American U16 fairytale! Robb

The U16 bronze-medal clash kicked off with a vigilant pace. For a long time, neither of the teams wanted to rush. Marek Bonk was the first to score just before the first intermission. The Slovaks were the dominant team, and they were rewarded with two goals by Tomšák and Alex Alföldy in the second period. Just before the second break, Rennebeck sparked hope for the USA. That hyped the Americans as they scored two goals within 36 seconds, equalizing the game. The USA U23 went into total euphoria as Lammi completed the American comeback in the 35th minute. However, the Slovaks refused to give up, and just two minutes later, Ďurča tied the game up once again, sending the game into overtime. At time 46:36, Joe Robb became an American hero as he tapped in a rebound, winning the USA bronze medals.

Svijanska Arena 1

4-5 (OT)

(1:0, 2:1, 1:3 – 0:1)

Slovakia U16 - USA U16

Penalties

4:5

PPG

2:2

SHG

0:0

Shots on goal

19:23

Goals and assists

14. Bonk (Alfödy, Necpál), 20. Markuš, 24. Alföldy (Alföldy, Imrich), 38. Ďurčo (Markuš) – 26. Rennebeck (Robb), 33. Balana (Helbling), 34. Nikolajski (Robb, Rennebeck), 36. Lammi (Petrina, Nikolajski), 42. Robb (Morris, Joyce), 47. Robb (Morris, Joyce)

Referees

Michal Škrobák, Tomáš Zbořil

Official game sheet

Slovakia U16

Chmelík – Kováčik, Siakel, Necpál, Bonk, Cabúk, Benko, Bartok, Balek, Copák – Alföldy Alex, Ďurčo, Gavran, Piško, Šimko, Husák, Alföldy Adam, Urmín, Kulich, Imrich, Chudý, Franko, Markuš

USA U16

Bergeron – Humphries, Brideau, Simon, Horner, Bonari, Rennebeck, Stahl, Zevola – Lammi, Robb, Joyce, Byington, Moore III., Evans, Weiner, Morris, Helbling, Nikolajski, Petrina, Lippo. Balana

COACHES´ REACTIONS

Róbert Alföldy (SVK): "We are extremely disappointed. It can be said that up to a certain phase of the match, we had the cup in our hands, but that's irrelevant now. Nevertheless, we knew that the overseas teams are truly high-quality. That means they don't give up under any circumstances. We warned the boys about that. We made some minor mistakes there, and the opponent accelerated. I believe our team deserves praise for everything. For the entire tournament, what the boys accomplished. That's how sports are. We congratulate the opponents, they simply earned it. Unfortunately, we didn't handle the overtime, and that's why our opponents could celebrate. I think the boys showcased fantastic play throughout the championship and have nothing to be ashamed of."

William Brasko (USA): "We came up with a game plan for each individual match that we wanted to execute. I think we did great in that regard. We were in the penalty area for a long time, but we couldn't convert and defend well. In overtime, we made some minor adjustments, and it paid off because we scored an important goal early on."