U18s Run Win Streak to Three With 4-2 Win Over Storm

USA Hockey National Team Development Program

U18s Run Win Streak to Three With 4-2 Win Over Storm

By USA Hockey's NTDP, 01/10/25, 9:45PM EST

Hafele nets first multi-goal game of season in win

Photo by Rena Laverty

PLYMOUTH, Mich. - Landon Hafele (Fairbanks, Alaska) picked up his first multi-goal effort of the season and Harrison Boettiger (Wheat Ridge, Colo.) turned aside 27 shots to help the U.S. National Under-18 Team to a 4-2 win over the Tri-City Storm Friday night at USA Hockey Arena.

Team USA opened scoring with a power-play marker at 4:39 of the opening frame. Jacob Kvasnicka's (Wayzata, Minn.) shot from the wing went wide, but rolled along the boards to Will Moore (Ithaca, N.Y.) at the left point. He found LJ Mooney (West Mifflin, Pa.), who returned the puck to Moore for a wrister from the slot past a screened Erick Roest for his 14th tally of the season.

Box Score

Highlights

The visiting Storm evened the score just over five minutes into the middle period when Carmelo Crandell snuck in behind the U.S. defense and flicked a wrist shot past Boettiger to make it a 1-1 game.

Late in the frame, Team USA regained its one-goal lead off a Conrad Fondrk (White Bear Lake, Minn.) snipe from the inside of the left face-off circle. He carved through the defense before rifling the unassisted tally to put the U18s in the lead after 40 minutes of action.

Tri-City thought they had brought it back to two goals apiece midway through the third, but after a video review it was deemed no goal was scored.

Team USA answered back with some grade-A opportunities from Victor Plante (Hermantown, Minn.) and Kvasnicka from in close, but neither could extend the lead.

The Storm eventually did bring the game back to a tie score when defenseman Colby Woogk was the recipient of a nice passing sequence and fired one in from the slot with 6:23 to play in regulation.

Less than a minute later, Hafele put the U18s right back on top, batting a rebound opportunity out of mid-air past Roest for the game-winning score. Will Belle (Minnetonka, Minn.) found Maceo Phillips (Wayzata, Minn.) at the left point for the initial shot that Hafele converted on the second-chance.

With 27 seconds to play in regulation, Hafele iced the game with a lengthy empty-net for his first multi-score effort of the season.

Boettiger finished his night with 27 saves in a second-star performance and earned his fifth win of the season for Team USA.

The two sides will battle again in a rematch tomorrow evening 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 box office at 734-453-8400.