Nate Raduns scored a goal and assisted on two others to lead the U.S. Under-18 Team to a 4-1 exhibition victory over the UMass-Amherst Friday at the William D. Mullins Center.
The U.S. had a strong first period, outshooting the Minutemen 16-9 and skating to a 1-0 lead. Defenseman Ryan Suter scored his first goal for the Under-18 Team at the 8:25 mark of the first period with Raduns assisting.
Raduns made it a two-goal advantage for the U.S. 13:54 into the second period with his unassisted power-play goal. U.S. defenseman Mark Stuart scored the third goal with under two minutes remaining in the second period when he swept in a backhander off a rebound from a Ray Ortiz shot.
Massachusetts cut the U.S. lead to 3-1, scoring its only goal of the game with 11 seconds remaining in the second. Senior captain Toni Söderholm scored on a wrist shot from the slot.
Ortiz scored off a feed from Raduns 2:41 into the third period to make the final score to 4-1 in favor of the U.S.
Freshman goaltender Tim Warner made 30 saves for the Minutemen, while James Howard made 28 saves for the U.S. The victory improves the U.S. to 21-15-4 on the season and to 6-8-3 against collegiate opponents.
Massachusetts returns to regular-season action on Friday, Feb. 22, when the Minutemen travel to Hockey East rival Maine for a 7 p.m. game at Alfond Arena.
