the first period, but roared by with a three goal second period to win 3-2. The second line game through big for us, with Davis scoring a goal and an assist, and winger Alex Barbee notching the game winner.

Our promotion dreams were crushed in the semifinal against Ireland. This was probably on coaching, as we didn't have an answer for anything they did schematically. Ireland beat us 4-1.

Despite the frustration of losing in the semifinal, our boys finished the tournament with an inspired performance. We dominated Ukraine in the consolation game 5-1, getting scoring from all four lines. Barbee scored a goal and an assist, third line center Chris Applewick and fourth line winger Wilfred Bingham both added goals. So, we finished third in the tournament for the second year in a row.

Our goaltending was probably the highlight of our team this year. Andrade and Barnett both registered save percentages north of 92%. We struggled to score as much as we would have liked. The first line gave us solid but not dominant production, and we did not add a lot of depth scoring overall (though our lower lines did come through big in a few key situations).

I think the program is in strong shape, and I look forward to coaching them again next year. I appreciate you continuing to trust me with the team and continuing to develop great young players for me to use on the team.

We are coming up on championship time again! Our players are starting to arrive as their club teams finish their season, and we've got a deep, veteran heavy team this year.

Our team captain is going to be the left wing sniper Taylor Cowart. Cowart scored 2 goals and 2 assists in last year's U20 championships.

Center Rico Cruz will be one of the alternate captains, returning to the team after recording an assist in last year's championships.

Defenseman and powerplay specialist Billy Ray Neely is the other alternate captain. Neely played in 6 games at last year's championships.

Taylor Hankins will be the starting goalie. This is Hankins' first appearance in a competitive international tournament.

I say this every year, but thanks again for the chance to coach the team. Hoping they can fight for promotion and get us back to the top level.

I know I'm really late on this, but here is my recap email. The big takeaway is we were fortunate enough to win the Division I title and earn promotion so our boys will get to play in the top division next year! This was a really strong group of 20 year olds, so we had a pretty deep roster and got production from lots of different players. Here is my annual recap of how the tournament went.

We opened against Bulgria. The Bulgarians scored first, but then we scored 7 unanswered to take a 7-1 lead before eventually winning 7-2. We scored four powerplay goals and got scoring from all four lines, including 2 goals and an assist by alternate captain Rico Cruz, a goal and 2 assists by top line center Chris Applewick, and a goal and an assist by team captain Taylor Cowart.

We followed up our opening win by shutting out the Lithuanians 3-0 behind a 16 save shutout by Taylor Hankins and two goals from our fourth line, being scored by center Franklin Darden (who added an assist) and defenseman Werner Densmore.

Our hot started continued moving to 3-0 after thumping Brazil 6-1. This time, five of the six goals came from our second and third lines, led by center Jonathan Napier (2 goals) and wingers Phil Hernandez and Lloyd Kane (1 goal each).

This start clinched a spot in the playoff round, which gave us a chance to empty the bench and rest some guys. We fell to Denmark (4-0) and Croatia (5-2) to end pool play. In the Croatian game, our top line was responsible for both goals, with Cowart and right winger Alex Barbee each recording a goal and an assist, and Applewick notching two assists. We ultimately finished second in our group.

The quarterfinal game was a nail biter. We carried a 2-0 lead into the third, but Austria scored late to make it a one goal game before we won 2-1. Cowart scored both goals and Applewick assisted on both.

This led us to the semifinals and a chance to win promotion. The game was an instant classic. We held 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but Ukraine tied it up both times before taking a 3-2 lead into the third. We tied the game midway through the third period on a goal by third line winger Joseph Mead (Napier recorded his second assist of the night). The game ended regulation tied, and no one scored in overtime. In the shootout, Cowart scored first, and Barbee scored the winner that won the shootout, the game, and sent USA to the Top Division!

Even with promotion clinched, our work wasn't done. We still had the championship game against Germany. We won handily, beating Germany 4-0. The first line carried us one last time, scoring three of the four goals, including a goal and two assists by Cowart and a pair of goals by Barbee. Backup goalie Robert Andrade got the start because we rode Hankins pretty hard this tournament and wanted the fresher guy in net, and he did not disappoint recording a 26 save shutout.

This was a really fun team. It's a recipe for success when you are able to get both elite scoring from the top line and contributions through the line up. All four lines made major contributions, and our top forward line was one of the best in the tournament. Cowart led all skaters in the tournament in goals (6), points (10), and three star selections (4). Applewick tied with Coward for the points lead, and led the tournament with 8 assists. Barbee finished tied for third with 7 points. Further, even after starting the tournament on the bench, Andrade got three games in and finished with the second best save percentage in the tournament (.944).

As always, I appreciate the chance to work with this group, and all the talented USA players that were available for me to build the team with. Hopefully we do you proud in the top division this season!

Thanks Joe. I know you don't often get replies here, but I always read your reports.

Great recap! Keep up the good work and goog luck in the top division.

good.......jeez