USHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-18 Team Wraps Up NCAA Schedule in Maine

Published on January 20, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team continues its USHL road swing in Sioux Falls tonight against the Stampede at Sioux Falls Arena at 7:05 p.m. CST. The U17s then travel to face the red-hot Fargo Force at the UP Center at 7:05 p.m. CST... The U.S. National Under-18 Team will close out its 2009-10 NCAA slate with a pair of games in Maine. The U18s will meet the University of Maine, of Hockey East, Saturday at 7 p.m. EST at Alfond Arena in Orono. Then Team USA will take on the University of Southern Maine Sunday at 4 p.m. EST in Portland.

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 21-14-0-2 (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 206-125-7-18 (W-L-T-OTL). In January, he led the U.S. National Under-17 Team to its third gold medal at the 2010 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

U.S. NAT'L U18 TEAM NOTES: Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) currently sits atop the U.S. leaderboard with 30 points (11-19) in 35 games. The forward collected four points (2-2) in Saturday's 6-1 win over Youngstown. His 19 assists also pace Team USA... Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.) has quietly put together quite the season, having appeared in each of Team USA's 37 games. His 13 goals and 29 points are second on the team... Defenseman Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) tallied his team-leading ninth power-play goal against Ohio State Friday night. He has 12 goals on the season, which paces the U.S. defensive corps... The U.S. National Under-18 Team's balanced offensive attack has produced nine players with 20 or more points. The U18s have outscored opponents this year, 142-99, through 37 games. Team USA has scored goals on 12.3% of its shots taken this season.

U.S. NAT'L U17 TEAM NOTES: Despite the U.S. National Under-17 Team dropping a 7-3 decision at Youngstown Monday, Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) continued his torrid point-scoring pace. Grimaldi, who had three points against the Phantoms, leads Team USA in each of the three major offensive categories, including goals (14), assists (23) and points (37)... J.T. Miller (East Palestine, Ohio) is second on the team with 12 goals and 24 points and is tied for second with 12 helpers on the season. He added to his growing goal total with a tally against Youngstown Monday... John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who missed part of the season with an illness, has seen his goals-against ï - =BFaverage steadily decrease. Gibson now owns a 3.84 GAA and.873 save percentage. He has also appeared in two games with the U.S. National Under-18 Team, winning both of his starts, while posting a 2.00 GAA and.932 save percentage... Forward Austin Wuthrich (Anchorage, Alaska) has joined the U17 Team permanently. He has appeared in all 10 international games with the squad to date. He made his regular-season debut Monday in Youngstown.

NTDP ALUMNI UPDATE: So far during the 2009-10 season, 42 NTDP alumni have suited up in at least one NHL game. AHL: Four former NTDP players were named to the PlanetUSA Team at the 2010 American Hockey League All-Star Classic in Portland, Maine. Forwards Nathan Gerbe (2003-05), T.J. Hensick (2001-03), Jack Skille (2003-05) and Brett Sterling (2000-02) each participated in Tuesday night's contest. Sterling notched two goals in PlanetUSA's 10-9 shootout loss to the Canadian AHL All-Stars. NHL: Detroit Red Wings netminder Jimmy Howard (2001-02) is third in the NHL with a 2.18 goals-against average... Patrick Kane (2004-06), of the Chicago Blackhawks, leads all American-born players with 36 assists and 56 points... Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler (2000-02) has seven power-play goals this season to go along with 42 points (13-29)... USA Hockey: Seven NTDP alumni were named to the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team that will compete at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C.

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 20, 2010


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