NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National U17 Team Downs Finland, 12-1

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


NANAIMO, B.C. - Jacob Fallon (Southlake, Texas), Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) and Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) each notched two goals as the U.S. National Under-17 Team topped Finland 12-1 in its opening game at the 2009 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge here today at the Frank Crane Arena.

Team USA struck just 12 seconds into the game when Chase Balisy's (Fullerton, Calif.) feed found Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.), who fired it into the bottom right corner of the net from the left slot. At 9:28, Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) blasted a one-timer from the left point for a power-play tally. Fallon netted a shorthanded goal at 15:24 after Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) stripped a Finnish defender of the puck and found Fallon in the slot. Just 1:14 later, Balisy sent a cross-crease feed to Adam Clendening (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), who slid it into the open net from the doorstep. Then Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.) netted a breakaway goal just 31 seconds later to make it 5-0 in favor of the United States. With just eight seconds to play in the frame, Shore capped the period's scoring when he fought off a defender and slid the puck under netminder Kristian Jarvinen.

In the second stanza, Finland struck first after Markus Nikander got one past sprawling goalie Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) from the left side at 6:53. Team USA answered back with a pair of goals, the first coming from Michael Mersch (Park Ridge, Ill.), who deked around Jarvinen and tucked the puck inside the right post at 13:58. Bryan Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) made it 8-1 after he collected his own rebound and slammed it into the open net for Team USA's second shorthanded marker at 16:38.

Shore notched his second goal at 5:12 of the final frame to make it 9-1. Emerson Etem (Long Beach, Calif.) found Saad, who fired a wrist shot into the upper right corner for Team USA's 10th goal. Fallon and Saad each notched their second tallies of the game to account for the 12-1 final.

Campbell stopped 25 shots to earn the win in net.

The Team USA returns to action on Wednesday (Dec. 31) against Canada Quebec at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET) in Port Alberni, B.C.

NOTES: Team USA out shot Finland, 57-25 ... Including Sunday's pre-tournament tune-up, Team USA has outscored opponents 23-1 ... Chase Balisy (0-3-3), Jacob Fallon (2-1-3), Brandon Saad (2-1-3) and Nick Shore (2-1-3) each notched three points ... 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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