Canucks Prospect On Display

Game two of the exhibition series at the Langley Events Centre as the US played host to the Czech Republic in an entertaining match-up in front of well over 4,000 fans, many of which were Quinn Hughes fans.

Tickets were available for purchase at the venue or you if you were interested to help the Surrey Female Hockey program you could purchase one or more from a team member or player – all for a great cause.

The game featured Canucks prospect Quinn Hughes who appeared to be a fan favorite throughout the game that saw the US defeat the Czech Republic by a commanding score of 6-2 in World Junior pre-tournament play.

He wasn’t the only NHL product on display while New York Islanders 1st round draft pick Oliver Wahlstrom shone with two goals in front of 4,500 entertained fans that also saw Sasha Chmelevski grab one goal and an assist.

Czech Republic goaltender Jakub Skarek stopped 21 of the 24 shots that he faced through the first half in a game that saw him get little help from his teammates.

They changed “tenders” that saw Jiri Patera take over managing to stop 17 of 20 in the remaining 30 minutes of the game.  

Kyle Keyser, the starter for the USA wasn’t tested as often, but still managed to stop 19 of the 21 shots he faced as well as recording an assist on the US first goal that Chmelevski scored.

The US got the first of the game on a bad clearing pass from the corner up the middle of the ice that saw Oliver Wahlstrom get a feed from Canucks draft pick Quinn Hughes.

A short three minutes later he (Wahlstrom) added his second of the night with the Hughes brothers setting him up from the top corner for a 2-0 USA lead.

The first ended with the US grabbing a 3-0 lead as Phil Kemp was set-up by Chmelevski heading to the intermission with the US dominating by a commanding 20-2 shots.

The second saw the Czech team come out with far more “jump” that gave the US some tough moments managing to score on the PP at 9:27 that saw Jakub Lauko sneak one past Kyle Keyser cutting the Americans lead to a slim 3-1  by the halfway point of the second.

The third saw the USA control the remainder of the game scoring a pair of late goals in the final five minutes that saw Josh Morris and Ryan Poehling put the US up by a 4-1 margin.

The third saw both teams swap goals with Zadina make it 5-2, only to have the US finish the night off as Emberson making it 6-2 for the US.

The US dominated in the shot department by 44-21 while US “tender” Kyle Keyser finished with 19 saves on the night.

Czech Republic Starter Jakub Skarek allowed three goals on 24 shots finishing with 21 saves while backup Jiri Patera faced 20 shots managing 18 saves on the night.

Everything officially “kicks off” on Boxing day (December 26th) in Vancouver at  Rogers Arena and across the “straight” at Victoria’s Save on Foods in Victoria.

On a side-note, while the game are sponsored by Lordco and they had a company rep drop the puck in the pre-game, you will notice by the photo below that it would be nice to see them dress up – somewhat. It caught the attention of many in the press box!!

Catch the stars of tomorrow either in person or on the “tube”.

Sportswave will be there to cover all the game action!!

FINAL: USA 6 – Czech Republic 2

Final Shots: USA 44 – Czech Republic 21

Jakub Skarek: 21/24 saves for Czech Republic

Jiri Patera: 17/20 saves for Czech Republic