USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Men's Nat'l U18 Team Tops Des Moines, 6-2

Published on February 26, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


URBANDALE, Iowa - Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.) scored two goals and added an assist as the U.S. National Under-18 Team skated past the Des Moines Buccaneers, 6-2, here tonight at Buccaneer Arena.

Team USA rode a four-goal first period to take control of the game early. Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) staked the U.S. to a 1-0 lead when he jammed home a feed from Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) for a power-play goal at 8:03. Just 47 seconds later, Zucker took a feed from Luke Moffatt (Paradise Valley, Ariz.), beat a defender wide, drove to the net and put the puck past netminder Eric Mihalik on his backhand to double the U.S. advantage. Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) made it 3-0 at 11:38 when he shoveled home a loose puck in front of the net. With 6:40 remaining in the opening stanza, Jarred Tinordi (Millersville, Md.) beat Mihalik with a slap shot from the left point to make it 4-0.

After neither team found the back of the net in the middle frame, Des Moines wasted little time to get on the board in the third period. Jack Berger scored just 32 seconds into the final stanza to make it 4-1. Zucker regained the four-goal advantage for the U.S. when he took a pass from Saad and deposited the puck into the net at 4:58. Mike Fink notched a power-play goal for the Buccaneers at 9:35, but just 49 seconds later Saad scored to give the U.S. the 6-2 advantage it held onto for the rest of the game.

Goaltender Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) made 18 stops to earn the victory.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team continues its road trip Saturday when it takes on the Lincoln Stars at 7:05 p.m. CST.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2010


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