The American attack was on full display on Thursday in Frisco as Team USA beat Switzerland 10-0 at the IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship.
photo: Micheline Veluvolu/IIHF
Team USA put on an offensive show for its home crowd on Thursday at the 2025 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship.
Seven different skaters lit the lamp as the Americans trounced Switzerland 10-0 to move Team USA atop Group B at the end of two days of tournament play.
The Americans struck early and often, with three goals in the first period, six in the second and one in the third.
LJ Mooney led the American attack with three points, including a highlight-reel goal in the second period that showed Mooney’s incredible quickness and puck-handling ability. The 5-foot-8 Mooney – from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania – showed off his version of the Savardian Spinorama when he danced Swiss forward Florian Schenk and then ripped a shot over the shoulder of goaltender Jovin Trachsel. He also made perfect passes to set up Jack Murtagh and Mikey Berchild for their goals.
"I'm just showing what I can do offensively, just trying to make plays," said Mooney. "I'm trying to find my teammates and keep building chemistry with them. We have to keep building through this tournament."
Cole McKinney (two goals, one assist), Richard Gallant (2-1—3) and Murtagh (1-2—3) also had three-point games for the winners. Will Moore chipped in with a pair of goals.
Although Joey Slavick wasn’t as busy as his Swiss counterparts in net (both Matia Birchler and Jovin Trachsel spent time in the Swiss net), the American goalie made 26 saves for the shutout.
If there’s a positive for the Swiss to take from this game, it was the third period. The Americans only scored once in the final frame, with the Swiss keeping the Americans at bay until Gallant scored shorthanded at 8:23. The Swiss also killed off two minor penalties in the final frame, never an easy feat against the powerful American squad.
Fabio Schumacher, head coach of Switzerland, said his team might not take any positives from the game statistics but there were still some bright spots.
"Statistic-wise, probably not but for sure we had some good entries, some good breakouts with rims, we had some good positioning in our D zone," he said. "But we have to show it every shift and if we have a shift where we don’t do it, they can score goals and you saw that."
The Americans were hot right off the bat in this game and didn’t let up.
During a delayed penalty just over a minute into the game, Murtagh finished a nice passing play to kickstart the US attack. The goal went to video review as Mooney passed the puck to Murtagh and it caromed off his skate and in. The officials determined that there was no kicking motion so the goal stood.
Mooney got his second assist of the game three minutes later when he carried the puck around the Swiss net then made a beautiful pass to Berchild in front of the net for a tap-in goal. The 5-foot-8 Mooney is off to a torrid pace in this tournament with five points in his first two games.
The Americans took a 5-0 lead early in the second with goals by Moore and Ben Kevan coming 37 seconds apart. Then, Gallant got his first of the game on a USA powerplay when he jammed in the puck from the blue paint.
That made it 6-0 and prompted a goalie change for the Swiss, with Trachsel coming in for Birchler.
Both teams are in action on Saturday, with Switzerland taking on Czechia and Team USA facing Sweden in a first-place showdown.
Seven different skaters lit the lamp as the Americans trounced Switzerland 10-0 to move Team USA atop Group B at the end of two days of tournament play.
The Americans struck early and often, with three goals in the first period, six in the second and one in the third.
LJ Mooney led the American attack with three points, including a highlight-reel goal in the second period that showed Mooney’s incredible quickness and puck-handling ability. The 5-foot-8 Mooney – from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania – showed off his version of the Savardian Spinorama when he danced Swiss forward Florian Schenk and then ripped a shot over the shoulder of goaltender Jovin Trachsel. He also made perfect passes to set up Jack Murtagh and Mikey Berchild for their goals.
"I'm just showing what I can do offensively, just trying to make plays," said Mooney. "I'm trying to find my teammates and keep building chemistry with them. We have to keep building through this tournament."
Cole McKinney (two goals, one assist), Richard Gallant (2-1—3) and Murtagh (1-2—3) also had three-point games for the winners. Will Moore chipped in with a pair of goals.
Although Joey Slavick wasn’t as busy as his Swiss counterparts in net (both Matia Birchler and Jovin Trachsel spent time in the Swiss net), the American goalie made 26 saves for the shutout.
If there’s a positive for the Swiss to take from this game, it was the third period. The Americans only scored once in the final frame, with the Swiss keeping the Americans at bay until Gallant scored shorthanded at 8:23. The Swiss also killed off two minor penalties in the final frame, never an easy feat against the powerful American squad.
Fabio Schumacher, head coach of Switzerland, said his team might not take any positives from the game statistics but there were still some bright spots.
"Statistic-wise, probably not but for sure we had some good entries, some good breakouts with rims, we had some good positioning in our D zone," he said. "But we have to show it every shift and if we have a shift where we don’t do it, they can score goals and you saw that."
The Americans were hot right off the bat in this game and didn’t let up.
During a delayed penalty just over a minute into the game, Murtagh finished a nice passing play to kickstart the US attack. The goal went to video review as Mooney passed the puck to Murtagh and it caromed off his skate and in. The officials determined that there was no kicking motion so the goal stood.
Mooney got his second assist of the game three minutes later when he carried the puck around the Swiss net then made a beautiful pass to Berchild in front of the net for a tap-in goal. The 5-foot-8 Mooney is off to a torrid pace in this tournament with five points in his first two games.
The Americans took a 5-0 lead early in the second with goals by Moore and Ben Kevan coming 37 seconds apart. Then, Gallant got his first of the game on a USA powerplay when he jammed in the puck from the blue paint.
That made it 6-0 and prompted a goalie change for the Swiss, with Trachsel coming in for Birchler.
Both teams are in action on Saturday, with Switzerland taking on Czechia and Team USA facing Sweden in a first-place showdown.
Switzerland vs United States - 2025 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship
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