The U.S. team routed Russia 8-1 on Tuesday in Lake Placid, N.Y., in a matchup of under-20 national teams.

Coach Dean Blais of the U.S. team still has 29 players in a junior national evaluation camp. He is looking for the players he wants to compete for the U.S. in the World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan over the holidays.

Against Russia, two Gophers had goals. Zach Budish, a freshman forward, deflected a shot for the third U.S. goal. It came on a two-man advantage. Jordan Schroeder, a sophomore center, had the last goal, on a power play, and an assist.

Mike Lee, a St. Cloud State freshman, was the U.S. goalie for the whole game.

The U.S. and Russia will play again on Wed., Fri. and Sat.

Hopefully, those games are more competitive.

Danny Kristo, a North Dakota freshman forward from Eden Prairie, had two goals for the U.S.

AROUND HOCKEY

* Stunning news: The CCHA has turned down Alabama-Birmingham’s request for admission. UAB is in the same four-team conference as Bemidji State and its disbanding after this coming season.

The other three teams have new homes, UAB doesn’t. When the WCHA accepted Neb.-Omaha, a CCHA team, and Bemidji State for the 2010-11 season, many hockey observers thought it might help solve UAB’s problem.

With Neb.-Omaha leaving, the CCHA would drop to 11 teams and surely would want UAB. Nope.

* Christian Isackson, a St. Thomas Academy senior forward, had a goal and an assist for the U.S. under-18 select team in its 4-3 loss to Russia in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in Piestany, Slovakia.

Isackson has committed to the Gophers, probably for 2011-12.

The U.S. team will play the Finns on Wednesday.

* Isackson is expected to play for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL next season. So too are the Reilly twins of Holy Angels, Ryan and Connor. The senior forwards recently committed to the U.

The Stampede took Ryan 73rd and Connor 84th in the 2008 USHL Futures draft on Oct. 17, 2008. Sioux Falls has their rights, if they decide to play in the USHL, for two years.

* Kurt Kleinendorst, head coach of the Lowell Devils in the AHL, has been named head coach of the USA Hockey’s under-18 national development team in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Ron Rolston will coach the under-18 team in Ann Arbor. Both teams will play in the USHL this season.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 at 10:26 pm and is filed under Gophers men's hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.