Sports stats

NAHL U.S. National Team

National Team Development Program Weekly Update

November 19, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team plays a pair of games against NAHL North Division rival Mahoning Valley. On Friday, November 21, the squad heads to Youngstown, Ohio for a 7:15 p.m. ET game against the Phantoms. The following Saturday afternoon the teams square off in Ann Arbor, with the puck set to drop at 3:00 p.m. The U.S. National Under-18 Team returns home to the Ann Arbor Ice Cube for a two-game set against another NAHL North Division foe, the Marquette Rangers. The games on Friday and Saturday night are set to start at 7:00 p.m.ET.

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 162-96-7-16 (W-L-T-OTL).

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 185-102-9-13 (W-L-T-OTL).

U.S. NAT'L U-18 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-18 Team is currently on a five game winning streak, the longest this season ... The games against Marquette are the first of the season for the U-18s against NAHL North Division competition ... Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y./13-5--18) and Drew Shore (Denver, Colo./7-11--18) are currently tied for the team lead in points with 18 each. Morin leads the team in goals with 13 and is averaging 1.13 points per game. Shore and Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich.) each have a team-high 11 assists ... Adam Murray (Anchorage, Alaska) currently owns a 6-2-1-1 record while Brandon Maxwell (Winter Park, Fla.) is 6-3-0-0.

U.S. NAT'L U-17 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-17 Team has won eight of its last 10 games ... Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) currently leads the team in points with 15 (7-8). He has seven goals and eight assists and is averaging 0.94 points per game ... Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev./9-3--12) is the leading goal-scorer on the U.S. National Under 17-team with nine goals through 17 games ... Nieto, Emerson Etem (Long Beach, Calif./4-8--12), and Jacob Fallon (Southlake, Texas/3-8--11) are all tied for the team lead in assists, with eight each ... Will Yanakeff (Jerome, Mich.) and Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) have combined for five shutouts, with Yanakeff recording three of them. Yanakeff has a 1.89 goals-against average and .898 save percentage for the season, while Campbell has a 2.10 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.

NTDP LENDS A HELPING HAND: USA Hockey's National Team Development Program is once again joining forces with The Salvation Army and WAAM Talk 1600 for the Second Annual Angel Tree Toy Drive. Bins will be set up inside the Ann Arbor Ice Cube to collect new unwrapped toys for those less fortunate this holiday season. who bring new unwrapped toys to any of Team USA's seven home games between November 16 and December 13.

U17s vs. MAHONING VALLEY: Both NTDP squads have combined for a 10-6-1 record, good for third place in the NAHL North Division ... The Phantoms are currently second in the division with a 11-4-2 record ... This is the third matchup between the two teams this season. The U-17s won the first meeting on October 24, 4-0, and dropped the second game 3-2. Emerson Etem and Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) each had two goals in the series.

U18s vs MARQUETTE: The U.S. National Under-18 Team meets the Rangers for the first time this season ... Friday night's contest at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube marks the first home game for the Under-18s since September 12 ... The Under-17 team beat Marquette in their two meetings (October 17-18) earlier this season by scores of 4-0 and 3-2 (so). Will Yanakeff earned the shutout in the first game, notching 15 saves. In the second contest, Jack Campbell stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout ... Marqutte is currently fourth in the NAHL North division with a 8-10-3 record.

UP NEXT: The Under-17 Team travels to Wyandotte, Mich., for a game against NAHL rival Motor City Machine, on Wednesday, November 26. The game is set to begin at 7:10 p.m. The U-18s will travel to Babson College in North Andover, Mass., for the Babson Invitational Tournament taking place from November 29-30. On Saturday, they take on Babson College at 4:00 p.m. On Sunday, they will meet a yet to be determined opponent.

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).

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

- Patrick Kane (2004-06) became the first NTDP alumus to earn the National Hockey League's Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie in 2007-08.

- 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



North American Hockey League Stories from November 19, 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.

Other Recent U.S. National Team Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central