U18s Close Home College Slate With 6-4 Win Over Bowling Green

USA Hockey National Team Development Program

U18s Close Home College Slate With 6-4 Win Over Bowling Green

By USA Hockey's NTDP, 02/14/25, 9:30PM EST

Fondrk nets two in return to lineup

Photo by Rena Laverty

PLYMOUTH, Mich. - Six different skaters recorded multiple points to help lead the U.S. National Under-18 Team to a 6-4 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons in Team USA's final NCAA contest on home ice Friday night at USA Hockey Arena.

The U18s jumped out early for the game's first goal with a Jacob Kvasnicka (Wayzata, Minn.) snipe from the right wing less than two minutes into the first. Mikey Berchild (Minnetonka, Minn.) and Charlie Trethewey (Wodobine, Md.) picked up helpers on the game's opening score.

Box Score

Highlights

Bowling Green's Nick O'Hanisain snuck a point shot through a screened Patrick Quinlan (Kennett Square, Pa.) at 4:54 to even the score at 1-1.

Just over two minutes into the second, the home team got back in front on a slick Donny Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.) wraparound score, the defenseman's eighth point over his last nine games. Berchild found Kvasnicka for the initial shot, which Bracco collected after to give both forwards multiple points.

A great Team USA passing display that ended with an LJ Mooney (West Mifflin, Pa.) tap-in goal extended the cushion to two scores at 7:32 of the first. From the left wing, Drew Schock (Green Bay, Wis.) sent a perfect back-door feed that Mooney one-touched past Cole Moore to make it a 3-1 game. Will Moore (Ithaca, N.Y.) picked up the secondary helper on the score.

Falcons captain Ethan Scardina brought the game back to one goal at 12:29 of the second, but Conrad Fondrk (White Bear Lake, Minn.) regained the two-goal advantage with less than two minutes to play. Off a Bowling Green turnover, Mooney sent Moore into the offensive zone. He dove to direct a bouncing puck over to Fondrk, who sent his shot short-side to make it a 4-2 game after 40 minutes of action.

For the third consecutive period, Team USA got on the board early as Jack Murtagh (East Greenbush, N.Y.) netted his 15th of the season with a quick wrister from the slot. Bracco left it for Murtagh in the U.S. defensive zone, where the forward picked it up and took it the length of the ice to make it a 5-2 game. Cole McKinney (Lake Forest, Ill.) recorded the secondary helper to tie Moore for the team lead with his 37th point of the season.

The two sides traded a trio of goals in the final minutes of regulation. BG's Matvei Kabanov made it 5-3 with 3:22 to play and then Fondrk found an open net for his second score of the night just over a minute later. The Falcons earned the final goal of the game off a late rush with 13 seconds to play for the 6-4 final.

Quinlan made 27 saves to run his season-long record to 8-6-0-1.

The U18s are back at USA Hockey Arena for a pair next weekend against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Both Friday's and Saturday's contests are 7:00 p.m. ET puck drops and tickets are available at USAHockeyNTDP.com/tix or by calling the box office at 734-453-8400.