ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) notched two goals, but the Fargo Force rode a five-goal third period to down the U.S. National Under-18 Team, 6-3, here today.
Alex Lippincott staked the Force to a 1-0 lead with just 52 seconds remaining in the opening period when his wrist shot snuck under netminder Andy Iles' (Ithaca, N.Y.) right arm and in.
Team USA tied it up after Faulk sent a shot through a screen in front and past netminder Ryan Holfeld for a power-play goal at 17:10 of the second stanza. With just 22 seconds remaining in the period, Bill Arnold (Needham, Mass.) fed Bryan Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) who charged past the Fargo defense and slid the puck through Holfeld from point-blank range to make it 2-1. Iles stopped all eight shots he saw in the period.
Olev Yevenko tied the score when his slap shot from the left point squeaked past Iles 2:19 into the final frame. Just 1:39 later, Colten St. Clair snapped a shot past Iles to give the Force the 3-2 advantage. Johnnie Searfoss doubled the lead at 6:33 after taking a drop pass and wristing a shot past Iles from the top of the left faceoff circle. With Iles pulled in favor of an extra attacker, Faulk drew the U.S. within a goal after his shot from the high slot found its way through traffic and past Holfeld with just 1:15 to play in regulation. The momentum gained off of Faulk's goal was quickly dashed when Nate Condon potted an empty-net goal to make it 5-3 with just 40 seconds to play. Joe Rehkamp added a second empty-netter at 19:56 to account for the 6-3 final.
Iles made 29 saves on the afternoon.
The U.S. National Under-18 Team returns to its NCAA schedule in its next match-up, which comes at the 2009 Colby-Bowdoin Classic. The U.S. will meet NCAA Division III opponent Colby College Saturday (Nov. 28) at 3:30 p.m. EST at Alfond Rink in Waterville, Maine. Team USA then takes on Bowdoin College on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Sidney J. Watson Arena in Brunswick, Maine.
NOTES: The U.S. National Under-18 Team had its six-game winning streak snapped today... Justin Faulk pulled into a tie with Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) for the team-points lead with his two goals today. Faulk (11-6) and Saad (6-11) have 17 points each. Faulk's 11 goals and nine power-play tallies also pace Team USA... Faulk (2-1--3) and Michael Mersch (Park Ridge, Ill./1-2--3) each posted three points over the weekend... Team USA held Fargo scoreless on each of its three power-play opportunities.
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