BOBRUISK, Belarus – Luke Moffatt (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) and Bryan Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) each tallied twice for the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team as it earned a 7-3 decision over Slovakia here tonight in its last tune-up prior to the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Men's Under-18 Championship, to be held in Minsk and Bobruisk, Belarus, April 13-23.

Team USA jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) feathered a pass toAustin Watson (Ann Arbor, Mich.), who tapped it into the wide-open goal 6:20 into the game. Luke Moffatt (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) doubled the U.S. advantage when he tippedJustin Faulk's (South St. Paul, Minn.) slap shot through netminder Dominik Reicicky for a power-play tally at 11:29. Bill Arnold (Needham, Mass.) added to the total after he took a feed from Watson, sped around a defender, deked to his backhand and roofed the puck into the net at 15:50.

Slovakia bounced back in the second frame when Bruno Mraz wristed home a shot from the right side at 10:56. Team USA answered, however, just 29 seconds later when Arnold dropped the puck to Bryan Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) who snapped it over the outstretched glove of Reicicky. With 2:38 remaining in the stanza, Mraz broke down the right wing and put the puck under netminder Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) to make it 4-2.

The U.S. took back control of the game 1:08 into the final period after Adam Clendening(Niagara Falls, N.Y.) one-timed a feed from Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) for a 5-on-3 power-play goal. Just 1:16 later, Moffatt deflected a cross-crease pass from Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) into the open net for another power-play marker to make it 6-2. Rust added his second goal at 10:22 after he batted a mid-air feed from Arnold into the net from the right side. Marek Tvrdon scored for Slovakia at 13:30 to account for the 7-3 final.

Iles made 16 saves to earn the victory.

The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team opens tournament play Tuesday (April 13) against Sweden at 7 p.m. (noon EDT) at Bobruisk Arena.

NOTES: Bryan Rust (2-1--3) and Bill Arnold (1-2--3) each recorded three points to pace Team USA, while Austin Watson had two (1-1) ... Team USA outscored its opponents by a 20-5 margin in pre-tournament play ... The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team enters the tournament as the defending gold medalist at the IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship. Team USA captured its fourth gold medal in 2009, with the others coming in 2002, 2005 and 2006. Additionally, the U.S. has earned a medal in each of the last six IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championships (silver: 2004, 2007; bronze: 2008), which is unprecedented.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 3 1 3 -- 7
SVK 0 2 1 -- 3

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Watson (Shore), 6:21 (pp); 2, USA, Moffatt (Faulk, Merrill), 11:29 (pp); 3, USA, Arnold (Rust), 15:50. Penalties: USA, Arnold (boarding), 1:08; SVK, Simboch (tripping), 5:26; SVK, Marincin (slashing), 9:25; SVK, Simcak (interference), 9:47; SVK, Cajkovsky (hooking), 16:10; USA, Shore (tripping), 19:32.

Second Period - Scoring: 4, SVK, Mraz (Roznik, Tvrdon), 10:56; 5, USA, Rust (Arnold), 11:25; 6, SVK, Mraz (unassisted), 17:22. Penalties: USA, Saad (tripping), 1:30; SVK, Macejko (tripping), 2:56; USA, Clendening (holding), 12:48; SVK, Mraz (tripping), 19:57.

Third Period - Scoring: 7, Clendening (Saad), 1:08 (pp); 8, USA, Moffatt (Grimaldi, Tinordi), 10:27 (pp); 9, USA, Rust (Arnold, Watson), 10:27; 10, SVK, Tvrdon (Marincin, Roznik), 13:30. Penalties: SVK, Daras (tripping), 1:37; USA, Biggs (roughing), 6:27; SVK, Marincin (roughing), 6:27; SVK, Marincin (kneeing major), 14:06; SVK, Marincin (game misconduct), 14:06; USA, Rust (tripping), 17:04.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
USA 11 8 15 34
SVK 3 8 8 19
         
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Iles, 60:00 3-3 8-6 8-7 19-16
SVK, Reicicky, 60:00 11-8 8-7 15-12 34-27
Power Play: USA 4-8; SVK 0-5

Penalties: USA 6-12; SVK 10-38