These teams faced off Thursday (Oct. 10) in each squad’s third and final preliminary round contest. Taggart VanderMolen (Fruitport, Mich.) was named U.S. Player of the Game after recording a shutout in his first career start, while Josh Misiewicz (La Grange, Ill.) collected two assists, including his 100th career point, to help lift the U.S. to a 2-0 victory.
Team USA enters the semifinals as the top seed with a 3-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record after also beating Czechia 8-0 on Monday (Oct. 7), and Canada 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday (Oct. 8). Italy enters the matchup with a 0-0-0-3 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record.
The U.S. and Italy have faced off 12 times across all competitions, with Team USA holding an 12-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) record.
The U.S. is unbeaten at the IPH Cup since the inaugural tournament in 2022, holding a 13-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record all-time at the event, including back-to-back tournament titles.
Every game from the four-team event, which runs through Oct. 13, will stream live on the Czechia Para Hockey YouTube channel. The championship and third-place games will be played tomorrow (Oct. 13).
