ARIZONA COYOTES
Coyotes’ Clayton Keller nets hat trick for USA Hockey in IIHF World Championship
US player Clayton Keller scores his side's fourth goal past Denemark goalie Sebastian Dahm during the 2017 IIHF World Championship group A match between the United States and Denmark at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, Sunday, May 7, 2017. (Monika Skolimowska/dpa via AP)
Coyotes rookie Clayton Keller scored three goals for the United States in a 7-2 win over Denmark. Most impressively, he recorded the hat trick playing just 12:23 minutes Sunday in the International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship preliminary round game.
The roster’s youngest player snuck a shot past Denmark’s goalie just for his first goal of the tournament, which is now two games old for the 1-1 American squad.
Keller’s second score was perhaps the most impressive. On the right wing, he slipped under two defensemen and wrapped a shot around the goalie.
Clayton Keller gets his 2nd of the game #IIHFWorlds @ArizonaCoyotes pic.twitter.com/mZ2EQiAeO6
— Shayne Pasquino (@shaynepasquino) May 7, 2017
To complete the hat trick, Keller got the benefit of some luck: His set-up attempt deflected off a Denmark player’s skate and trickled in off the post.
Coyotes teammates Connor Murphy scored the United States’ only goal in the team’s 2-1 tournament-opening loss to Germany on Friday.
The 18-year-old Keller joined Arizona for three games in 2016-17 after being signed when his single year at Boston University came to an end.
