USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nat'l U18 Team Tops Chicago, 5-3

Published on March 19, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


BENSENVILLE, Ill. - Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) and Jon Merrill (Brighton, Mich.) each notched a goal and two assists as the U.S. National Under-18 Team topped the Chicago Steel, 5-3, here tonight at the Edge Ice Arena.

Merrill staked the U.S. to a 1-0 lead just 56 seconds into the goal after his shot from the blue line bested netminder Connor Wilson. Team USA doubled its advantage when Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) stripped a defenseman of the puck, broke towards the Chicago net and dished it to Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.), who slipped it past Wilson from the left side at 5:10. The Steel answered back at 6:46 when Andrei Kuchin fired a wrist shot inside the left post on a penalty shot to make it 2-1. Alex Carpenter converted on Billy Latta's rebound to knot the score for Chicago at 9:53.

Team USA took advantage of a power-play opportunity when Nieto collected a rebound off of Merrill's shot and tucked it past Wilson from the right side of the crease at 4:42 of the second stanza. Campbell turned aside all 11 shots he faced to keep the U.S. ahead after 40 minutes.

The Steel tied it up again just 45 seconds into the third frame when Danny Mattson fed Kuchin, who snapped it past Campbell from inside the right faceoff circle. At the 9:52 mark, Merrill passed to Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.), who one-timed a blast from the left point to regain the lead for Team USA on the power play. Bryan Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) banged home a rebound with 3:05 remaining in regulation to account for the 5-3 final.

Campbell made 23 stops to earn the win.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team will close out its 2009-10 regular season Saturday against the Indiana Ice at Pepsi Coliseum in Indianapolis at 7:05 p.m. EST.

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2010


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