NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nat'l U17 Team Outlasts Motor City, 4-3

Published on January 16, 2009 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


WYANDOTTE, Mich. - Four different players scored for the U.S. National Under-17 Team as it topped the Motor CIty Machine, 4-3, here tonight at B.F. Yack Arena. Team USA improved to 5-0-0 against the Machine this season.

Jacob Fallon (Southlake, Texas) gave Team USA the 1-0 lead at 12:35 of the opening period after he poked home a rebound off of a Frankie Simonelli (Bensenville, Ill.) shot. Just 2:34 later, Shane Sooth (Canyon County, Calif.) doubled the U.S. advantage after his shot from the left faceoff circle beat netminder Joe Moore.

After Cody Holzworth tied things up for Motor City with a pair of goals early in the second stanza, Team USA answered back with two of its own. Stu Higgins (Troy, Mich.) banked a shot off of Moore and into the back of the net to give the U.S. the 3-2 lead at 12:34. Emerson Etem (Long Beach, Calif.) made it 4-2 with 2:39 left to go in the frame.

In the final period, Billy Balent brought the Machine back within one at 6:30 when he slammed home a rebound from the left side of the net. After back-and-forth action throughout the third, Moore was pulled in favor of an extra attacker with 55 seconds remaining in regulation. Despite a furious effort by Motor City, Will Yanakeff (Jerome, Mich.) turned aside every shot he saw to help Team USA hang on to the 4-3 victory.

This weekend, both squads within USA Hockey's National Team Development Program - the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams - will be split up to form Team Stars and Team Stripes for the 2009 North American Hockey League Top Prospects Tournament. The event will be held at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube, home of the NTDP, from Sunday (January 18) through Tuesday. Team Stars will meet the NAHL North Division All-Stars at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, while Team Stripes will take on the NAHL Central Division All-Stars at 5 p.m.

NOTES: Stu Higgins' goal tonight marked the fifth time he's tallied against Motor City ... Will Yanakeff's 2.08 goals-against average is fourth best in the NAHL ... Shots on goal were not available at the time of this release ... John Hynes, head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team, will be at the helm of Team Stars at the 2009 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament. The tourney will include both NTDP squads and all-star teams from the NAHL's four divisions - North, Central, South and West.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



North American Hockey League Stories from January 16, 2009


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.

OurSports Central