USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National U18 Team Tops Czech Rep., 5-2, In 6 Nations Finale

Published on February 14, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


MINSK, Belarus - Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) netted a hat trick and added an assist as the U.S. National Under-18 Team defeated the Czech Republic, 5-2, here today in its final game at the 2010 Under-18 Six Nations Cup. With the win, Team USA finished with a 4-0-0-1 record, good for second place at the tournament.

Nieto put Team USA ahead 1-0 after he took a feed from Bill Arnold (Needham, Mass.) and beat netminder Romal Will 6:44 into the game. With just 56 seconds remaining in the opening period, Nieto added his second goal with Bryan Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) earning an assist on the play.

After neither team scored in the second stanza, the two squads combined for five goals in the third. Petr Holik recorded an unassisted marker just 1:18 into the final frame to cut the Czech's deficit in half. Luke Moffatt (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) made it 3-1 after he converted on a Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.) feed at 4:39. Nieto completed his hat trick at 12:22 to give the U.S. a commanding three-goal lead. Michal Vachovec put the puck past netminder Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) at 14:35 to narrow the gap for the Czech Republic, but with 2:51 remaining in regulation Arnold iced the 5-2 win for the U.S. after taking a feed from Nieto and firing the puck past Will.

Campbell earned the win with 13 saves.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team will return to United States Hockey League action Feb. 27 when it meets the Lincoln Stars at the Lincoln Ice Box at 7:05 p.m. CST.

NOTES: Matthew Nieto was named Team USA's Player of the Game... Nieto's four points (3-1) paced the U.S. today, while Bill Arnold recorded three points (1-2) and Bryan Rust notched two (0-2)... Team USA outshot the Czech Republic by a 33-15 margin... Nieto led the U.S. National Under-18 Team with seven points, including a team-best five goals in the tournament. Jason Zucker finished second on the squad with six points and tied Rust with a team-high four assists... Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) finished with a 1.01 goals-against average and.960 save percentage, which is tops in the tournament... Jack Campbell finished third among all netminders with a 1.67 goals-against average and 3-0-0-0 record... The U.S. outscored its opponents, 26-7, in tournament play... The U.S. National Under-18 Team will return to Belarus for the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Under-18 Championship April 13-23 in Minsk and Bobruisk.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

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



United States Hockey League Stories from February 14, 2010


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