USA blanks France in World Championships

U.S. Men's National Team Earns 4-0 Shutout of France
at 2010 IIHF World Men's Championship

Nick Foligno Records Two Goals

COLOGNE, Germany - Nick Foligno (Buffalo, N.Y./Ottawa Senators) scored twice and Brandon Dubinsky (Anchorage, Alaska/New York Rangers) added a goal and two assists to help the U.S. Men's National Team to a 4-0 win over France here this afternoon in its second of three relegation-round games at the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Men's Championship.

"I thought we controlled the play for most of the game," said U.S. Head Coach Scott Gordon. "In the end we got the job done and that's what matters most."

It was a scoreless first period. France had the game's first shot on goal 62 seconds in, however, Team USA recorded the final nine shots on goal in the frame. T.J. Oshie (Warroad, Minn./St. Louis Blues/University of North Dakota) wheeled around the net and had his rising shot hit the cross bar 12:30 into the period for the best U.S. chance of the frame.

Foligno staked the Americans to a 1-0 lead at 4:49 of the second period. He took a nice feed from Jack Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Los Angeles Kings/Univ. of Michigan) at the left edge of the crease and scored on his own rebound. Dubinsky tallied the other goal of the middle stanza when he went from his forehand to backhand in front and beat Eddy Ferhi. David Moss (Livonia, Mich./Calgary Flames/Univ. of Michigan) and Mike Lundin (Apple Valley, Minn./Tampa Bay Lightning/Univ. of Maine) assisted on the play.

While on the power play, Oshie converted on the rebound of Keith Yandle's (Boston, Mass./Phoenix Coyotes) shot just 1:36 into the third period to give the U.S. a 3-0 advantage. Foligno finished the scoring at 13:41 when came from the corner, spun to the middle and beat Ferhi from between the circles.

U.S. netminder Scott Clemmensen (Des Moines, Iowa/Florida Panthers/Boston College) turned aside all 10 shots he faced to earn the victory.

Team USA will conclude play in the 2010 IIHF World Men's Championship Tuesday (May 18) with its third and final relegation-round game against Italy. Opening faceoff is set for 12:15 p.m. (6:15 a.m. ET). The game can be seen on a tape-delay on Universal Sports and at UniversalSports.com at 5:30 p.m. ET.

NOTES: Nick Foligno was named U.S. Player of the Game ... The last time the U.S. recorded back-to-back shutouts in the World Championships was in 1967. The U.S. tied East Germany, 0-0, on March 25, before beating Finland, 2-0, on March 26. Both games were in round-robin play ... The last time the U.S. won back-to-back games without allowing a goal in the World Championship was in 1939 with a 4-0 win over Poland on Feb. 9 and a 1-0 win over Czechoslovakia on Feb. 10. Both games were in preliminary-round play ... The IIHF World Men's Championship relegation round features each group's last-place team. Each team plays three round-robin games, with the bottom two teams relegated to Division I in next year's World Championship ... For Team USA's roster, click here ... Coverage of the 2010 U.S. Men's National Team can be found here ... All Team USA games, as well as additional international games, will air on Universal Sports and at UniversalSports.com. Visit UniversalSports.com for the full schedule ... All teams in the 2010 IIHF World Men's Championship may begin the tournament with 20 skaters and three goaltenders, and can add two players after the first three games ... Scott Gordon, head coach of the NHL's New York Islanders, is the head coach of the 2010 U.S. Men's National Team, with Todd Richards, head coach of the NHL's Minnesota Wild, Joe Sacco, head coach of the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, and Ron Rolston, one of two head coaches at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, serving as assistant coaches ... The 2010 U.S. Men’s National Team is under the direction of Brian Burke, general manager; David Poile, associate general manager; and Jim Johannson, assistant executive director for hockey operations at USA Hockey. The U.S. Men's National Team Advisory Group, which also includes NHL front-office personnel Paul Holmgren (Philadelphia Flyers), Dean Lombardi (Los Angeles Kings), Ray Shero (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Don Waddell (Atlanta Thrashers), is charged with leading the selection of players for the U.S. Men's National Team ... USA Hockey's international council, chaired by Tony Rossi, vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

FRA 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
USA 0 - 2 - 2 - 4

First Period - Scoring: None. Penalties: FRA, Auvitu (hooking), 17:42.

Second Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Foligno (Johnson, Dubinsky), 4:49; 2, USA, Dubinsky (Moss, Lundin), 13:11. Penalties: FRA, Bellemare (tripping), 8:40; USA, Galiardi (hooking), 14:06; FRA, Besch (hooking), 16:23.

Third Period - Scoring: 3, USA, Oshie (Galiardi, Yandle), 1:36 (pp); 4, USA, Foligno (Dubinsky, Moss), 13:41. Penalties: FRA, Bachet (hooking), :23.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
FRA 1 6 3 10
USA 9 10 12 31

Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
FRA, Ferhi, 60:00 9-9 10-8 12-10 31-27
USA, Clemmensen, 60:00 1-1 6-6 3-3 10-10

Power Play: FRA 0-1; USA 1-4
Penalties: FRA 4-8; USA 1-2
Officials: Referees-Vladimir Sindler (CZE), Patrik Sjoberg (SWE); Linesmen-Roger Arm (SUI), Frantisek Kalivoda (CZE)
Attendance: 4,325

Team USA 2010 IIHF World Men's Championship Schedule & Results
May 7-23 • Cologne, Gelsenkirchen & Mannheim, Germany

Date Opponent Location Time (Local/EDT)/Results

Tues., May 4 France (ex.) Amiens, France W, 3-1
Fri., May 7 Germany Gelsenkirchen L, 1-2 (OT)
Mon., May 10 Denmark Cologne L, 1-2 (OT)
Wed., May 12 Finland Cologne L, 2-3
Sat., May 15 Kazakhstan* Cologne W, 10-0
Sun., May 16 France* Cologne W, 4-0
Tues., May 18 Italy* Cologne 12:15 p.m./6:15 a.m.
*Relegation Round

Arena Locations: LANXESS Arena (Cologne); VELTINS-Arena (Gelsenkirchen); SAP Arena (Mannheim)