June 25, 2025 - 133 Games Today

U.S. National Under-17 Team Falls To Division Leading Alpena

December 7, 2006 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The U.S. National Under-17 Team fell to the North American Hockey League's North Division-leading Alpena Ice Diggers 5-2 tonight at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

Team USA opened up the night's scoring at 5: 49 of the first period when Colin Reddin (Corona Del Mar, Calif) collected a Jordan Schroeder (Lakeville, Minn.) deflected shot and buried the puck past Alpena goaltender Mike Jarboe. Alpena responded 51 seconds later to even the score at one with a tally from Drew Pierson. The Ice Diggers took a 2-1 advantage by recording the first of its two power-play goals at 14:04 of the opening frame.

Team USA forward Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.) opened the second frame with a brilliant individual effort as he carried the puck down the left side-boards before sharply cutting towards the Alpena net and jamming home the puck. Alpena was quick to respond again with a Ben Kitzmiller power-play tally that gave the Ice Diggers a one-goal advantage. Alpena would add another goal to its total to carry a 4-2 lead into the third stanza.

Alpena would record the final periods only goal to complete its 5-2 victory. Jarboe made 28 saves in the win for Alpena, while Team USA goaltender Michael Clemente (Great Falls, Va.) recorded 35 saves in the loss.

"Alpena capitalized on their opportunities tonight, and in the end that was enough to get the job done," said U.S. Head Coach John Hynes (Warwick, R.I.). "We need to do a better job in terms of playing smarter. We were in the penalty box a lot tonight and that made it tremendously difficult to establish any consistent offensive pressure."

The U.S. National Under-17 Team will take the ice again this Saturday (December 9) when they host the Traverse City North Stars at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. Saturday's contest will begin at 7:05 EST.

NOTES: USA Forward Kelen Corkum (Newbury, Mass.) was out of the lineup for this evening's game ... The 2006-07 season marks the 10th season on ice for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

North American Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2006

U.S. National Under-17 Team Falls To Division Leading Alpena - U.S. National Team
Jets Teddy Bear Toss December 15th - Fargo-Moorhead Jets

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent U.S. National Team Stories