Photo by Rena Laverty
PLYMOUTH, Mich. - Cutter Gauthier (Scottsale, Ariz.) netted his second hat-trick of the season, Rutger McGroarty (Lincoln, Neb.) added four points and the U.S. National Under-18 Team erased three different multi-goal deficits to come back and beat the Muskegon Lumberjacks, 9-8 in a shootout, Friday evening at USA Hockey Arena.
Muskegon jumped out to a quick start as the 'Jacks netted a trio of goals in a 2:28 span in the first period. Phil Tresca grabbed the first with a rebound opportunity just shy of the halfway mark of the period. Tyler Hotson doubled the lead 42 seconds later and Tresca made it a multi-goal evening to push the Muskegon lead to 3-0.
Highlights
Team USA got on the board before the first intermissions buzzer with a power-play goal from Gauthier. Logan Cooley (Pittsburgh, Pa.) held the puck along the left side board and tried to center a feed to McGroarty in the slot. The pass glanced off his skate and to Gauthier, who ripped in his patented wrister from the right circle to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The U18s wasted no time to even the score in the middle frame as they tied it up 67 seconds into the period. After a Muskegon turnover, Charlie Stramel (Rosemount, Minn.) collected the loose rubber and dropped a pass to Devin Kaplan (Bridgewater, N.J.), who found a cutting McGroarty alone in front where he beat the goalie through the five-hole to cut the lead to one.
Gauthier potted his second when he took a pass from Cooley, cut through the defense and banked his shot off the inside of Cam Korpi's pads and into the cage. Defenseman Lane Hutson (North Barrington, Ill.) added his name to the scoresheet with a helper on the goal.
After Muskegon grabbed the game's next pair of goals to take a 5-3 lead, Team USA once again came back to even the contest. Gauthier completed his hat-trick at 10:22 of the period on a second-chance opportunity after the Lumberjacks defense failed to get a body on him. Cooley and Hutson once again assisted Gauthier for his 23rd score of the season.
USA forward Isaac Howard (Hudson, Wis.) gave the game its fourth tie at 5-5 when he got in behind the defense off a Seamus Casey (Fort Myers, Fla.) stretch pass and went five-hole for the finish. Frank Nazar (Mount Clemens, Mich.) grabbed an assist for his team-leading 45th point of the season.
Muskegon's Jake Braccini gave the 'Jacks a 6-5 lead after 40 minutes with a back-door tap-in for his 17th score of the season late in the second period.
Quinn Hutson extended Muskegon's lead to 7-5 after a USA major penalty, but McGroarty answered while still on the kill. Ryan Chesley (Mahtomedi, Minn.) dumped a puck deep that McGroarty raced to first. He took the puck wide on the backhand and fired his shot by Korpi to make it a 7-6 game.
Kaplan hammered home a McGroarty wraparound feed at the goal mouth to break a seven-game scoreless streak and tie the game with 8:28 to play in regulation.
Team USA took its first lead of the evening just over a minute later when Cole Spicer (Grand Forks, N.D.) fired home from the right circle. Hutson circled the offensive zone before finding the North Dakota commit for his 12th goal of the season and Hutson's third helper of the night. Jimmy Snuggerud (Chaska, Minn.) picked up his first point with a secondary assist.
Muskegon's Ben Strinden tallied a shorthanded goal near the end of regulation to tie the game at eight goals apiece into overtime.
Neither side could net in the 3-on-3 session and Howard scored the lone shootout goal in the U18s first shootout of the campaign to give Team USA the extra point.
Dylan Silverstein picked up the win for Team USA, his ninth of the season.
The U18s are off until February 18 when they travel to Iowa to take on the Dubuque Fighting Saints at Mystique Community Ice.
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