NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-18 Team Set to Take On No. 2 University of Michigan at Yost Ice Arena

Published on October 1, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-18 Team heads across town Saturday (October 4) to take on the University of Michigan at 8:35 p.m. ET at Yost Ice Arena. The U.S. National Under-17 Team is off this week.

UNDER-18 HEAD COACH RON ROLSTON: Ron Rolston is in his fifth year as a head coach with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He has amassed a career record of 154-93-6-16 (W-L-T-OTL). Rolston will also serve as the head coach for the U.S. National Junior Team at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ontario, Dec. 26, 2008-Jan. 5, 2009.

UNDER-17 HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES: John Hynes is in his sixth year as a head coach with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He has amassed a career record of 162-105-9-13 (W-L-T-OTL). Last season, Hynes led the U.S. National Under-18 Team to the bronze medal at the 2008 IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship.

NTDP vs. THE WOLVERINES: The U.S. National Under-18 Team has become very familiar with the University of Michigan since the NTDP started playing NCAA Division I teams. The two squads have met a total of eight times since 2000. The Wolverines have won all eight meetings between the two teams (all-time results on page 2). Last season, Michigan defeated Team USA by a 5-1 margin ... The Wolverines are ranked No. 2 in the preseason USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll ... The University of Michigan roster is dotted with six NTDP alumni, including team captain Mark Mitera (2003-05) and alternate captain Chris Summers (2004-06). Other NTDP Alumni include Robbie Czarnik (2006-08), Danny Fardig (2003-05), Matt Rust (2005-07), and David Wohlberg (2006-08). The University of Michigan has rostered a total of 22 former NTDPers, most of any school ... Current U.S. National Under-18 Team players verbally committed to the Wolverines are Chris Brown (Flower Mound, Texas), Kevin Lynch (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and A.J. Treais (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.). Three members of the U.S. National Under-17 Team have verbally committed to the University of Michigan, including forwards Jacob Fallon (Southlake, Texas) and Luke Moffatt (Paradise Valley, Ariz.), and defenseman Jon Merrill (Brighton, Mich.)

U.S. NAT'L U-18 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-18 Team split with Alaska's NCAA Division I schools last weekend. Team USA beat the University of Alaska Anchorage, 4-3, on Thursday (September 25) and fell to the University of Alaska, 4-0, on Saturday ... Drew Shore (Denver, Colo) leads Team USA with 11 points (4-7), while Jeremy Morin (Aubrun, N.Y.) is first on the team with six goals ... Team USA finished with an 8-12-2 record against NCAA competition last year, including a 5-10-2 clip against Division I opponents.

COMCAST LOCAL TO BROADCAST GAME: Saturday night's matchup between the U.S. National Under-18 Team and the University of Michigan will be broadcast live on television. Comcast Local, which is available to Comcast cable subscribers throughout the state of Michigan, can be found on channel 900. Fred Pletsch will provide play-by-play, while Sean Ritchlin will deliver the color commentary. Art Regner will serve as the intermission host.

U.S. NAT'L U-17 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-17 Team will get its first taste of the NAHL North Division next weekend when it meets the Traverse City North Stars ... Last season, the NTDP finished with a 28-26-4 record in the NAHL North, good enough to earn its sixth straight NAHL playoff berth. Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich./4-0--4) and Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif./2-2--4) lead Team USA with four points each.

UP NEXT: The U.S. National Under-18 Team heads to New York next weekend for a pair of games against ECAC Hockey opponents. Team USA takes on Union College on Saturday (October 11) at 7:30 p.m. ET, then heads to Troy for a game against RPI on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. The U.S. National Under-17 Team returns to action next weekend, when it hits the road for its first series against NAHL North Division opponents. Team USA will take on the Traverse City North Stars on Friday (October 10) and Saturday night at Center Ice Arena in Traverse City. Faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. ET for both contests.

ABOUT THE NTDP: Founded in 1996, USA Hockey's National Team Development Program was created to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. Its efforts focus not only on high-caliber participation on the ice, but creating well-rounded individuals off the ice. Located in Ann Arbor, Mich., the 46 players in the program are split into two squads - the U.S. National Under-18 and Under-17 Teams.

- In the 10 years NTDP players have been eligible for the draft, 152 players have been selected, including the number one overall selection in 2000 (Rick DiPietro), 2006 (Erik Johnson) and 2007 (Patrick Kane).

- Patrick Kane became the first NTDP alum to earn the National Hockey League's Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2007-08.

- In 2007-08, 44 NTDP alumni appeared in at least one game in the National Hockey League.

- Kevin Porter (2002-04), of the University of Michigan, joined Jordan Leopold (1997-98) and Matt Carle (2000-02) as the third NTDP alumnus to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey's top player in 2007-08.

- In the 12-year history of the National Team Development Program, players from 28 states have donned the Team USA uniform. This season 18 different states are represented between the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



North American Hockey League Stories from October 1, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central