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Photo by Rena Laverty
Moon Township, Pa. – Jonathan Gruden (Rochester, Mich.) recorded his first hat-trick as a member of the National Team Development Program as the Under-17 swept their weekend series with the Johnstown Tomahawks with a 5-2 victory on Sunday night at RMU Island Sports Center.
Gruden picked up one goal in the second period and two tallies in the third period to bring his weekend total to five goals.
Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.) tallied two goals, his third, and fourth of the weekend. Gruden and Wahlstrom combined for nine of the 10 goals scored by the U17 squad during the series with the Tomahawks.
Wahlstrom was the only player who scored in the first period. He tallied his first goal of the night on the power play off a feed from Blade Jenkins (Jackson, Mich.) and Trevor Janicke (Maple Grove, Minn.)
After the Tomahawks tied the game early in the second period, Gruden tallied his first goal when Patrick Giles (Chevy Chase, Md.) sent a pass across ice to Gruden, who buried it past Tomahawks goaltender Britt League.
Wahlstrom widened the lead to two when he recorded his second goal of the game at the 11:40 mark of the second period. Jake Goldowski (Thornhurst, Pa.) and Tyler Weiss (Raleigh, N.C.) recorded assists Wahlstrom’s tally.
Gruden added two more goals five minutes apart in the third period to finish the hat trick. Erik Middendorf (Scottsdale, Az.), Giles, and Mattias Samuelsson (Voorhees, N.J.) picked up assists on the goals.
Ryan Ullan (Hibbing, Minn.) picked up his first win as a member of the National Team Development Program, making 30 saves on 32 shots. Ullan is now 1-1-0 on the season.
The U17 team is back in action with their regular season home opener on Friday night at when they welcome the Muskegon Lumberjacks to USA Hockey Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are available for this game at www.usahockeyarena.com.