USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National U18 Team Blanks Lincoln, 3-0

February 5, 2010 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) stopped all 34 shots he faced and Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) notched two goals as the U.S. National Under-18 Team blanked the Lincoln Stars, 3-0, here today.

After both teams were unable to score in the opening period, Saad gave Team USA a 1-0 advantage just 21 seconds into the middle frame. The goal came after a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play, which originated with Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich.), who dished it to Adam Clendening (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), who sent it back to Czarnik, who then slid the puck across the crease to a wide-open Saad, who slammed it into the gaping net.

Czarnik doubled the U.S. advantage 3:41 into the third stanza when he took a feed from Jon Merrill (Brighton, Mich.), skated through a Stars defender and wristed a shot over netminder Jared Coreau's glove from just inside the blue line. With Team USA on the power play, Merrill fed Saad who tipped the puck inside the left post from the middle slot at 11:42 to make it 3-0. Iles turned aside all 11 Lincoln shots in the period to keep the Stars off the board and allow Team USA to earn the 3-0 victory.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team will travel to Minsk, Belarus, for the 2010 Under-18 Six Nations Tournament which runs from Feb. 9-14. Team USA will meet Finland in the tournament's first game Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. EST).

NOTES: Austin Czarnik has posted at least one point in each of the U.S. National Under-18 Team's last nine games in the USHL. Over that span, Czarnik has amassed 19 points (8-11). Additionally, Czarnik has scored at least one goal in each of his last six games. He leads the U.S. with 24 assists and is second with 34 points... Brandon Saad extended his team high to 37 points, which includes a team-best 17 goals. He has tallied six markers in his last three games... In addition to Czarnik and Saad, Jon Merrill also had two points (0-2) tonight... Andy Iles earned his third shutout and 13th win of the season... The U.S. National Under-18 Team combined with the U.S. National Under-17 Team to complete a weekend sweep of the Stars. The U17s earned a 5-2 decision Thursday night. Team USA is just four points out of the last playoff spot in the USHL East Division, with 21 games remaining on the schedule.

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 5, 2010


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