Dec. 22, 2005

VICTORIA, British Columbia - Robbie Schremp (Fulton, N.Y.) scored a goal and added an assist in the first period and Phil Kessel (Madison, Wis.) scored a third-period game-winning goal, as the U.S. National Junior Team defeated Sweden, 3-2, in an exhibition game at the Bear Mountain Arena tonight in preparation for the upcoming 2006 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.

The United States jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to first-period goals from Kevin Porter (Northville, Mich.) and Schremp. U.S. goaltender Cory Schneider (Marblehead, Mass.) turned aside all 11 first-period shots faced, and stopped 21 of 22 shots in just over 30 minutes of action.

Sweden got on the board in the second period with a goal at 7:10. Both teams changed goalkeepers midway through the game, allowing Team USA's Jeff Frazee (Edina, Minn.) to face some rubber. He gave up only one goal on 14 shots throughout the remainder of the game.

Sweden tied the game at 2-2 just over a minute into the third period. But Kessel buried a game-winning power-play goal with seven minutes remaining in regulation to send the United States to the victory.

Team USA finished 1-for-7 with the man advantage, while Sweden went 0-for-6.

The United States will play another exhibition game tomorrow (Dec. 22) against Norway at the Recreation Complex in Powell River, British Columbia. Game time is slated for 10 p.m. EST.

IIHF World Junior Championship competition kicks off for Team USA on Monday (Dec. 26) when the United States will take on Latvia in Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum at 7 p.m. EST.

NOTES: Walt Kyle (Marquette, Mich.), head men's ice hockey coach at Northern Michigan University, is serving as head coach of the 2006 U.S. National Junior Team. John Hynes (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Mike Gibbons (Eagan, Minn.) are serving as assistant coaches ... The 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship will feature athletes under the age of 20 on international teams including the United States, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland ... Six members of the U.S. National Junior Team are returning from last year's team, including Schneider, Brian Lee (Moorhead, Minn.), Porter, Schremp, Kessel, and Chris Bourque (Boston, Mass.) ... The University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota and the University of North Dakota lead all NCAA teams with three players each on the 2006 U.S. National Junior Team ... Twelve members of the 2006 U.S. National Junior Team spent time with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, including Kessel, Peter Mueller (Bloomington, Minn.), Jack Skille (Madison, Wis.), Nathan Gerbe (Oxford, Mich.), Geoff Paukovich (Englewood, Colo.), Porter, Tom Fritsche (Parma, Ohio), Nathan Davis (Rocky River, Ohio), Mark Mitera (Livonia, Mich.), Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minn.), Jack Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Frazee ... A crowd of 2,826 watched the exhibition match between the United States and Sweden.