ZLIN, Czech Republic -- Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Md.) scored her second hat trick in as many days to lead the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team to a 7-0 victory over Sweden in its second preliminary-round game of the 2012 IIHF Women's World U18 Championship.
"In the first five minutes of the game, we wanted to dictate play and get them back on their heels," saidHeather Linstad, head coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team. "The first three lines went over the boards and had great energy. Sweden put some great pressure on us, but I thought we came out fast in the first 10 minutes of the game and set the tone."
Team USA captain Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) put the U.S. on the board with a backhand shot at 9:38 of the first period. Dana Trivigno (Setauket, N.Y.) added to the U.S. lead when she deflected a shot from the blue line under Sweden netminder Jessica Hjorth's glove to earn a power-play marker at 11:54. Skarupa fired a wristshot from the right crease for her fourth goal of the tournament, giving the U.S. a three-goal lead at the end of the opening frame.
After a scoreless second period, Skarupa struck for her second goal of the game on a rebound at 1:41 of the third period. Anne Pankowski (Laguna Hills, Calif.) scored back-to-back goals, the first coming at 9:34 on the power play and the second at 16:04. Skarupa secured the win with her third goal to complete her second hat trick in two days.
Brianna Laing (Marblehead, Mass.) stopped all 10 shots to earn the shutout in the U.S. victory, while Hjorth made 49 saves for Sweden.
Team USA, which holds a 2-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) overall record, will play its third preliminary-round game of the 2012 IIHF Women's World U18 Championship Tuesday (Jan. 3) against the Czech Republic at 1 p.m. EST.
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