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Photo by Rena Laverty
PLYMOUTH, Mich. – The U.S. National Under-18 Team concludes their USHL play with a 3-2 loss against the Youngstown Phantoms.
The U18s finish with a USHL record of 22-3-0-1-0 (W-L-OTL-SOL-T). They are 36-15-0-3-0 in all competition this year.
Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) took the puck behind the net and wrapped around the front to slide the puck past the goaltender on his backhand at 8:53 in the first to give Team USA a 1-0 lead. Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass) and Jonathan Gruden (Rochester, Mich.) assisted on the goal.
Youngstown struck back at 2:03 in the second on a 5-on-3 power play to tie the game, 1-1.
At 16:53 in the second, Youngstown scored their second to take the lead, 2-1.
Alex Turcotte (Island Lake, Ill.) drove the net and dropped a pass back to Gruden who scored top shelf to tie the game, 2-2, at 9:29 in the third. Gavin Hain (Grand Rapids, Minn.) also tallied an assist on the goal.
Youngstown scored on a rebound at 18:49 in the third to win, 3-2.
Drew DeRidder (Fenton, Mich.) made 13 saves, and Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.) made 15 saves in a planned net share.
The U18s will next travel to Russia to compete in the 2018 IIHF Under-18 World Championships, which begins on April 19th.