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Photos by Alex Miller / UNH Athletics
DURHAM, N.H. - Joey Slavick (Westland, Mich.) made a season-high 36 stops in net, but the U.S. National Under-18 Team fell to the New Hampshire Wildcats, 6-2, Saturday evening at Whittemore Center Arena.
It took just 7:55 into the game before Team USA would jump on top courtesy of a Cole McKinney (Lake Forest, Ill.) snipe on a breakaway. Jack Murtagh (East Greenbush, N.Y.) spurred his linemate behind the Wildcats defense, and McKinney tucked it past the blocker of Rico DiMatteo to extend his point streak to seven consecutive games.
Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.) doubled the U18 lead less than four minutes later as he was the recipient of a tremendous USA passing display. Murtagh entered the zone and dropped it for Garrett Lindberg (Moorhead, Minn.), who found McKinney running the right wing. He connected with Gallant back-door for the one-touch score and 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats took advantage of a Team USA defensive-zone mishap to cut the lead in half at 3:04 of the middle frame. Connor Sweeney was the one to chip it over the glove of Slavick to make it a 2-1 game.
New Hampshire evened the score and took the lead before the midway mark of the game with two scores in a 43-second span. Cy LeClerc evened the score with a quick shot in front and Ryan MacPherson connected on a one-timer from the slot to put the Wildcats in front.
Even with the three goals allowed in the second, Slavick kept the U18s in the game with a couple huge blocker stops near the end of the period. He finishes the middle period with 14 stops to give him a 40-minute total of 26.
The home side quickly added a pair in the first three minutes of the third period. First, LeClerc converted on the doorstep for his second of the night and then Marty Lavins bombed a one-timer home to make it a 5-2 score.
LeClerc completed the unofficial hat-trick shy of the midway point of the third period, in what ended up being the final goal of the contest in a 6-2 final.
Slavick finished his night with a season-high 36 saves.
The U18s are off for Christmas break before they return to Kroger College Series action on December 28-29 at Arizona State University. Their next puck drop is set for Saturday, Dec. 28 at 3:00 p.m. ET from Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.