NAHL U.S. National Team

National Team Development Program Weekly Update

Published on November 26, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National 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. ET at Yack Arena. The U.S. National Under-18 Team will travel to Babson College in North Andover, Mass., for the Babson Invitational Tournament taking place from November 29-30. On Saturday, the squad takes on Babson College at 4:00 p.m. ET. On Sunday, Team USA will meet a yet to be determined opponent.

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 185-103-9-14 (W-L-T-OTL).

U.S. NAT'L U-18 TEAM NOTES: With Saturday's overtime game-winning goal, Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y./15-5--20) notched his 100th career point with the NTDP. It was also his 63rd career goal, good for sole possession of sixth place on the all-time goals-scored list. Morin now owns the team lead in points with 20. He also paces the team in goals with 15 ... Drew Shore (Denver, Colo./8-11--19) is second on the team with 19 points (8-11) ... Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./3-12--15) leads the team in assists with 12. He leads all defensemen in points ... Kevin Lynch (Grosse Pointe, Mich./5-4--9) tallied two over the weekend, including a short-handed goal.

U.S. NAT'L U-17 TEAM NOTES: Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) currently leads the team with 15 points. With seven goals and eight assists, he is averaging 0.88 points per game ... Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev./10-3--13) is the leading goal-scorer on the U.S. National Under 17-team with ten goals through 19 games ... Nieto, Emerson Etem (Long Beach, Calif./4-8--12), and Jacob Fallon (Southlake, Texas/4-8--12) are all tied for the team lead in assists, with eight each ... Nick Shore (Denver, Colo./3-9-12) had one goal and two assists in Saturday's contest ... Will Yanakeff (Jerome, Mich.) and Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) have combined for five shutouts, with Yanakeff recording three of them. Yanakeff has a 2.19 goals-against average and .889 save percentage for the season, while Campbell has a 2.20 goals-against average and .904 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. MOTOR CITY: Both NTDP squads have combined for a 11-8-2 record, good for third place in the NAHL North Division ... The Machine are currently last in the division with a 4-17-0 record ... Tonight mark's the fourth meeting between the U.S. National Under-17 Team and Motor City ... The U-17s won all three previous match ups with scores of 4-0, 6-3, and 5-2. Will Yanakeff recorded the shutout in the first game. In the second tilt, Jacob Fallon had one goal and two assists. In the third and most recent contest, Michael Mersch (Park Ridge, Ill.) and Luke Moffatt (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) each had two goals.

U18s at BABSON INVITATIONAL: The U18's will make their first-ever appearance in the Babson Invitational Tournament ... Team USA is currently 1-0 against NCAA Division III opponents this year. Team USA defeated Oswego State University 4-3 in overtime on October 17. The U-18s will play either Manhattanville College or the University of Southern Maine on Sunday at either 1 p.m. or 4 p.m.

UP NEXT: The Under-17 Team travels to Marquette, Mich., for a two-game set against NAHL North Division opponent Marquette Rangers on December 5-6. Both games are set to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET. The U-18s will first travel to Burlington, Vt., on December 5, for a game against the University of Vermont of Hockey East at Gutterson Fieldhouse, with the puck dropping at 8:00 p.m. ET. On December 7, they will be in Middlebury, Vt., for a 4 p.m. game against Middlebury College in Kenyon Arena.

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

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North American Hockey League Stories from November 26, 2008


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