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NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nat'l U17 Team Drops Springfield, 6-1

December 19, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Shane Sooth (Canyon County, Calif.) notched two goals and four other players tallied as the U.S. National Under-17 Team defeated the Springfield Jr. Blues, 6-1, here tonight.

Team USA started the scoring in the first period at 2:58 when Chase Balisy (Fullerton, Calif.) grabbed a blocked shot attempt from Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) and fired the puck into the upper-right corner of the net from inside the left circle.

At 4:42 in the second frame, Springfield tied the score, 1-1, when Brandon Bahnemann picked up a loose puck inside the left circle and put it past netminder Will Yanakeff (Jerome, Mich.) into the lower left corner. The U.S. quickly retook the lead ten seconds into a power play at 6:24 when Sooth converted from the top of the right face-off circle. Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) increased the advantage after he scored a breakaway shorthanded goal at 19:50 off a pass from Frankie Simonelli (Bensenville, Ill.).

At 6:45 in the third frame, during a five-on-three power play, Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) collected a loose rebound bouncing between the circles and launched a wrist shot into the upper right corner of the net past goalie CJ Groh. Luke Moffatt (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) continued the scoring at 17:06, with both teams skating four a side, as he stole a pass, broke in all alone and deked Groh to the right and slid the puck underneath the netminder. Sooth capped the scoring at 19:15 with a power-play goal as he grabbed a rebound and shoved the puck into the lower right corner.

Yanakeff recorded 23 saves in the victory.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team returns to action tomorrow night against the Springfield Jr. Blues at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. ET.

NOTES: Luke Moffatt's goal increased his team-leading total to 12. His two points tied him for second on the team with 17 ... Will Yanakeff improved his save percentage to .902 and his goals-against average to 2.15, which ties him for the team lead ... Derek Forbort (Duluth, Minn.), of Duluth East High School, was added to the U.S. National Under-17 Team for this weekend's contests and the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He recorded an assist and was plus-1 in his first game with Team USA tonight ... Team USA held Springfield scoreless on eight power-play attempts ... The U.S. was 3-for-7 on the power play.

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