Although their country defeated Switzerland 11-3 in a preliminary round game of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Gothenburg on Thursday, Americans Lane Hutson and Jacob Fowler will have to make some adjustments.
The two Montreal Canadiens hopefuls struggled in a one-sided encounter whose outcome left no doubt, while the United States picked up its second win in as many games in the competition.
• Also read: World Juniors: Canada's first real test
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Hutson failed to score a single point and looked rather poor on the opposition's final goal when he missed his mark in front of the net; Thierry Schild passed him by grabbing a loose puck and beating Fowler. For his part, he gave up three times in 24 shots after Trey Augustine defeated Norway.
Jimmy Snuggerud had a blast with a hat trick for the representatives of Uncle Sam's Country, who have a meeting with the Czechs on Friday. Gavin Bradley added two goals and an assist while Gabriel Perreault picked up two points. Chicago Blackhawks junior Frank Nazar had four assists.
In the Swiss team's camp, the son of former goalkeeper Cristobal Huet replaced Lorin Gruter with less than eight minutes left in the first period. Ewan Huet made 23 saves on 30 shots.