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NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nat'l Under-18 Team Skates Past Geneseo State, 6-3

January 5, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The U.S. National Under-18 Team tallied three power-play goals and posted a 59-28 shot advantage, en route to recording a 6-3 victory over Geneseo State at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube Saturday night.

"I was really proud of the physical and mental effort from our team," said Tim Taylor, assistant coach of the U.S. National Under-18 Team. "The players bounced back from a tough road loss yesterday with one of our best offensive games of the year tonight. Our coaching staff emphasized hard play at their net, and we were happy with how the kids responded."

Team USA lit up the scoreboard first on a 5-on-3 power play at the 3:32 mark of the opening period, thanks to David Wohlberg's (South Lyon, Mich.) fourth goal of the season. Wohlberg put a rebound off his back hand past Geneseo State goaltender Derek Jokic on the glove side. David Warsofsky (Marshfield, Mass.) dished out the lone assist on the goal.

Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) spotted Team USA a two-goal lead with his team-best 12th goal of the year, on the power play, at 15:40 of the opening frame. Kristo released a wrist shot from the left cicle that glanced off the top of the right post and into the net. Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Warsofsky were each credited with helpers on the play.

Geneseo State made it a 2-1 game less than 40 seconds into the second stanza when Mathieu Cyr tallied for the Knights.

Wohlberg notched his second marker of the evening at the 6:22 mark of the middle session to help Team USA build a 3-1 advantage. After taking the puck away from a Knight defender, Wohlberg wristed a shot from the slot up high past GSU goaltender Greg Richardson on the glove side.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team went ahead 4-1 just over three minutes later as Colin Reddin (Corona Del Mar, Calif.) tallied his first shorthanded goal of the 2007-08 campaign off assists from Kevin McCarey (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and Warsofsky. Reddin directed the puck from the left corner boards on net, and the puck slipped through the legs of Richardson.

After Sebastian Panetta scored for Geneseo State at 11:59 of the second, Reddin netted his second goal of the evening for Team USA. Reddin's wrist shot from the left hash mark whistled by Richardson on the blocker side. Robbie Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) and Ryan Hegarty (Arlington, Mass.) each tacked on assists.

The Knights pulled within two goals again with 2:38 left in the period, as Trent Cassan recorded a 5-on-3 power-play marker.

Warsofsky contributed his fourth point of the game with a power-play tally at the 12:06 mark of the third period, which completed Team USA's scoring for the evening. Ryan Grimshaw (Rochester, N.Y.) and Saponari were each credited with helpers.

Michael Clemente (Great Falls, Va.) totaled 25 saves for Team USA, and saw his season record improve to 4-1-1. The Knights' three goaltenders each played a period, and combined to stop 53 shots.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team (14-13-1-1) begins next week with a matchup against the University of Michigan on Tuesday (Jan. 8) at Yost Arena. The puck will drop at 7:35 p.m. ET. The squad then travels to Columbus, Ohio, where it will challenge the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday (Jan. 11) at Value City Arena. Opening faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.

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