Van Vliet opened the game for the Americans with a beautiful snipe, carrying the puck in from the Neutral Zone, gaining the high slot and just ripping a shot past the goaltender. Van Vliet has a great touch with the puck and the confidence to try some complex passes that really can yield great results, such as banks around a defender into 50/50 space or a spin pass as soon as he senses a defender on his heels committing their weight. Games like this make me curious what he can be in a few years when he’s given more time to acclimate chemistry with teammates. There are moments of risk that aren’t worth taking, but that can only be understood through trial and error.

He wasn’t particularly a game-breaker in this contest but I would be remiss if I did not mention the excellent solo goal that Lucas Van Vliet turned in during the second period of this game. After receiving a pass from Epperson while exiting his own end, Van Vliet was able to drive at his man in a 1v1 situation and with a little feint to the inside and quick step to the outside he was able to earn a step on him and then power move past him before stickhandling past the netminder and finishing the play off for an emphatic goal to give his team a four goal lead late in the second period. Van Vliet had a couple of chances elsewhere in the game and was involved in some nice intricate passing and moving in the offensive zone with fellow MSU commits Baker and Humphreys. Van Vliet made the most of his chances in this one and it was a strong showing in a limited capacity for him.

It’s hard to understate just how sensational Van Vliet’s point was in this game. He may not have the laudy totals that Eiserman and Hagens have, but his setup for Epperson’s second goal was a work of art. Van Vliet gets the puck around the right half wall with one defender applying pressure. After aptly deceiving him one way, Van Vliet cuts back behind the goal line and appears to be going behind the net before spinning around the defender once again, maintaining perfect puck control and deceptively centering a pass to a net-driving Epperson.