🇺🇸 United States 1-1 Ukraine 🇺🇦
World Championship Qualifying Round
Olympiahalle, Innsbruck 🇦🇹
Monday, 09 May 2005

After 40 minutes of play, Team USA was in a hole. Down 1-0 to Ukraine and unable to find the right combination to make things happen, they needed to shake off their lethargy in order to win.

But after a night game and then the early contest this afternoon at the Olympiahalle Arena, the Americans did not have their “A” game. They just couldn’t get it going, and Ukraine came away with a point from a 1-1 tie.

The key moment of the game was a penalty shot where Zach Parise failed to score with under two minutes left in the game. With Mike Modano, Doug Weight, and Prague 2004 shootout hero Andy Roach available to take the shot, the selection of Parise was a surprise.

Brett Hauer ended up with the lone goal for the Americans.

When Ukraine broke a 0-0 tie midway through the game on a goal by Kostyantyn Kasyanchuk, the Americans were playing back on their heels like Sweden had done the night before.

Ukraine played well within their limits, employing good defensive coverage in their zone that kept Team USA on the perimeter. Big guns like Mike Knuble, Modano, and Weight were stifled, registering six shots in total and no goals. Only Weight tallied a point on Brett Hauer’s goal.

In the first period, the game had movement but lacked significant dramatic moments. And the Ukrainians liked it that way, despite being outshot 8-1 after 20 minutes.

“It was a difficult game to generate offence,” said USA Head Coach Peter Laviolette. “They did a good job holding down the blue line, in front, and tying up guys, so that we did not get quality chances. Their goaltender played a great game.”

In the first minute of the second, Cole stole the puck from Dmytro Tolkunov and raced in, sending a backhand high over the net. Ukraine took several penalties but there would be no sustained attack from the other side. Kostyantyn Symchuk elevated his game further to carry Ukraine.

At 2:51 of the third period, the Americans evened the game with Brett Hauer’s power play goal. From the faceoff circle, Weight stickhandled and then sent the puck back to the point to Hauer, who blasted it past Symchuk. It was Hauer’s second goal of the tournament.

The rest of the period was marred by scrums as the Ukrainians played their usual style of chippy hockey. They took some liberties with American forwards. Even Modano, normally a mild-mannered player, got into it with Vasyl Bobrovnykov, which earned him some time in the sin bin for roughing.

With 1:25 remaining in the period, Symchuk was called for delay of game. Since he had knocked the net off its moorings with less than two minutes left, it called for a penalty shot rather than a two-minute minor. Initially the referee, Rudolph Lauff, sent a Ukrainian player off to serve the minor until he recognized that the rules required a penalty shot.

To take the shot, Laviolette chose Zach Parise, playing in only his second game for Team USA here in Innsbruck. Parise stickhandled in on Symchuk and went with a backhand that hit the Ukrainian goalie in the chest. In their best chance of the game, Team USA came up empty.

“”He is the future of USA Hockey,” said Laviolette, explaining his choice of shooter. “He played a great game for us and is a goal scorer. He deserved the opportunity.”

Slovakia General Manager Peter Šťastný was in attendance to see his son Yan play for Team USA. In the second period the elder Stastny sat near the ice to get a close-up look.

The game marked the return of Ukrainian defenceman Yuri Gunko. He was sent off on a stretcher after being injured versus Latvia, but here Gunko played a solid game on defence, taking a regular shift.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
00:36 – 🇺🇦 PEN – Tsyrul, hooking
13:13 – 🇺🇦 PEN – Zavalnyuk, interference
13:36 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Knuble, slashing

2nd Period
21:49 – 🇺🇦 PEN – Isayenko, interference
27:10 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Hauer, interference
30:15 – 🇺🇦 GOAL – Kasyanchuk (Semenchenko)
37:31 – 🇺🇦 PEN – Tolkunov, holding

3rd Period
41:38 – 🇺🇦 PEN – Semenchenko, interference
42:45 – 🇺🇸 PP GOAL – Hauer (Weight)
43;50 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Modano, hooking
43:50 – 🇺🇦 PEN – Bobrovnykov, unsportsmanlike conduct
46:17 – 🇺🇦 PEN – Bobrovnykov, kneeing
49:22 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Hall, roughing
49:22 – 🇺🇦 PEN – Isayenko, roughing
53:48 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Modano, roughing
56:12 – 🇺🇸 PEN – Cole, roughing
56:12 – 🇺🇦 PEN – Isayenko, high sticking
58:35 – 🇺🇸 PEN SHOT – Parise missed

GOALTENDERS
T: 🇺🇸 Conklin (8-9)
T: 🇺🇦 Symchuk (38-39)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇺🇸 8+10+21 = 39
🇺🇦 1+6+2 = 9

ROSTERS
🇺🇸 Goaltenders: Ty Conklin, Rick DiPietro, Tim Thomas. Defence: Hal Gill, Brett Hauer, Jordan Leopold, John-Michael Liles, Paul Martin, Aaron Miller, Andy Roach, Ryan Suter. Forwards: Erik Cole, Brian Gionta, Adam Hall, Jeff Halpern, Mike Knuble, David Legwand, Mike Modano, Zach Parise, Yan Stastny, Doug Weight, Mike York.
🇺🇦 Goaltenders: Olexander Fedorov, Kostyantyn Symchuk. Defence: Yuri Gunko, Denys Isayenko, Sergi Klymentyev, Vitali Lyutkevych, Andri Sryubko, Dmytro Tolkunov, Oleg Tymchenko, Vyacheslav Tymchenko, Vyacheslav Zavalnyuk. Forwards: Vasyl Bobrovnykov, Artem Gnidenko, Kostyantyn Kasyanchuk, Vitali Lytvynenko, Olexander Matvichuk, Roman Salnykov, Bogdan Savenko, Vitali Semenchenko, Dmytro Tsyrul, Sergi Varlamov.

Article Credit: IHWC
Photo Credit: Getty Images – IIHF – HHOF – IOC