U.S. Men's National Team Tops The Ukraine, 7-1, At 2004 IIHF World Championship
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April 29, 2004
OSTRAVA, Czech Republic -- The 2004 United States Men's National Team bested the Ukraine, 7-1, here today in the final game of the Preliminary Round for both teams at the 2004 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship. Team USA dominated play while forward Blake Sloan (Park Ridge, Ill./Dallas Stars) contributed two goals to earn U.S. Player of the Game honors.
The win, combined with a 5-2 victory by Slovakia over Finland today, meant the U.S. (1-1-1) earned the third seed in Group B and advanced to the Qualification Round against the top three seeds from Group C. The U.S. next faces Russia in Ostrava on Saturday, May 1 at 2:15 p.m. EDT, before playing Sweden on Sunday in Ostrava, and Denmark on Tuesday in Prague.
Sloan started the scoring at 8:43 of the first period on a cross-ice feed from Dustin Brown (Ithaca, N.Y./Los Angeles Kings). Coming in from the right wing Sloan sent the puck over the sliding Ukrainian goaltender, Konstantin Simchuk.
NHL rookie forward Ryan Malone (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins) got the eventual game winner just under three minutes later on the power play. U.S. forward Chris Drury (Trumbull, Conn./Buffalo Sabres) feathered a pass as Malone was driving to the net before re-directing it to the far side.
Sloan and Brown again hooked up in the second period when the Dallas Stars forward took a hard wrist shot from the high slot that beat Simchuk high over his blocker for his second goal.
Forward Richard Park (Seoul, South Korea/Minnesota Wild), defenseman Paul Mara (Ridgewood, N.Y./Phoenix Coyotes), defenseman Keith Ballard (Baudette, Minn./Univ. of Minnesota) and forward Mike Grier (Detroit, Mich./Buffalo Sabres) all added insurance markers as part of a balanced U.S. scoring attack. Team USA out-shot its opponent, 32-17, and nearly claimed a shutout as Slovakia's lone goal came in the final minute of play.
U.S. goaltender Mike Dunham (Johnson City, N.Y./New York Rangers) made 16 saves to collect his first win of the tournament.
Game Summary
First Period: Scoring: 1, USA, Sloan (Brown, Cullen), 8:43. 2, USA, Malone (Drury), 11:41 (pp). 3, USA, Park (Roach), 17:15 (pp). Penalties: Karchenko, UKR (boarding), 11:13; Varlamov, UKR (highsticking), 15:26.
Second Period: Scoring: 4, USA, Mara (Halpern), 8:48 (pp). 5, USA, Sloan (Brown), 14:28. Penalties: Ostroushko, UKR (cross-checking), 3:19; Malone, USA (elbowing), 4:01; Tsyrul, UKR (holding), 7:49; Battaglia, USA (tripping), 18:35.
Third Period: Scoring: 6, USA, Ballard (Drury, Westrum), 5:52. 7, USA, Grier (Mara, Westrum), 8:34. 8, UKR, Salnikov (Shakhraychuk), 19:22 (pp). Penalties: Shyryaev, UKR (tripping), 9:06; Gnidenko, UKR (highsticking), 11:41; Sloan, USA (holding the stick), 18:38.
Shots: UKR: 2-8-7--17. USA: 11-10-11--32.
Goaltenders: UKR, Simchuk (21 shots, 16 saves); Karpenko at 16:19 of the second (11 shots, 9 saves). USA, Dunham (17 shots, 16 saves).
Referee: Hannu Henriksson. Linesmen: Anton Semionov, Matthew Folka.
Attendance: 2,587.
2004 IIHF Men's World Championship
Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic -- April 24-May 9, 2004
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Czech Republic | Slovakia | Sweden | Canada |
| Germany | Finland | Russia | Switzerland |
| Latvia | Ukraine | Denmark | Austria |
| Kazakstan | USA | Japan | France |
2004 U.S. Men's National Team Schedule
| Date | Local Time/EDT | Match-up | Site |
| April 21 | 6:45 p.m./12:45 p.m. | Germany 0 vs. USA 4 (exhib.) | Nuremburg, Germany |
| April 24 | 8:15 p.m./2:15 p.m. | Finland 4, USA 2 | Ostrava |
| April 26 | 8:15 p.m./2:15 p.m. | USA 3, Slovakia 3 | Ostrava |
| April 28 | 12:15 p.m./6:15 a.m. | Ukraine 1, USA 7 | Ostrava |
| May 1 | 8:15 p.m./2:15 p.m. | Russia vs. USA | Ostrava |
| May 2 | 8:15 p.m./2:15 p.m. | Sweden vs. USA | Ostrava |
| May 4 | 8:15 p.m./2:15 p.m. | USA vs. Denmark | Prague |
| May 5-6 | TBD | Quarterfinal Round | Prague |
| May 8 | TBD | Semifinal Round | Prague |
| May 9 | TBD | Bronze- and Gold-Medal GamesPrague |
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