MINNEAPOLIS -- Ben McClellan (SR, Cottage Grove, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall HS) scored the lone goal of the game for Augsburg College in the first period, in the Auggies' 6-1 loss to the United States Under-18 National Team in a men's hockey exhibition game on Saturday evening at Ed Saugestad Rink.THE BASICSFINAL SCORE:Â USA Under-18 National Team 6, Augsburg 1
LOCATION:Â Ed Saugestad Rink, Minneapolis
HOW IT HAPPENED• McClellan tied the game at 1-1 at the 4:48 mark of the first period, scoring from Dylan Meier (SO, Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista HS) and Evan Hesse (FY, Monticello, Minn./Palmer (Alaska) HS).
• The USA squad outshot Augsburg by a 38-22 margin, including a 29-14 advantage over the final two periods.
• John Bretzman (SR, Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran HS) had 32 saves in goal for the Auggies.
• McClellan, Meier, Zach Dick (SR, Grand Rapids, Minn.) and Rory Vesel (SO, Rochester, Minn./Lourdes HS) had three shots on-goal each for the Auggies.FOR THE FOES• Auston Matthews had a hat trick for the USA squad, scoring three goals and adding an assist for a four-point performance.
• Christian Fisher scored two goals, and Tage Thompson scored a goal with two assists.
• Luke Kunin, Jeremy Bracco, Troy Terry and Jack Roslovic all had assists for the USA squad.
• Michael Lackey had 21 saves in goal for the USA squad.BEYOND THE BOXSCORE• The Auggies, coming off a 3-1 win at Concordia-Wisconsin on Friday night, played a strong game against the national team, which was coming off a 5-4, overtime win on Friday night at Division I Minnesota.
• The USA Under-18 National Team, part of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP), is now 17-5-1 overall, having won its last nine games in a row.
• The national team plays as part of the U.S. Hockey League, the top junior hockey league in the United States. Eighteen of the 22 players on Saturday's roster have made verbal commitments to play hockey at Division I programs.
• As an exhibition game, the result does not count on Augsburg's overall record, and statistics from the game aren't included in the Auggies' individual or team statistics.UP NEXT• Augsburg hosts Wisconsin-River Falls in a nonconference game on Tuesday (11/25) at 7:30 p.m. at Ed Saugestad Rink.
