USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nat'l U17 Team Downed by Indiana, 6-1

Published on February 26, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Despite pouring 36 shots on net, Reid Boucher's (Grand Ledge, Mich.) second-period tally was the lone goal mustered by the U.S. National Under-17 Team as it fell to the Indiana Ice, 6-1, here tonight at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

The Ice took a 1-0 lead just 2:35 into the contest when Blake Coleman wrapped around behind the net and slid the puck under goaltender Matt McNeely (Burnsville, Minn.). Kevin Goumas doubled the lead for the Ice when he collected a rebound and rifled the puck into the upper-left corner. With 1:29 remaining in the period, Billy Fitzgerald's right-point shot caught a deflection and slipped under McNeely to make it 3-0.

Team USA cut the deficit to two goals when Boucher collected J.T. Miller's (East Palestine, Ohio) rebound and chipped the puck into the wide-open net at 6:18 of the second stanza. Just 44 seconds later, David Johnstone slid the puck past McNeely from the middle slot to make it 4-1. With just 1:40 remaining in the frame and with Team USA on the power play, Antti Roppo took a feed from Anthony Bitetto, broke in alone on McNeely, deked to his backhand and deposited the puck into the upper-left corner for a shorthanded tally. Despite peppering netminder Casey DeSmith with 16 shots in the second, the U.S. found itself trailing 5-1 after 40 minutes.

Just 1:07 into the final frame, Goumas deflected Alex Wideman's shot past McNeely for a power-play goal. Despite outshooting the Ice by a 15-5 margin in the third period, Team USA was unable to solve DeSmith, allowing the Ice to skate away with the 6-1 victory.

McNeely made 25 saves in the loss.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team is back in action against Indiana Sunday at 3:05 p.m. EST at Conseco Fieldhouse for the Ice's 16th Annual Pack the House for Charity game. Proceeds from the contest will benefit Make-A-Wish, UMDF, The Villages and Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent's.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2010


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