NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-18 Team Records 2-2 Tie at St. Cloud State

Published on October 28, 2007 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Bolstered by a two-goal outburst from Jordan Schroeder (Prior Lake, Minn.) and 22 saves from Michael Clemente (Great Falls, Va.), the U.S. National Under-18 Team earned a hard-fought 2-2 overtime tie against St. Cloud State University Sunday night at the National Hockey Center.

"Tonight's performance was certainly a step in the right direction for this team," said John Hynes, head coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team. "We had a really great team effort and a lot of our guys contributed in different roles. That is how we have to play to be successful, and it was good to see that kind of effort."

Schroeder lit up the scoreboard first at the 11:47 mark of the first period with an unassisted tally. While the puck was inside the Huskies' zone, Schroeder broke up a pass between Aaron Brocklehurst and Marty Mjelleli to re-gain possession of the puck. He then rifled a shot past St. Cloud State goaltender B.J. O'Brien into the far upper left corner of the net.

After a scoreless second stanza, Schroeder gave Team USA a 2-0 lead just over two minutes into the final frame. Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.) fed a pass into the slot to a streaking Schroeder, who wristed a shot past O'Brien. Patrick Gaul (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was credited with the second assist on the play.

Heading into the second intermission, Team USA held a 20-11 shot advantage.

St. Cloud State cut its deficit to one goal at 12:12 of the third period, as Aaron Marvin poked in a rebound right in front of the net. The Huskies recorded the equalizer less than four minutes later when Michael Olson scored after returning to the ice from the penalty box. Olson was able to corral a pass from Ryan Lasch and he eventually beat Michael Clemente with a shot in the five hole.

Neither team was able to tally the game-winner in the overtime session, but Team USA posted a 5-2 edge in shots.

Overall, the U.S. National Under-18 Team outshot St. Cloud State, 34-24.

Clemente improved to 2-0-0 on the year with his 22-save effort. B.J. O'Brien finished with 32 stops for SCSU.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team heads back to Ann Arbor, Mich., this Friday (Nov. 2) and Saturday (Nov. 3) when it hosts Traverse City at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. Friday's tilt is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET, while Saturday's game will begin at 7:00 p.m. ET. The series with the Stars will be Team USA's final games before it heads to Switzerland for the Four Nations Tournament (Nov. 4-9).

NOTES: The stalemate tonight helped the U.S. National Under-18 Team snap a three-game losing streak to NCAA Division I opponents this season ... Both squads went 0-for-4 on the power play Saturday night ... Jordan Schroeder now has three goals and two multi-point games this year ... Three of Team USA's four Minnesota players -- Jordan Schroeder (2g), Danny Kristo (1a) (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Sam Lofquist (1a) (Faribault, Minn.) -- combined to register four of the squad's seven scoring points against Minnesota and St. Cloud State this weekend ... After tallying assists tonight, Vinny Saponari and Patrick Gaul each have eight points on the season, good for a share of first on Team USA's scoring chart ... The U.S. National Under-18 Team is now 0-1-1 all-time vs. St. Cloud State ... Three Stars: 1) Jordan Schroeder; 2) Aaron Marvin; 3) B.J. O'Brien.

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North American Hockey League Stories from October 28, 2007


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