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Photo by Rena Laverty
PLYMOUTH, Mich. - The U.S. National Under-17 Team got 34 saves from Luke Carrithers (Maple Grove, Minn.), goals from six different scorers and used five unanswered tallies to earn their first USHL win of 2025 in a 6-2 final over the Sioux Falls Stampede Sunday afternoon at USA Hockey Arena.
The Stampede got things rolling just 2:30 in off an Aiden Welch pot from the doorstep.
Victor Plante (Hermantown, Minn.) found the equalizer with 6:06 left in the opener, skating into the slot and finding a corner from the hashmarks after Sammy Nelson (Maple Grove, Minn.) carried the puck up the left wing and into the zone. Jonas Kemps (Santa Rosa, Calif.) tallied an assist as well.
Ethan Wyttenbach snuck one under the crossbar off a breakaway with 9:02 to play in the middle frame to regain Sioux Falls' lead.
JP Hurlbert (Allen, Texas) tied things again for his second goal of the weekend, burying a laser of a one-timer from the top of the right circle after Luke Schairer (Charlotte, N.C.) grabbed a loose puck in the defensive zone and fed Hurlbert from along the Sioux Falls goal line at 15:14.
Nelson brought the U.S. its first lead of the weekend with 41 seconds left in the period, stealing the puck from a Stampede defender atop the zone to beat goaltender Jack Solomon far-side from the right dot.
Birthday boy Lukas Zajic (Plainfield, Ill.) made it a 4-2 game just 42 seconds into the final stanza, picking up a rebound off a Carrithers save, moving up the left wing with George in stride and skating into the high slot for the finish.
Defenseman Abe Barnett (Wilmette, Ill.) notched his first career goal for a 5-2 U.S. lead with 5:04 to play. Wyatt Cullen (Moorhead, Minn.) connected with Dayne Beuker (Portland, Ore.) along the boards, and Beuker fed a patient Barnett in the high slot for the score.
Mikey Berchild (Minnetonka, Minn.) put the game on ice with an empty-net tally with 2:06 to play in regulation. Jamie Glance (Stratham, N.H.) assisted on the score to extend his career-best point streak to 10 consecutive games.
Carrithers finished his afternoon with 34 saves to help earn his 10th win of the season.
The U17s are back in action next weekend with a home-and-home against the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Puck drop is set for 7:10 p.m. ET Friday (Jan. 24) from Trinity Health Arena and 7:00 p.m. ET Saturday (Jan. 25) from USA Hockey Arena. Tickets for Saturday night are available at USAHockeyNTDP.com/tix or by calling the box office at 734-453-8400.