USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nat'l U17 Team Falls to Youngstown, 6-5

Published on December 11, 2009 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


ANN ARBOR, Mich. - J.T. Miller (East Palestine, Ohio/2-1--3), Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif./ 1-2--3) and Robbie Russo (Westmont, Ill./0-3--3) notched three points each, but Brian Dowd's goal with just 50 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Youngstown Phantoms a 6-5 decision over the U.S. National Under-17 Team here tonight.

Just 2:56 into the game, Miller took a feed from Dan Carlson (Corcoran, Minn.), streaked down the left wing and snapped a shot over netminder Matt Mahalak's glove to give the U.S. an early 1-0 advantage. Miller doubled the U.S. advantage with a power-play goal at 10:10 after he one-timed a feed from Russo from the top of the right faceoff circle past Mahalak. Ben Paulides cut Youngstown's deficit in half with a shorthanded goal 2:45 later when his snap shot slipped under John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa.).

The second stanza proved to be a wild one with six total goals scored between the two squads. Team USA jumped out to a 3-1 lead just 1:10 into the period when Michael Paliotta (Westport, Conn.) slid the puck to Blake Pietila (Brighton, Mich.), who tipped it past Mahalak from point-blank range for a power-play goal. Just 36 seconds later, Cody Strang chipped a shot over Gibson from the left side for a shorthanded goal to bring Youngstown within a goal. The Phantoms tied the score when Jefferson Dahl snapped a shot over Gibson's blocker at 3:56. Luke Eibler made it 4-3 for Youngstown after he skated around the defense and popped a backhander into the top of the net at 7:17. With 5:00 left to play in the period, Grimaldi broke in two-on-one and fed Reid Boucher (Grand Ledge, Mich.) who sent Mahalak's water bottle skyward with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle to make it 4-4. Just 2:48 later, Andrew Lamont tallied an unassisted goal which allowed the Phantoms to head into the locker room ahead, 5-4, after 40 minutes of play.

With just 4:12 remaining in regulation, Grimaldi unleashed a slap shot from the left half wall over Mahalak's right shoulder to knot the score with a power-play marker. Neither team found the go-ahead goal before time expired, sending the game to overtime. Matt McNeely (Burnsville, Minn.), who came on in relief of Gibson before the third period, stopped all four shots he saw in the frame.

Team USA put four shots on Mahalak during extra time, but couldn't find the game winner. As time ticked down, Dowd tipped Cody Strang's pass into the back of the net to give the Phantoms the 6-5 win.

Gibson (17) and McNeely (7) combined for 24 saves on the night.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team will close out the weekend series against the Phantoms Saturday at 4:05 p.m. EST at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United States Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central