October 29, 2009

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Dakota Eveland's goal with 3:54 remaining in regulation spoiled a 46-save effort by Matt McNeely (Burnsville, Minn.) as the U.S. National Under-17 Team was edged by the Omaha Lancers, 3-2, here tonight at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

Colin Markison put the Lancers on the board first after his shot from the high slot glanced off McNeely's shoulder and into the net at 15:27. McNeely stopped 20 shots during the opening 20 minutes of play to keep Team USA within a goal.

Travis Boyd(Hopkins, Minn.) knotted the score 4:35 into the second stanza after he snapped Cole Bardreau's (Fairport, N.Y.) feed past the outstretched blocker of netminder Jeff Teglia from between the faceoff circles. Omaha retook the lead at 11:20 when Seth Ambroz found Erik Haula who flipped a backhanded shot by a sprawling McNeely.

Blake Pietila(Brighton, Mich.) made it 2-2 after he took a feed from Bardreau and slid it under Teglia from the left side for a power-play tally at 6:05 of the third frame. Boyd also received an assist on the play. Eveland took advantage of a turnover in the U.S. zone and put the puck past McNeely from the right side to give Omaha its third lead of the night. With time dwindling, Team USA was unable to find the equalizer for the third time, allowing the Lancers to escape with a 3-2 victory.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team will now look ahead to its first international competition of the season as it will travel to Trnava, Slovakia, for the 2009 Under-17 Four Nations Cup. Team USA will meet under-17 squads from Russia, Slovakia and Switzerland from Nov. 5-7. For more information on the tournament, visit usahockey.com.

NOTES: Travis Boyd (1-1--2) and Cole Bardreau (0-2--2) paced Team USA with two points each ... Matt McNeely raised his save percentage to .885. He has made 383 saves this season ... With the win, the Lancers take sole possession of the top spot in the United States Hockey League with 14 points (7-1-0 record).

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

First Period - Scoring: 1, OMA, Markison (Demopoulous, Lavin), 15:27. Penalties: USA, Vilardo (interference), 16:15.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, USA, Boyd (Bardreau), 4:35; 3, OMA, Haula (Ambroz), 11:20. Penalties: OMA, Demopoulous (tripping), 6:11; OMA, Brisson (boarding), 10:37; USA, Biggs (roughing), 10:37; OMA, Bench (too many players), 16:40.

Third Period -Scoring: 4, USA, Pietila (Bardreau, Boyd), 6:06 (pp); 5, OMA, Eveland (unassisted), 16:06 (pp). Penalties: OMA, Ambroz (slashing), 4:38; USA, Paliotta (delay of game), 9:29; OMA, Daugherty (delay of game), 9:40; OMA, Ludwig (high-sticking), 13:38; USA, Bardreau (tripping), 15:43.