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PLYMOUTH, Mich. – A seven-goal second period by the Chicago Steel doomed the U.S. National Under-17 Team to an 11-2 loss to the USHL Eastern Conference's top team Saturday evening at USA Hockey Arena.
Isaac Howard (Hudson, Wis.) scored his team-leading 18th goal and Logan Cooley (West Mifflin, Pa.) notched his second goal of the series in the setback.
The Steel set the tone early in the first period with a pair of back-to-back tallies seven seconds apart to take a 2-0 lead with 14:26 to play.
Former NTDP skater Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass) assisted on a third goal at the midway point of the period to give Chicago a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Chicago's Shane Doan scored a pair of goals to open the middle frame, and Farrell notched a goal of his own to extend the Steel's lead to 6-0 before the U.S. broke through when Howard found the back of the net on the power play to cut the lead to 6-1.
The Steel went a four-goal scoring tear to take a 10-1 advantage, but Cooley chipped away at the score, slipping a shot past Steel goaltender Nick Haas on a breakaway to make it a 10-2 game late in the third period
The Steel added an extra tally in the final seconds of the period to finish off an 11-2 win.
Tyler Muszelik (Long Valley, N.J.) made 26 saves in the loss.