ryan bourque

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - A power-play goal from Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) with 54 seconds left in the third period broke a 4-4 tie, and an empty-netter off the stick of Ryan Bourque (Boxford, Mass.) 32 seconds later secured a 6-4 win for the U.S. National Under-17 Team over Mahoning Valley Tuesday night at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.
"Tonight was our second really good win in a row against a top team in our division," said Ron Rolston, head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team. "It was definitely a confidence-booster for our players, and it should give us a boost for the games coming up this weekend. We will have to play with the same effort and consistency in those games to be successful."

Team USA recorded the first goal of the night at 4:42 of the first period when Jimmy Hayes (Dorcester, Mass.) scored off assists from A.J. Treais (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.). Hayes took a wrist shot just to the right of Mahoning Valley goaltender Garrett Bartus that bounced back in front of the net. The puck then deflected off a Phantom defenseman into the back of the net.

Mahoning Valley tied the game up at one apiece as Derek Graham tallied an unassited marker at 8:36. Graham beat Team USA goaltender Michael Clemente (Great Falls, Va.) up high on the glove side with a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle.

Bourque netted his seventh goal of the campaign at the16:26 mark of the opening period to give Team USA a 2-1 lead. Chris Brown (Flower Mound, Texas) started the scoring sequence by sending a pass from the left wing towards the front of the net, where Drew Shore (Denver, Colo.) directed it quickly over to Bourque. Bourque then pounded home a shot from his backhand.

After Stefan Salituro tallied the second goal of the game for the Phantoms 2:10 into the second period, Beau Schmitz (Howell, Mich.) scored for Team USA on the power play just over two minutes later. Schmitz unleashed a shot from the point that was re-directed into the net. Saponari added the lone assist on the goal.

Goals from Miles Winter and Johnny Meo at 4:58 and 5:19 of the period allowed Mahoning Valley to gain its first lead of the game.

A.J. Treais (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) lit up the scoreboard with his fourth goal of the season at the 7:04 mark of the second frame to tie the score at 4-4 for Team USA. Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich.) fired a pass from the right corner over to Treais in front of the Phantoms' net, and Treais put a shot by Bartus into the left corner of the net.

The Phantoms had a prime scoring chance 5:27 into the third stanza when they were afforded a 5-on-3 power play for slightly over a minute. Despite several close-range shots, Clemente and the Team USA defensive corps killed off the penalties successfully to preserve a 4-4 game.

Kristo vaulted Team USA ahead for good in the final minute of the contest thanks to assists from Schmitz and Saponari. Kristo fired a wrist shot high above the left shoulder of Bartus from the right circle to give his team its second power-play goal of the night.

After Team USA was whistled for a penalty of its own, Mahoning Valley pulled Bartus for the extra attacker. The Phantoms' scoring attempt was quickly foiled, however, as Bouque stole the puck for the home team and skated briskly down the ice to tap in an easy empty-net goal with 22 seconds remaining on the clock.

Clemente picked up 20 saves for Team USA, and improved his season record to 2-1-0. Bartus stopped 23 shots for Mahoning Valley, and fell to 9-2-2 on the year.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team (10-10-0) continues its four-game homestand this Friday (Nov. 23) and Saturday (Nov. 24) when it hosts the Marquette Rangers at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. Friday's game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, while Saturday's tilt will get underway at 7 p.m. ET.

NOTES: Patrick Gaul (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Danny Kristo and Vinny Saponari played in their first games with the U.S. National Under-17 Team this season ... Ryan Bourque (2g), Vinny Saponari (3a), Beau Schmitz (1g, 1a) and A.J. Treais (1g, 1a) each recorded multi-point games ... Bourque's shorthanded goal was the second of the year for the U.S. National Under-17 Team ... Team USA went 2-for-6 on the power play, while holding Mahoning Valley scoreless in seven chances.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Despite a season-high five-point effort from Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) and two-point performances from Nick Mattson (Chanhassen, Minn.) and Beau Schmitz (Howell, Mich.), the U.S. National Under-17 Team fell, 6-5, to the Marquette Rangers in a shootout Friday night at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.
"I was very pleased with our effort tonight," said Ron Rolston, head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team. "We were a little short on players, but we certainly played well enough to win."

Team USA jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the power play at the 12:21 mark of the opening period when Morin put a wrist shot from the high slot through the legs of Marquette goaltender Beau Christian. Beau Schmitz (Howell, Mich.) picked up the lone assist on the goal.

Ryan Bourque (Boxford, Mass.) gave Team USA a two-goal cushion at 19:52 of the first stanza, thanks to a timely pass from Morin. While holding the puck to Christian's left, Morin slid a pass through the crease over to Bourque, who tipped the puck high over a sprawling Christian. Beau Schmitz chipped in the second assist on Bourque's tally, his second of the night.

Marquette's Derek Grogan recorded a power-play marker with eight seconds left in the first period to make it a one-goal game heading into the intermission.

The home team extended its lead to 3-1 just 31 seconds into the second stanza as David Valek (Orem, Utah) buried a rebound off a shot from Morin right in front of the Rangers' net. Netminder Adam Murray (Anchorage, Alaska) was credited with the second assist on the play, his first of the year.

Marquette responded with two goals later in the second period, however, as James Gallagher and Michael Thompson scored at 4:30 and 15:26, respectively.

Team USA regained the lead 15 seconds into the third period after Morin took an outlet pass from Mattson and beat Christian near the front of the net. William Wrenn (Anchorage, Alaska) also picked up his third assist of the campaign on Morin's goal.

Colin Saint-Onge tied the game again at the 6:39 mark for the Rangers.

Mattson notched his second point of the night with a goal off assists from Drew Shore (Denver, Colo.) and Morin at the 12:36 mark of the frame. Morin skated the puck up the ice on the left wing and made a quick pass to Shore near the front of the net. From there, Shore flipped the puck back to Mattson in the slot, and he unleashed a shot through traffic that Christian never saw cleanly.

Aaron Pietila used a power-play goal to tie the score up at five apiece for the visitors with 3:43 left in regulation.

After both teams were held scoreless in the overtime session, they began a best-of-five shootout. Marquette posted a 3-1 advantage in the shootout thanks to goals from James Gallagher, Nick Weight and Mike Macari. T.J. Treais (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) notched the lone marker for Team USA in the shootout.

Murray finished with 32 saves for Team USA, while Christian stopped 29 shots for the Rangers.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team (10-11-0) takes on Marquette again tomorrow night at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. The puck will drop at 7 p.m. ET.

NOTES: Jeremy Morin's five-point was a personal best, and he continues to lead Team USA with 27 points (18-9). Morin has recorded 20 points (13-7) in his last 11 games. Nick Mattson turned in his first multi-point game of the season ... Beau Schmitz notched his second consecutive multi-point effort. His six points (2-4) in the 2007-08 slate are tied for first in points among Team USA's defensive corps ... Tonight's attendance (482