NINE IS FINE: The Under-18 Team topped the Dubuque Fighting Saints by a 9-0 final Friday evening in their only game of the week.

The win marked the third game in four, and three straight in USHL action, that the U18s posted a nine-goal performance. The streak started with a 9-4 win over the Madison Capitols on January 22 and continued with a dramatic, come-from-behind 9-8 overtime win over the Muskegon Lumberjacks before the game in Iowa.

In the shutout win, Isaac Howard (Hudson, Wis.) notched two goals and two assists and Frank Nazar III (Mount Clemens, Mich.) added two goals and one assist as both skaters have now posted identical lines of 20 goals, 28 assists and 48 points on the season.

Rutger McGroarty (Lincoln, Neb.) and Lane Hutson (North Barrington, Ill.) also collected three points apiece while Devin Kaplan (Bridgewater, N.J.) and Ryan Chesley (Mahtomedi, Minn.) pitched in a pair each in the team's third straight USHL win.

SPECIAL TEAMS PERFECTION: For the first time this season, the Under-18 pitched a perfect game on special teams as the power play connected on all four opportunities and the penalty kill denied all six chances from Dubuque in the 9-0 victory. 

Nazar picked up his team-leading fifth goal of the year on the man advantage, while Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Chesley and Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) all added scores with the extra skater.

With the four PPG, the U18s' power-play conversion rate improved to 27.9% on the season, which would top any USHL team. The penalty kill success rate is up to 77.9% in all games this season with the six kills.

THE MOOSE IS LOOSE: U18 netminder Tyler Muszelik (Long Valley, N.J.) continued his tremendous season as he made 22 saves in Friday night's 9-0 win to pick up his 15th win and second shutout of the 2021-22 season.

The University of New Hampshire commit has now won five of his last six decisions to run his record to 15-4-2 on the year with an impressive 2.93 GAA and .898 SV%. That run started with a pair of NCAA wins over Augsburg University at home and a road win over the University of North Dakota, when he turned aside a combined 34 of 35 attempts over teh two starts.

The shutout was Muszelik's third of his NTDP career after a 10-0 win over the Soo Eagles early in the 2020-21 season.

FIFTY BURGER: In another first for the U18s, the team hit the 50-shot plateau for the first time on the year. The U18s ended with nine goals on exactly 50 shots, giving them a rowdy 18% shooting percentage on the game. 

The team is now 18-4-3 when recording at least 30 shots in a game and the squad has outshot its opponents by a combined 1241-1087 margin on the season.

FIVE IN A ROW: The Under-17 Team used a pair of come-from-behind wins in extra time over the division-leading Chicago Steel to extend its win streak to five consecutive games, the team's second-longest run of the season.

The U17s erased two deficits Saturday evening and used a Ryan Fine (Center Moriches, N.Y.) goal late in regulation to force overtime and eventually steal the win in a shootout, behind goals from Zeev Buium (San Diego, Calif.) and Will Smith.

On Sunday afternoon, Will Vote (Arlington, Mass.) and Charlie Cerrato (Fallston, Md.) netted second-period scores to erase an early defecit and defenseman Aram Minnetian (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) went coast-to-coast in overtime to seal the win for the U17s.

It's the group's best stretch since they won six straight contests, including a four-game international sweep at the U17 Four Nations, from October 20 - November 13 earlier this season.