“We knew we had to get off to a good start today,” said Nate Leaman, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team. “Our schedule was different today, and it was important for us to adjust quickly. I’m happy with how the team started the first period and kept it rolling.”
Matt Coronato (New York, N.Y.) retrieved a puck behind the net and found a waiting Kaiser at the blue line. Kaiser skated toward the center of the ice and fired a shot, 55 seconds into the period, for his first of the tournament. Less than two minutes later, Matt Knies (Phoenix, Ariz.) skated up ice and dished the puck to a waiting Logan Cooley (West Mifflin, Pa.) on the half wall, who found a wide-open Coronato cross-ice. Coronato patiently skated out in front of Austrian netminder Leon Sommer, waiting until he found an open net to make things 2-0. Austria responded with an offensive push, but U.S. netminder Andrew Oke (Shelby Township, Mich.) was up to the challenge.
Kaiser found himself with the puck at the blue line again, fed by Red Savage (Scottsdale, Ariz.), as he wristed home his second of the game. Savage got in on the action again, with a minute remaining in the period, finding himself on a breakaway as he tucked the puck into the top corner of the net, giving the U.S. a 4-0 lead.
