NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-17 Team Falls to Mahoning Valley 6-5 in Shootout

Published on November 22, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Despite two goals in the last 15 seconds of regulation, including Nick Shore's (Denver, Colo.) last-second game-tying goal, the U.S. National Under-17 Team fell to the Mahoning Valley Phantoms, 6-5, in a shootout.

Mahoning Valley quickly took a 1-0 lead at 1:05 in the first period when Trevor Shively fired a slap shot from just beyond the blue line that squeezed past goaltender Will Yanakeff (Jerome, Mich.) into the net. Shortly after the first goal, the Phantoms doubled their lead at 2:14 when Alex Lippincott scored on the near side off a pass from David Chaney. Mahoning Valley made it 3-0 at 6:57 on a power-play goal by Brandon Saad, who attacked from the right side and was able to put the puck past Murray.

Early in the second frame, the deficit was made 4-0 as Brandon Saad fired a slap shot from the right point for a power-play marker at 1:36. Team USA responded quickly at 3:52 when Kevin Clare (New Rochelle, N.Y.) backhanded a shot underneath the right arm of Mahoning Valley netminder Jordan Tibbett. The score was made 4-2 at 5:46 when Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.) started left, made a move right, and backhanded the puck into the open net. Assists on the play were given to Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) and Frankie Simonelli (Bensenville, Ill.). Team USA scored its third straight goal at 11:50 when Shane Sooth (Canyon County, Calif.) took a pass from Shore and slipped the puck five-hole past Tibbett to make the score 4-3.

There was no scoring in the third stanza until the 18:21 mark when Christian Long of Mahoning Valley scored an empty-netter to stretch his team's lead to 5-3. At 19:45, Jacob Fallon (Southlake, Texas) helped Team USA cut the deficit in half on a goal assisted by Simonelli and Jarred Tinordi (Millersville, Md.). With just one second to play, Shore tied the game at 5-5 when he picked up a loose puck between the circles and fired a shot into the upper left corner of the net.

After a scoreless overtime period, Saad gave Mahoning Valley the shootout victory as he was the only player to convert on his attempt.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team returns to action when it travels to Wyandotte, Mich., for a 7:10 p.m. ET tilt against the Motor City Machine.

NOTES: Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) paced Team USA with three points (1-2) ... Team USA out shot the Phantoms by a 39-33 margin ... Brandon Saad's shootout tally marked the first time Team USA has allowed a goal in eight shootout attempts, which is tops in the NAHL.

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North American Hockey League Stories from November 22, 2008


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