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U18s Take Game One Over Lindenwood, 12-4

By USA Hockey's NTDP, 02/24/23, 9:30PM EST

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Sixteen U.S. skaters collect a point in win


Photo by Rena Laverty

PLYMOUTH, Mich. - Sixteen U.S. players recorded a point, led by four from Oliver Moore (Mounds View, Minn.) and a hat-trick from Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.), as the U.S. National Under-18 Team topped the Lindenwood Lions by a 12-4 final Friday night at USA Hockey Arena. 

The U.S. wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) found the back of the net 22 seconds in on the game's first shot. Zeev Buium (San Diego, Calif.) led Smith into the offensive zone with a great stretch pass and he fired under the glove of Roni Salmenkangas for a quick 1-0 lead. 

Box Score

Highlights

The U18s doubled up at 7:52 off an Eiserman one-timer on the power play. Moore controlled the puck in the zone and went dot-to-dot with the feed that Eiserman hammered home. James Hagens (Hauppauge, N.Y.) collected the secondary helper in his first game with the U18s. 

Team USA added a pair of scores in 12 seconds to extend the lead to 4-0 before the midway mark of the period. First, Beckett Hendrickson (Minnetonka, Minn.) redirected a point shot from Cole Hutson (Barrington, Ill.) for his ninth score of the season. Will Vote (Arlington, Mass.) set up Hutson to pick up an assist.

After the ensuing draw, Smith forced a turnover and found Gabe Perreault (Hinsdale, Ill.), who drove the net, dragged a defender and netted his attempt for his team-leading 38th tally of the year.

After Lindenwood got on the board to make it 4-1, Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) added a power-play marker with three seconds to play in the frame. Perreault worked the puck back to Kai Janviriya (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), who pushed it to Leonard along the left wing. He wired a wrister in the far-side top corner on his 35th of the year. 

The U18s added four more in the middle frame that began with Eiserman's second power-play goal just 82 seconds into the period. After a scrum in front, the Massachusetts native ended up with the puck and found twine. Hagens and Moore picked up assists on USA's sixth of the night. 

Carter Slaggert (South Bend, Ind.) joined the scoring column with another greasy goal just over a minute later. Danny Nelson (Maple Grove, Minn.) dropped a pass for Alex Weiermair (Los Angeles, Calif.) down the right wing and he charged the net for the initial shot. Slaggert was first to the rebound and chipped in his backhand for his third score of the season. 

Moore added his 23rd of the campaign just shy of the halfway mark of the game. Hutson collected at the point and found Vote, who one-touched the pass to set up Moore.

Smith made it 9-1 before the close of the period after he took the shot running a 2-on-1 break with Perreault. Buium sent them in to earn his second assist of the night. 

Leonard connected on his second score of the evening early in the third that was matched by Lindenwood's Jack Anderson to push the game to push the game to 10-2.

Paul Fischer (River Forest, Ill.) found paydirt from the left point and Eiserman added his third to cap the U.S. scoring.

Lindenwood pushed across a pair of power-play goals in the final two minutes for the 12-2 final. 

Trey Augustine (South Lyon, Mich.) went the distance in cage for the U18s as he made 16 saves to pick up his 18th win of the season.

The two teams will run a rematch tomorrow night back at USA Hockey Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. ET and tickets are available at USAHockeyNTDP.com/tix or calling 734-453-8400. 

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