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OSWEGO, N.Y. - Three different players scored goals but the U.S. National Under-18 Team was tripped up by Oswego State University, 5-3, here tonight at Campus Center Ice Arena. With the loss, Team USA falls to 1-4-1 against collegiate opponents and are now 0-1-0 versus NCAA Division III foes.
Oswego State found the board first at 4:26 of the first frame. Team USA struck back when Christian Fischer (Wayne, Ill.) found Brendan Warren (Carleton, Mich.) in the slot. Warren tucked the puck under the arm of Lakers goalie Matt Zawadzki for the score. Oswego State regained the lead at 13:55 on the power play, one-timing a shot over the shoulder of U.S. netminder Luke Opilka (St. Louis, Mo.). With time expiring, Grant Gabriele (Brighton, Mich.) wristed a shot from the left face-off circle to tie the game. Jeremy Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.) earned an assist on the equalizer.
The Lakers lit the lamp twice in the middle stanza to go up 4-2 over Team USA.
Joseph Masonius (Spring Lake, N.J.) inched the U.S. closer on a rocket through traffic at 7:28 of the third period. Bracco registered his second helper on the marker. Skating with the man advantage, the U18s gave up a shorthanded tally at 13:15 and ultimately fell, 5-3, to the Lakers.
Opilka made 11 saves in the loss for Team USA, while Zawadzki kicked out 13 shots in two periods. Justin Gilbert stopped 17 of 18 shots in the third for the victorious Lakers.
The U.S. National Under-18 Team will next travel to Muskegon, Michigan for a tilt with in-state rivals, the Lumberjacks. The game is Wednesday, Oct. 29, at L.C. Walker Arena and has a special start time of 10:30 a.m. ET. The game will be streamed live at FASTHockey.com.
Team USA outshot Oswego State, 33-16 ... The U.S. went 0-2 on the power play while the Lakers went 1-1 ... The U.S. National Under-18 Team will play five NCAA Division III teams in 2014-15. Besides Oswego State, the Under-18 Team also plays Augsburg College (Minn.), the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Neumann University (Pa.) and Adrian College (Mich.).