Gawrys’ 4 Points Leads USA To Semi-finals

July 2, 2010

KARLSTAD, Sweden — Nathan Sigmund (San Diego, Calif.) scored twice and Shawn Gawrys (St. Louis, Mo.) recorded a goal and three assists as the U.S. InLine National Team earned a 9-0 win over Slovakia here tonight in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation InLine Hockey World Championship. Team USA will face Canada in the semifinal round tomorrow (July 3) at 12 p.m. EDT.

\”It was a good effort by us, but we still have a lot of room for improvement and we\’re still looking for that overall perfect game,\” said U.S. head coach Rob Chornomud. \”We are building one game at a time and getting better every game.\”

Juaquin Chavira (Upland, Calif.) gave Team USA an early 1-0 lead when he scored just 49 seconds into the game. Sigmund fed Chavira a pass at the top of the crease, where the forward let go a quick wrist shot to put the U.S. on the scoreboard. With the U.S. on the power play, CJ Yoder (Colorado Springs, Colo.) increased the U.S. lead to 2-0 at the 3:45 mark of the first stanza with a one-timer off of a Gawrys pass from the right corner.

With the U.S. on the penalty kill late in the first period, Gerry Osterkamp (Covina, Calif.) notched a shorthanded goal, putting Team USA ahead, 3-0, heading into the first intermission.

Sigmund led off the scoring in the second period with a goal at the 4:17 mark to put the U.S. up, 4-0. With only 33 seconds left in the period, Team USA capitalized on a Slovakian turnover behind its net. Pat Maroon (St. Louis, Mo) and Yoder set up a passing sequence and Gawrys released a quick shot from the top of the crease to give Team USA a 5-0 lead at halftime.

In the third period, Maroon added to the U.S. lead with a goal at the 10:17 mark, deeking Slovakia goaltenderJozef Ondrejka and connecting on his shot. Shortly after, James Beilsten (St. Louis, Mo.) notched Team USA\’s second power-play goal of the game, putting the U.S. up, 7-0, after three periods.

Kyle Kraemer (St. Louis, Mo.) scored at 2:09 of the final stanza and Sigmund collected his second goal of the game at the 9:26 mark of the fourth period to complete the scoring. U.S. goaltender Tommy Tartaglione (Harbor City, Calif.) stopped all 16 shots he faced, while Ondrejka made 33 saves for Slovakia in the loss.

NOTES: Team USA went 2-for-5 on the power play, while Slovakia was 0-for-2 with the man advantage … The U.S. has yet to surrender a first-half goal in the tournament … Eight U.S. players recorded points in the contest … For the full U.S. roster, click here… Results and statistics from the tournament can be found here… Rob Chornomud is serving as head coach for the 2010 U.S. InLine National Team for the second consecutive year, while former U.S. InLine National Team member Josh Milewski is serving as the assistant coach … In the 13-year history of the IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship, the United States has earned gold medals in 1996, 1997, 2004 and 2006; silver medals in 1998, 2001 and 2009; and bronze medals at the 2000, 2003 and 2005 tournaments. There was no tournament played in 1999.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period 

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Chavira (Sigmund), 0:49; 2, USA, Yoder (Gawrys), 3:45 (pp); 3, USA, Osterkamp (Beilsten), 10:20 (sh). Penalties: SVK, Preisinger (high sticking, double minor), 2:23; SVK, Ertel (hooking) 7:12; SVK, Trska (hooking), 8:15; USA, Tartaglione (holding-the-stick), 9:16.

Second Period – Scoring: 4, USA, Sigmund (unassisted), 4:17; 5, USA, Gawrys (Maroon, Yoder), 11:27. Penalties: None.

Third Period – Scoring: 6, USA, Maroon (Gawrys), 10:17; 7, USA, Beilsten (Gawrys, Maroon), 11:17 (pp). Penalties: SVK, Horsky (slashing), 11:05.

Fourth Period – Scoring: 8, USA, Kraemer (unassisted), 2:09; 9, USA, Sigmund (Osterkamp), 9:26. Penalties: SVK, Ertel (slashing), 11:59; USA, Beilsten (hooking), 11:59.

 Powower Power Play: USA 2-5; SVK 0-2
Penalties: USA 2-3; SVK 4-9