CRANBERRY TWP., Pa. - Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) netted a hat-trick in a 10:36 span in the second period and Christian Humphreys (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added three points as the U.S. National Under-18 Team topped the Omaha Lancers, 7-2, in the final game of the 2023 USHL Fall Classic. 

Omaha's Ethan Fredericks scored just 13 seconds into the middle frame, but the U18s responded with the next four scores, including a second-period hat-trick from Eiserman. He notched his first on a breakaway off a tremendous outlet pass from EJ Emery (Compton, Calif.). 

Eiserman added his second midway through the period, again on a great feed from Emery. The defenseman quickly took an Omaha clearing attempt and found Eiserman darting up the middle of the ice. He shimmied to the backhand and flipped a quick shot over the shoulder of Kochendorfer to make it a 3-1 game.

Fifteen seconds later, Logan Hensler (Woodbury, Minn.) banked a pass off the boards to spur Humphreys on a 2-on-1 break. The Michigan State commit picked the short side top corner for his second goal of the season and a 4-1 USA lead.

Eiserman completed the hat-trick at 13:37 when he connected from long range to push the U18 lead to 5-1. After Humphreys' shot went wide, Eiserman picked it up and moved it to Hensler at the point. He returned the puck to the forward, who ripped a quick shot from the top of the right circle for his fifth goal of the campaign. 

Omaha's Gabe Kenne grabbed a rebound and fired home late in the period to make it a 5-2 game after 40 minutes. 

Sixty-one seconds into the final frame, Noah Lapointe (Hinsdale, Ill.) drove the length of the ice and found Humphreys back-door for his second score and third point of the game. The helper was Lapointe's first point of the season. 

Hensler extended the lead to five with his second goal in as many days with a deep screen-shot from the right point. Plante and Stiga picked up helpers on the 7-2 final score. 

USA goaltender Nick Kempf (Chicago, Ill.), making his season debut, turned aside 22 of 24 shots to pick up the win in net. 

The U18s return to Michigan for a pair of games next weekend. After they travel to Muskegon on Monday morning for a Kids Day game, they host the Green Bay Gamblers Saturday night at USA Hockey Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and tickets are available at USAHockeyNTDP.com/tix or by calling the USA Hockey Arena box office at 734-453-8400. Be sure to come early and join Team USA for a Welcome Back to Hockey pregame party!