U.S. Tops France, 5-0, in Men’s Worlds Action

“I thought we played a solid game overall and played the way we need to get to our ultimate goal,” said John Hynes (Warwick, R.I.), head coach of the 2024 U.S. Men’s National Team. “We’ve got a short turnaround, so we’ll get some rest and turn our attention to Poland tomorrow night.”

Team USA opened the scoring 45 seconds into the contest when Boldy found Nelson wide open at the left circle and he capitalized on a wrister from the slot.

Boldy scored at 3:24 to double the U.S. lead capitalizing with a one-time blast from the left faceoff dot off a feed from Jake Sanderson (Whitefish, Mont./Ottawa Senators).

With 7:30 remaining in the opening frame, Boldy collected his second goal of the game with a one-timer from the top of the circles off a feed from Gaudreau to give the U.S. a 3-0 lead. Nelson also drew an assist on the play.

Gaudreau put Team USA up 4-0 with 1:53 to play in the first with a shot from the bottom of the left circle after the U.S. had sustained pressure in the France zone. Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Columbus Blue Jackets) and Nelson added assists on the play.

The U.S. outshot France by a 23-3 count in the middle period and despite several outstanding chances, could not solve Quentin Papillon, who replaced starter Julian Junca to start the middle frame.

Shane Pinto (Franklin Square, N.Y./Ottawa Senators) scored off a turnover from between the circles with 2:08 remaining to account for the 5-0 final.

Alex Nedeljkovic (Parma, Ohio/Pittsburgh Penguins) stopped 10 shots in net to earn the shutout.

Team USA will face off against Poland tomorrow (May 17) in its fifth preliminary round game. Puck drop is set for 8:20 p.m. local time/2:20 p.m. ET and can be viewed live on NHL Network.

NOTES: Matt Boldy, who had two goals and an assist, was named U.S. Player of the Game … Team USA outshot France 54-10 … The U.S. was 0-4 on the power play, while France did not have a power play … Team USA won 63% of the faceoffs in the contest, with Kevin Hayes (Dorchester, Mass./St. Louis Blues) leading the way at .727 (8/11).

For more information, contact Dave Fischer ([email protected]/719.684.5940)