Team USA opened the 2024 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament with a lopsided win over Germany. Here were my standouts and top performers from the game.
Team USA opened the 2024 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament with an 8-1 win over Germany. Here were my standouts and top performers from the game.
#9 Cole Bumgarner, F
Nice start to the Five Nations showcase for Cole Bumgarner, who will skate with the Fargo Force this season. The North Dakota commit found the back of the net twice in Team USA’s five-goal first period. Bumgarner added an assist early in the second period after gaining the offensive zone and his centering feed deflected off Will Bent and in. He did an excellent job of finding the soft areas and showed good patience in his playmaking abilities.
#19 Casey Vandertop, F
Vandertop opened the goal barrage on Team USA’s first scoring opportunity of the game, burying a cross-ice feed from Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll just two minutes into the game. The Lincoln Stars draft pick also connected with Bumgarner on a sweet give-and-go play late in the first period.
#18 Luke Puchner, F
Puchner showed good play-making abilities and awareness with the puck on his stick. The Lincoln Stars draft pick collected an assist on Bent’s first goal of the game on a nice pass from below the net. Puchner should have probably had an assist on Caden Harvey’s goal as well as his backhanded shot attempt deflected off his teammate and in. Away from the puck, he worked hard to get pucks back.
#11 Will Bent, F
Bent put himself in favorable positions and, as a result, scored twice in Team USA’s win. The Tri-City Storm draft pick found the back of the net for the first time off a nice pass from Puchner. Later in the first period, Bent scored again after Bumgarner’s centering feed deflected off his skate and into the net. He led Team USA with a team-high nine shots on goal.
#5 Levi Harper, D
Harper was strong at both ends of the ice. The Tri-City Storm draft pick did a good job of keeping plays to the outside in the defensive zone. Offensively, he showcased himself as a mobile defenseman, one that can quarterback a power play. Harper also just missed on a scoring opportunity in the first period, with his shot attempt going wide of the open net. He finished with a team-high +5 plus/minus rating.
#23 Jack Hextall, F
Hextall was one of Team USA’s best penalty killers on Thursday and put his body in harm’s way multiple times. The Youngstown Phantoms draft pick nearly had a goal on a partial breakaway before the end of the second period, but his shot attempt was turned aside. Hextall finished with five shots on goal and won 71.4% of his faceoffs.
#14 Schaeffer Gordon-Carroll, F
Gordon-Carroll proved why he was a high draft pick in the 2023 WHL US Prospect Draft. He collected a primary assist on Vandertop’s first goal of the game and a secondary assist on Bumgarner’s second goal. In the third period, Gordon-Carroll had one of the best individual plays of the game to steal the puck in open ice, gain the offensive zone, and rip a shot into the corner of the net - an excellent three-point night for the young forward.
#30 Xavier Wendt, G
Wendt saw his shutout bid end in the second period after he was unable to glove Germany’s initial shot and they scored on the second-chance opportunity. However, the Lincoln Stars prospect followed up with an incredible pad save to hold Team USA’s five-goal lead. Wendt stopped 15-of-16 overall in his two periods of work before Ryder Fetterolf took over in the third.