Red Wings prospects Carter Mazur and Red Savage took part in Team USA’s “nightcap” game against Switzerland on Thursday at the World Junior Championship.
There’s a lot to go over here! Team USA won 7-1 over the Swiss, improving their record to 2-and-0 as they reached the halfway point of their WJC round robin games;
Red Wings prospect and University of Denver forward Carter Mazur scored two goals and added an assist, taking 3 shots and finishing at +3 in 15:01 played. He was named the Americans’ player of the game, but Mazur had this to say to the NHL Network, per NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale:
“We came into this game lightly, I would say, so we had to start dialing it in and play the body so they knew we’re there,” Mazur told NHL Network. “If we did that, we knew we’d get to our game.”
Red Savage played a more limited role, but played 12:40 worth of energetic shifts, finishing at +1 with 1 shot.
Highlights are below.
In terms of the game’s narrative…
In the 1st period, the Swiss sure came out a lot harder and with much more purposeful defense than the Slovaks did vs. Canada.
The Americans are also a little harder to tell apart, frankly, because so many players play similar styles, so Carter Mazur and Red Savage blended in more.
Early on, Mazur’s first shift was grinding and strong in nature, just board work, but the kind of stuff that you want to see in terms of on-puck tenacity;
Mazur did fire a shot over the net about six-and-a-half minutes into the 1st, and took out his frustrations on a Swiss backchecker, banging him into the boards;
Switzerland honestly carried a fair amount of play as the 10-minute mark of the first period passed, and Switzerland was more than able to challenge Kaden Mbereko and generate shots at one end–while working their tails off to defend like Barry Trotz’s Nashville Predators at the other end, trapping, trapping and trapping some more.
As for Red Savage, he’s a little less noticeable on the wing. Lots of flybys of the net, and lots of attempts to get into play as best he can without sacrificing defensive positioning. He’s a player you don’t necessarily notice until he makes an impact play.
Logan Cooley took a penalty for high-sticking at 12:25 of the 1st period, and Mazur and Dominic James worked together on the second PK unit for USA.
When James had to go off due to a helmet popping off, Savage and Mazur worked together, and Savage blazed in shorthanded 1-on-0, but he was stopped by Swiss goalie Kevin Pasche.
Working with Landon Slaggert, Mazur got a decent scoring chance on Pasche that was stopped on Pasche’s glove side (his right side, he’s a “full right” goalie), but it was good to see Mazur continuing to lurk at the periphery of the crease;
This was one of those games whose course would largely be determined by who scored the first goal…
And Switzerland took a dumb penalty 200 feet from their net, with Cooley, Knies and Beherens getting hit hard.
Joel Henry sat @ 18:07 for cross-checking, and the Americans’ power play went to work,
Mazur did get a “rep” with the first power play unit, but the Swiss checked them hard, and Pasche stopped Coronato, but that was about the only real chance for the Americans before the period ended.
The first period ended in a scoreless tie.
In the 2nd period, Brian Zanetti took a dumb delay-of-game penalty all of 7 seconds in, and the U.S. went back to the power play.
Switzerland did a fine job of killing the penalty, however, and Kevin Pasche made some good stops as well.
After the power play expired, Riley Duran put a puck off the crossbar, and Savage had a really good shift on the fourth line, very visibly charging up ice and closing in on the Swiss defense, making contact to force them to turn the puck over.
4:01 into the 2nd, the Swiss took a dumb penalty for a free-hand grab, and the Americans really crashed Pasche and the Swiss net, but they were unable to convert…
Mazur did a nice job of cycling around the front of the net, but even he got a little too fine, and a good keep-in from Luke Hughes afforded Bordeleau and Samkoskevich the ability to pass the puck out front to Carter Mazur, who jabbed the puck off a Swiss defender and in at 5:54. The Americans led 1-0.
Mazur scores, USA 1-0 on NHL Network pic.twitter.com/N8KJyFBauR— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 12, 2022
Mackie Samoskevich sends a no-look back-pass to Carter Mazur in the slot and USA takes a 1-0 lead over Switzerland!
🔗: https://t.co/yyg5VxUunhpic.twitter.com/DNDNkHgvAn— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 12, 2022
Carter Mazur opens the scoring for 🇺🇸 Team USA on the power-play!#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/VNajWpa98s— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
The Americans settled into their status as leading the game, and Savage had a solid shift, looking more noticeable playing as a center a little more regularly…
Sadly, a turnover at center ice yielded a break-in for Joel Henry, and he tied the game 1-1 at 8:25 of the 2nd.
☎️ ANSWERED RIGHT BACK! Joel Henry goes in all alone to tie things up for @SwissIceHockey #WorldJuniors #SUIUSA pic.twitter.com/hDs79IztKP— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 12, 2022
The Swiss really surged after their goal, and their physical style of play yielded some net-front scrums and not much room for the Americans to get the job done offensively.
At the halfway point of the game, the Swiss were being out-shot 20-12, but the game was tied 1-1.
Off an icing call, the Americans went point-to-point and Brock Faber ripped the puck glove side on Pasche, giving the Americans a 2-1 lead at 11:29 of the 2nd.
Brock Faber lasers a shot through a deflection to give 🇺🇸 Team USA a 2-1 lead in the 2nd period. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/5pcWTEfKVm— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
Soon after, Carter Mazur took a GORGEOUS back-door pass from Slaggert and he jabbed home the 3-1 goal at 13:22 of the 2nd.
Faber – Slaggert – Mazur, 3-1 USA pic.twitter.com/vhHPRkUZRc— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 12, 2022
Make that 2️⃣ for @Carter_Mazur 🚨🚨🚨@usahockey #WorldJuniors #SUIUSA pic.twitter.com/KaDAmB6N05— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 12, 2022
Carter Mazur on the backdoor makes it 3-1 USA 🔥 #WorldJuniors
🔗: https://t.co/yyg5VxUunhpic.twitter.com/1wdMkEUUPL— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 12, 2022
Mazur x2 🚨
Slaggert finds Mazur in front who buries it for his second of the night.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/F1cbe3kbFw— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
What a feed from @Thomasbord71 to @Carter_Mazur! #WorldJuniors 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/94GwFrkv4n— USA Hockey (@usahockey) August 12, 2022
The Swiss looked like they’d run out of gas as the 2nd period wound down, and Prescott chipped a puck off the crossbar (again) with 2:59 left in the 2nd period.
The Americans struck again as Mazur sent a smart pass to the blueline for Wyatt Kaiser, whose point shot was tipped by Slaggert to make it 4-1 at 17:16 of the 2nd.
Slaggert tips in a Kaiser shot from the point, 4-1 USA pic.twitter.com/0lJX3dOWy2— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 12, 2022
Landon Slaggert gets the *perfect* tip on the puck to make it 4-1 USA!
🔗: https://t.co/uvNnhYxS7Epic.twitter.com/nOpQhSJ3I7— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 12, 2022
The period didn’t end without Savage earning a +1 as Luke Hughes’ point shot was tipped by Matt Coronato to make it 5-1 Team USA at 19:23 of the 2nd.
Coronato tips in a Hughes shot from the point and it’s 5-1 after 2 pic.twitter.com/jy8BqL38OU— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) August 12, 2022
Matthew Coronato tips home the Luke Hughes point shot to give 🇺🇸 Team USA a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/qhphPGLfop— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
Tip drill! 😱@slaggs_9 | #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/iMyX7TT7lB— USA Hockey (@usahockey) August 12, 2022
In the 3rd period, the Swiss chose to change goaltenders, sitting Pasche and starting Noah Patenaude, the back-up netminder.
At 1:37 of the 3rd, Logan Cooley’s net-front drive caused Brian Zanetti to take a penalty for interference, and the Americans went to the power play…
Where Thomas Bordeleau scored the 6-1 goal, ripping a shot through traffic as Carter Mazur served as the “bumper,” occupying the Swiss defense at 1:57.
Thomas Bordeleau lasers one home to give 🇺🇸 USA a 6-1 lead in the 3rd.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/otS7E8pKb8— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
Thomas Bordeleau ROCKET 🚀
Bordeleau goes bar-down and USA leads 6-1!
🔗: https://t.co/82od4PMUNOpic.twitter.com/WXrK5DEYog— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) August 12, 2022
In the middle of a fine shift, Red Savage really started causing chaos in front of the Swiss net, but as the puck came around the boards, Savage took a tripping minor at 3:57, giving Switzerland a power play.
The Americans killed the penalty.
Savage almost scored on a fine play by Luke Hughes at the front of the net, all off a shift that Savage started by chipping and chasing and generating a great cycle 200 feet from the Americans’ net, all with about 10:40 remaining in regulation….
Savage also had a very good shift with about 6:45 remaining, charging through center ice and spearheading the attack as the Americans worked to get the puck out of trouble at their own blueline and chip and chase to kill more clock.
Mazur, Slaggert and Bordeleau didn’t stop grinding, either, as the clock wound down to the final 5 minutes of regulation.
At 15:23, Logan Cooley and Riley Duran worked the give-and-go to make it 7-1 as well.
Riley Duran puts one past the Swiss goaltender to extend 🇺🇸 USA’s lead to 7-1.#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/46j2yBX6FH— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2022
Riley Duran makes it 7-1 with just over 4min to go in the 3rd! @usahockey #SUIUSA #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/4xx4cC7DPR— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) August 12, 2022
With 3:05 remaining in regulation, Logan Cooley got tagged for tripping, affording the Swiss a final power play.
The Americans continued to block shots and get sticks in lanes to stifle the Swiss attack, and Mbereko was good when necessary, and the period and game wound down to its final minute.
Mazur earned one final shift as the Americans looked for a hat trick opportunity, but the Swiss menaced the U.S. end instead, and the game came to a quiet conclusion.
Carter Mazur was named the player of the game for the Americans, earning a hand-painted hockey stick specially made for the World Junior Championship.
Have a night @Carter_Mazur.
Two goals 🚨🚨 and an assist 🍎 for Team USA’s player of the game. @usahockey | #WorldJuniors | @DetroitRedWings pic.twitter.com/R6tfpdIJD6— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 12, 2022
Update: Here are the highlights in Vimeo form, from the IIHF:
