Indians swept by Under-18 squad

The US National Team Development Program annually splits their squad up into a pair of teams.

One, the Under-17 team which features the top American-born players under 17 on its roster, competes in the North American Hockey League when not competing in international tournaments.

The other, the Under-18 team, plays exhibition games throughout the season against college opponents as well as regular season and exhibition games against junior opponents.

This weekend the Under-18 team was in town to take on the Soo Indians in NAHL action.

The pair of games had added importance as the Under-17 squad is in the midst of a heated battle with the Indians for top spot in the NAHL's North division.

With that in mind the Under-18 team did their younger counterparts a favour by sweeping the Indians by scores of 4-1 and 3-2 to give the Under-17 team a two point lead in the standings.

Ryan Stoa had a pair of goals while Phil Kessel added a goal and an assist in the Friday night victory for Team USA. Jack Johnson, expected by many to be a top selection when the 2005 NHL Draft is eventually held, also scored for Team USA while Jim Pentecost scored the lone Indians goal.

The Indians, who outshot their opponent 23-19 in the loss, had a quality chance to get back into the game late in the third period. With Team USA ahead by a 3-1 score, Johnson was handed a five-minute major penalty for cross-checking Nik Sellers of the Indians.

The Indians could not capitalize and Team USA sealed the victory with an empty net goal not long after the penalty expired. Jason Kearney took the loss in goal for the Indians

On Saturday, the Indians found themselves in tough but outplayed Team USA in a number of aspects only to come up on the short end of a 3-2 decision.

The Indians fell behind early as Team USA defenceman David Inman beat Indians goaltender Troy Redmann just 2:14 into the game to give the visitors an early lead to work with.

The second period saw Team USA pull further ahead as Stoa scored his third goal of the series at 6:38.

The Indians had a number of chances to cut into the lead, including hitting two posts during the course of the period. Then, at 15:59 R.G. Flath got the Indians on the boards, beating Joseph Palmer in the Team USA goal to cut the lead in half.

The third period saw the Indians again fall behind by a two-goal margin as Andreas Vlassopoulos beat Redmann at 11:30 to give Team USA a 3-1 lead, but just 1:16 later, Pentecost got the Indians back to within one but it was not enough.

Even with Redmann on the bench for an extra attacker, the Indians could not find the tying goal dropping the 3-2 decision to the Under-18 team.

The Under-18 team used the two victories over the Indians to increase their record against junior hockey teams in the United States, which includes games against the NAHL and United States Hockey League, to 14-1. The only junior team to beat the Under-18 team this season was the Indians back January.

The Under-18 team which features the potential top five pick in Johnson and a potential first overall pick in the 2006 draft in Kessel, features 18 players who will be playing Division I college hockey in the United States next season.

Following Saturday's loss, Indians head coach Joe Shawhan praised his club for the effort put forth against a top quality opponent.

"I thought we showed up this weekend," Shawhan said. "I can't ask any more than what we got out of our guys. I thought our guys played exceptional (this weekend)."

Shawhan also praised the Under-18 team, a team that has given some good college teams a hard time this season.

"I tip my hat to the Under-18 team as well," Shawhan added. "They've beat some good teams this year. They beat Michigan State, Notre Dame and lost 7-5 to the University of Minnesota. They're 24-1 against junior teams this season including the USHL."

Team USA coach Ron Rolston gave the Indians credit and complimented the Indians when discussing the Indians play on the weekend against his team.

"(The Indians) are an excellent team," Rolston said. "As far as junior hockey teams go, they're the toughest team to play against. We had to be prepared this weekend. They were really good tonight (Saturday) and they played well last night."

Kessel, who recently committed to play for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, echoed his coaches commented following Saturday's game.

"They always play tough out here," Kessel said. "We got some hard working goals this weekend. You always want to beat them (especially with them battling the Under-17 team for first place)."

The Indians will have little time to rest as they head to Alpena, Michigan for a road game against the Toledo IceDiggers on Sunday afternoon.

After a pair of road games next weekend in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they will take on the Under-17 team, the Indians will return home to finish off the regular season against the Youngstown Phantoms on Mar. 25 and 26. Game time on both nights in 7 p.m. at the Chi Mukwa Community Recreation Centre.