Photo by Michael Caples
PLYMOUTH, Mich. - Four different Team USA skaters registered multiple points, but the U.S. National Under-18 Team could not complete the comeback in a 6-5 loss to the Chicago Steel Saturday night at USA Hockey Arena.
Team USA got on the board first after a great transition play that ended with Kamil Bednarik (Chicago, Ill.) getting the goal on the doorstep. The Boston University commit started the play in the defensive zone and sent a perfect pass to Christian Humphreys (Pittsburgh, Pa.) along the right wing. He hesitated and then returned the puck to Bednarik who tapped it in back door for a 1-0 lead at 11:10.
Highlights
Team USA added a power-play score with 2:05 to play in the period as the puck jetted out to Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) at the bottom of the left circle, where he made no mistake with a quick wrister. James Hagens (Hauppauge, N.Y.) carried the play into the offensive zone and found Bednarik, who managed the puck through the slot to Eiserman for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Chicago responded with a quick pair of scores to even the game less than five minutes into the middle frame. First, Joey DelGreco put the visitors on the board after crashing the net at 1:52 of the second. Shortly after, it was Mick Thompson finishing a nice passing display to net his 12th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2.
Thompson added his second of the evening on a Steel power play, running a 2-on-1 break with Charlie Major and chipping the return pass over the pad of Nick Kempf (Chicago, Ill.) for Chicago's first lead.
The U.S. got it right back with a power-play tally of their own. Right off an offensive-zone draw win by Hagens, Cole Hutson (Chicago, Ill.) put a shot on net that U18 captain Brodie Ziemer (Hutchinson, Minn.) redirected in front to square the game once more at 3-3.
Chicago regained the lead before the close of the second period with a quick pair of scores. Thompson potted his third of the period for not only his first career multi-goal game, but his first hat trick. Ben Wilmott added another with 46 seconds to play to put the Steel up 5-3 after 40 minutes.
It only took Team USA 31 seconds into the third period to cut into the deficit as Eiserman collected his second of the night, putting his own rebound opportunity off the skate of Louka Cloutier and in. Hagens and Hutson both earned assists on Eiserman's 34th score of the season.
Chicago's Charlie Major restored the two-goal advantage for the Steel, but Team USA crept back to within a score with 6:49 to play in regulation. Shane Vansaghi (St. Louis, Mo.) won an offensive-zone draw that Austin Baker (White Lake, Mich.) collected and fired by a screened Cloutier to close the gap to 6-5.
The U18s pulled goaltender Jack Parsons (Ithaca, N.Y.), who replaced Kempf halfway through the game, with just over two minutes to play in regulation. The offensive attack applied consistent pressure, including three shots from in tight in the final 10 seconds, but could not find the back of the net in the 6-5 final.
The U18s return to their Kroger College Series next week at USA Hockey Arena as they host the Niagara Purple Eagles. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday evening and tickets are available at USAHockeyNTDP.com/tix or by calling the USA Hockey Arena box office at 734-453-8400.
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