USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-18 Team Welcomes Pair of USHL East Division Foes

Published on November 11, 2009 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-18 Team will meet the top two teams in the United States Hockey League's East Division this weekend. Team USA will welcome Green Bay to the Ann Arbor Ice Cube Friday at 7:05 p.m. EST, before taking on Chicago Sunday at 3:05 p.m., also at the Cube. The U.S. National Under-17 Team has the week off.

UNDER-18 HEAD COACH KURT KLEINENDORST: Kurt Kleinendorst is in his first season at the NTDP. Prior to coming to Ann Arbor, Kleinendorst spent three seasons (2006-09) as the first-ever head coach for the American Hockey League's Lowell Devils, top minor-league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils. Kleinendorst also spent one season as an assistant coach with the NHL's Devils in 2000-01. He has led the U.S. National Under-18 Team to a 10-6-0-2 (W-L-T-OTL) record this season.

UNDER-17 HEAD COACH RON ROLSTON: Ron Rolston is in his sixth season as a head coach at the NTDP. Rolston has compiled a career record of 198-119-7-17 (W-L-T-OTL).

U.S. NAT'L U18 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-18 Team is coming off a first-place finish at the 2009 Under-18 Four Nations Cup. For details on that event, see page 2... Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) led Team USA at the Four Nations Cup with 4 points (2-2)... Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) continues to lead the U.S. National Under-18 Team with 17 points (6-11). His 11 assists are also a team-best... Five players, including Bill Arnold (Needham, Mass.), Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.), Bryan Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) and Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.), are tied for the U.S. goal-scoring lead with seven apiece... The goaltending tandem of Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) and Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) has put up sparkling numbers so far. The pair has combined for a goals-against average of 2.17 and.915 save percentage. Iles has the top GAA with a 2.16 mark, while Campbell has the higher save percentage at.921... Coming out of the tournament, Team USA has outscored its opponents, 65-41, so far this season for a differential of plus-24... The U.S. National Under-18 Team has killed 86% of its penalties so far this season.

U.S. NAT'L U17 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-17 Team won each of its three contests at the 2009 Under-17 Four Nations Cup in Trnava, Slovakia. For details on that event, see page 3... Rocco Grimaldi's (Rossmoor, Calif.) four-point performance at the Under-17 Four Nations cup propelled him to the top spot on Team USA's scoring list. Grimaldi now has 10 points including a team-high six assists. Ryan Haggerty (Stamford, Conn.) is second on the club with nine points while pacing the team with six goals... Matt Van Voorhis (Edina, Minn.) notched three points in Slovakia, extending his point lead among defensemen to eight points (3-5)... Zac Larraza (Scottsdale, Ariz.) leads Team USA with three power-play tallies this season. All of Larraza's goals to date have come on the man advantage... After Connor Murphy (Dublin, Ohio) registered his first point of the season with a goal in Slovakia, each of Team USA's 20 skaters has tallied at least one point... Matt McNeely (Burnsvills, Minn.) has steadily lowered his goals-against average. It now stands at 4.34. He has also improved his save percentage to.888... The U.S. National Under-17 Team, combined with the U.S. National Under-18 Team has the second best power-play unit in the USHL having converted on 24.44% of its power-play opportunities.

NTDP ALUMNI UPDATE: Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler (2000-02) is tied for first among American-born players with 17 points (5-12), while Chicago Blackhawk Patrick Kane (2004-06) is tied for second among American-born players with 16 points (5-11)... Matt Carle (2000-02), of the Philadelphia Flyers, is tied for the NHL lead with a plus-14 rating... Carle's first-year teammate, James van Riemsdyk (2005-07) is tied for the rookie lead with 14 points (3-11)... Anaheim Duck Ryan Whitney is third in the NHL in average time on ice. He is averaging 26:58 per game... Doug Janik (1997-98) was called up by the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 3... Colorado College forward Billy Sweatt (2004-06) is tied for third in the nation with 14 points (5-9) in just eight games... Rhett Rakhshani (2004-06), the senior captain at University of Denver, is tied for second in the country with seven goals.

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United States Hockey League Stories from November 11, 2009


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