NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nationa Under-18 Team Falls, 4-2, to Alpena

Published on March 2, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Patrick Gaul (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Sam Lofquist (Faribault, Minn.) each scored for the U.S. National Under-18 Team, but the Alpena Ice Diggers recorded a 4-2 win at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube Sunday afternoon. Goalkeeper Brandon Maxwell (Winter Park, Fla.) turned aside 25 of the 28 shots he saw for Team USA.

The home team skated out to a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at the 7:15 mark of the first period. Gaul stuffed home his own rebound on Alpena goaltender Nick Graves' glove side, thanks to assists from Ryan Hegarty (Arlington, Mass.) and Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.).

Alpena tied the score at one apiece 2:32 later, as Andy Yarber flipped a close-range shot past Maxwell on the glove side. Ryan Timar put Alpena ahead, 2-1, with a shorthanded marker at 5:12 of the second stanza. The forward took advantage of a Team USA turnover, and wristed a shot from the right circle by Maxwell on the stick side.

Lofquist knotted the score at 2-2 with his sixth marker of the 2007-08 campaign at the 11:28 mark of the final period. Jordan Schroeder (Prior Lake, Minn.) took a low shot from the right circle that Lofquist was able to eventually slip through the legs of Graves. Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) was credited with the second assist on the play.

A power-play goal off the stick of Eric Peterson less than two minutes later gave the Ice Diggers the lead for good, however. Peterson sent a shot from the edge of the right circle that ended up inside the left post.

The U.S. Nat'l Under-18 Team pulled Maxwell after Alpena's go-ahead goal, but was forced to re-insert him into the net after Isaac Viau put the game away with an empty-net tally in the final nine seconds of regulation.

Graves stopped 24 of the 26 shots he encountered in the victory for the Ice Diggers.

The U.S. Nat'l Under-18 Team (22-18-2-4) continues North American Hockey League competition next Friday (March 7) and Saturday (March 8) when it challenges the St. Louis Bandits at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST Friday and 7 p.m. EST Saturday.

Notes: Team USA owns a 7-1-1 record in its last nine games ... Jordan Schroeder (one assist) continues to lead the U.S. Nat'l Under-18 Team with 38 points (14-24) ... Vinny Saponari (one assist) now has 30 points (13-17) in the 2007-08 campaign ... Patrick Gaul (one goal) pushed his season point total to 21 (8-13) ... Sam Lofquist (one goal) owns 12 points (6-6) this year ... Jeremy Morin (one assist) has mustered 18 points (9-9) in 13 games with the U.S. Nat'l Under-18 Team ... Ryan Hegarty (one assist) extended his season point total to 13 (6-7).

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

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North American Hockey League Stories from March 2, 2008


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