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NAHL U.S. National Team

2004-05 US National Team Development Program schedule announced

August 11, 2004 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


The United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) entering its eighth season announced its schedule for the Under-17 and Under-18 squads. The NTDP -- which has produced 92 NHL-drafted players in just six years of draft eligibility and has seen over 150 players move to the collegiate ranks -- will play in excess of 110 games during the 2004-05 season highlighted by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World U-18 Championship in the Czech Republic and the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Lethbridge, Alberta.

The Under-18 Team opens its season and their 12-game home schedule with a September 10, 2004 contest against the Indianapolis Ice of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Included on the remainder of the schedule are 18 Division I teams, seven of which finished the 2003-04 season ranked in the top 14. Also, on the slate for the Under-18 team is nine Division III opponents, headlined by reigning NCAA Champion, Middlebury College.

International flavor for the Under-18 team will kickoff November 8-12, 2004 as they host the Compuware Four Nations Cup. Finland, Sweden and Switzerland will join the US at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube in Ann Arbor, Mich. The international trail leads the team to Sweden in February for the Five Nations Tournament with Russia, Czech Republic, Finland and host Sweden rounding out the field. The crescendo for the Under-18 season is at the IIHF World U-18 Championship in April 2005.

The Under-17 Team has once again signed on to play the majority of its games in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) North Division. The team will play 40 games in the NAHL (with the Under-18 team playing the remaining 16).

Last season, for the first time, the NTDP finished with an above .500 record (28-21-7) in regular season play as the Under-17 Team posted a mark of 20-18-7 and the Under-18 Team finished 8-3. The NTDP qualified for the NAHL Playoffs (the Under-17 team plays all playoff games) for only the third time in history. The Under-17 Team defeated the top-seeded Soo Indians 3 to 1 in a best-of-five opening round series before falling to the Springfield Jr. Blues, 3-0, in the best-of-five North Division Championship series.

The remainder of the Under-17 schedule will be contested against international competition leading off with a Four Nations Event at the ESL Sports Centre in Rochester, N.Y., November 9-13, 2004. Joining the US program in Rochester will be Russia, Slovakia and Sweden. The cornerstone of the Under-17 schedule will be the World-17 Challenge, December 27 through January 5, 2005.

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