NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National U17 Team Defeats Canada Pacific, 11-0

Published on December 29, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


PORT ALBERNI, B.C. - Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) and Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) each notched two goals as the U.S. National Under-17 defeated Canada Pacific, 11-0, here tonight at the Alberni Valley Multiplex in its lone tune-up for the 2009 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Team USA opens tournament play tomorrow (Dec. 29) against Finland at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) in Nanaimo, B.C.

Saad put Team USA ahead on the power play 3:50 into the game after he received a cross-ice pass from Chase Balisy (Fullerton, Calif.), streaked around a Pacific defender and slid the puck between netminder Kent Simpson's legs from the right side. Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) doubled the U.S. advantage after his snapshot from the right slot sailed over the glove of Simpson at 10:17. Saad notched his second goal of the game after splitting the Pacific defense and slipping a backhanded shot in the back of the net. Just 1:31 later, Stu Higgins (Troy, Mich.) collected a rebound in front of the net and put the puck over a down-and-out Simpson to make it 4-0. Nieto fired a wrist shot from between the faceoff circles that beat Simpson over the blocker at 19:17 as the score went to 5-0. Just four seconds into a power-play opportunity and with 12 seconds to play in the stanza, Frankie Simonelli (Bensenville, Ill.) snapped a shot right off of Shane Sooth's (Canyon County, Calif.) faceoff win that squeezed past Simpson to cap a six-goal period for the United States.

In the second frame, Michael Mersch (Park Ridge, Ill.) tipped a Derek Forbort (Duluth, Minn.) shot into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 7-0 at 6:01. Team USA struck 2:01 later after Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) picked up a rebound and fired the puck over Simpson's glove. Stephen Johns (Wampum, Pa.) extended the U.S. advantage to 9-0 after his slap shot from the right faceoff circle beat new Pacific netminder Keith Hamilton at 17:11.

Jarred Tinordi (Millersville, Md.) added a goal at 5:16 of the final stanza and Nieto tallied a power-play goal at 13:55 to account for the 11-0 final.

U.S. netminders Will Yanakeff (Jerome, Mich./6 saves) and Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich./14 saves) combined for 20 saves in earning the shutout win.

NOTES: Team USA outshot Team Pacific, 44-20 ... Ten Team USA players had multi-point games ... Six of Team USA's seven defensemen factored in the scoring ... The 2009 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge features ten international teams including five Canadian regional teams (Ontario, Quebec, Pacific, West and Atlantic), Finland, Germany, Russia, and the United States ... The U.S. National Under-17 Team has captured the tournament title twice (2001, 2002) and has placed second in each of the last two years of the event.

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North American Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2008


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