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MUSKEGON, Mich. - U.S. netminder Luke Carrithers (Maple Grove, Minn.) made a career-high 40 saves, but the U.S. National Under-17 Team dropped a 3-2 final to the Muskegon Lumberjacks tonight from Trinity Health Arena.
Muskegon took a 1-0 lead 7:03 into the contest with a quick drill from Ivan Ryabkin.
Casey Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.) got the U.S. on the board with a power-play marker at 16:52 off his own rebound. Logan Stuart (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) fed Mutryn after Tyler Martyniuk (Washington Twp., Mich.) stopped a Muskegon clearing attempt at the point, and Mutryn beat past Stephen Peck along the goal line for the equalizer.
David Klee regained Muskegon's lead 3:49 into the second stanza, but a Sammy Nelson (Maple Grove, Minn.) power-play score just past the halfway mark knotted things at 2-2. Jamie Glance (Stratham, N.H.) grabbed a loose puck off the draw and found Nelson, who beat Peck with a one-timer from the left cirlce.
A power-play goal from Vaclac Nestrasil with 6:19 left in the period put the Lumberjacks up 3-2 heading into the final frame.
Team USA pulled Carrithers with 1:11 on the clock, but were unable to capitalize for the 3-2 final.
The U17s are back at it next Friday, Jan. 10 as they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a pair of games against the Stars. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET from the Ice Box and the game can be seen live on FloHockey.