U18s Complete Sweep over Cedar Rapids, Take Down RoughRiders, 7-2

USA Hockey National Team Development Program

U18s Complete Sweep over Cedar Rapids, Take Down RoughRiders, 7-2

By USA Hockey's NTDP, 01/24/26, 10:30PM EST

Glance and Meyer tally three points each; Carrithers turns aside 32

Photo by Rena Laverty

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) lit the lamp twice and added an assist as the U.S. National Under-18 Team completed the weekend sweep against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders with a 7-2 win tonight from ImOn Ice Arena.

Team USA got off to a quick start as Mikey Berchild (Minnetonka, Minn.) got the scoring started at 6:35. On the power play, Wyatt Cullen (Moorhead, Minn.) skated near the faceoff dot with the puck as Berchild placed himself atop the crease. Cullen threw a hard pass towards the net as Berchild deflected it past starting RoughRider netminder Joseph Skidmore.

Box Score

Meyer kept it rolling for Team USA to put it up a pair at 13:29. Jamie Glance (Stratham, N.H.) picked up a pass along the wall and found Meyer near the crease who fired it home.

Meyer's scoring continued at 10:23 of the second and went end-to-end which started with a defensive-zone steal. Meyer's poke check turned him up the ice and sped past the RoughRider's defense before he potted his second of the game.

The U.S. added its second power-play goal of the night and first from Casey Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.) at 16:14 to go up, 4-0. A shot through traffic trickled in front as Mutryn located the loose puck and slid it past Skidmore.

Cedar Rapids finally answered with its first goal of the game at 19:41 of the second to make it a 4-1 game after 40 minutes of play.

The scoring continued on for the U.S. as AJ Garcia (Romeoville, Ill.) tallied the third power-play goal of the game. Garcia snapped the offensive-zone draw to AJ Francisco (Hermantown, Minn.) who snapped it back to Garcia with an open net to work with and found twine at 10:44.

Sammy Nelson (Maple Grove, Minn.) got in the goal column at 11:57 for Team USA's sixth goal of the game. A strong forecheck from Parker Trottier (Edina, Minn.) forced a turnover as Mutryn picked up the puck, saw Nelson open on the far side and fed him before he fired it through.

The RoughRiders tallied once more, at 16:43, but Glance answered 1:05 later as the U.S. won the weekend series closer, 7-2.

Luke Carrithers (Maple Grove, Minn.) earned the win for the U.S. and stopped 32 shots in net.

The U18s are back at USA Hockey Arena Wednesday (Jan. 28) as it'll host the Youngstown Phantoms in Team USA's annual 'Kids Day' game. Puck drop is set for 10:30 a.m. ET and tickets are available at USAHockeyNTDP.com/tix or by calling the box office at 734-453-8400.