Coyotes’ Clayton Keller nets hat trick for USA Hockey in IIHF World Championship
May 7, 2017, 9:59 AM | Updated: 11:16 am
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)
(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.
