USHL U.S. National Team

National Team Development Program Weekly Update

Published on December 7, 2011 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


U17 TEAM RETURNS HOME VERSUS OMAHA: The U.S. National Under-17 Team returns home for a tilt against the Omaha Lancers on Friday (Dec. 9) at 7:00 p.m. ET. It marks the only time the Lancers will visit the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Ice Cube this season.

U18 80=88DAYS: Three games in three days await the U.S. National Under-18 Team this weekend. The road trip begins at the Urban Plains Center in Fargo, N.D. as Team USA takes on the Fargo Force at 8:35 p.m. ET. The following night (Dec. 10), the U.S. battles the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Stampede at Sioux Falls Arena. Puck drop is slated for 8:05 p.m. ET. The trip concludes on Sunday (Dec. 11) with a 6:00 p.m. ET match-up against the Sioux City (Iowa) Musketeers. The game will be held at Gateway Arena.

U17 TEAM COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL USHL ROAD TRIP: Team USA faced its first three-game United States Hockey League road trip and came away with five of six possible points last weekend. J.T. Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) and Tyler Motte (St. Clair, Mich.) each recorded one goal and one assist, as the U.S. National Under-17 Team defeated Waterloo, 4-3, in a shootout at Young Arena on Friday (Dec. 9). The following night (Dec. 10) in Des Moines, Motte scored one goal to extend his USHL point streak to five games, but the U.S. National Under-17 Team fell to Des Moines, 3-2, in overtime at Buccaneer Arena. With the overtime loss, Team USA earned one point in the league standings. The road trip concluded with John Hayden (Greenwich, Conn.) scoring the game-winning goal midway through the second period, as the U.S. National Under-17 Team clipped the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, 2-1, on Sunday (Dec. 12) at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

U18 TEAM DEFEATS CHICAGO: Forward Miles Koules (Los Angeles, Calif.) registered two assists and Collin Olson (Apple Valley, Minn.) stopped 10 of 11 shots, as the U.S. National Under-18 Team defeated Chicago, 4-1, at The Edge Ice Arena on Saturday (Dec. 3). Defenseman Seth Jones (Plano, Texas) notched the eventual game-winning goal at 6:32 of the second period.

UNDER-17 TEAM NEWS/NOTES: Forward Tyler Motte extended his National Team Development Program best six-game USHL point streak this weekend with two goals and two assists in three games. During that span, which dates back to Oct. 22, Motte has nine total points (6-3) ... Forward John Hayden tallied his second game-winning goal on Dec. 12, which is the most on the U.S. National Under-17 Team to date ... Netminder Hunter Miska (North Branch, Minn.) has now won three of his last four starts in the USHL ... Forward Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) had a three-game USHL assist streak snapped on Sunday (Dec. 4) ... J.T. Compher's streak of two-point games came to an end at three on Saturday (Dec. 5). In the three games dating back to Oct. 28, the forward tallied two goals and collected four assists in USHL action.

UNDER-18 TEAM NEWS/NOTES: Defensemen Seth Jones and Jacob Trouba (Rochester, Mich.) were named to the preliminary roster for the 2012 U.S. National Junior Team. The group will gather for a camp in Camrose, Alta., on Dec. 17, with the final 22-player U.S. National Junior Team roster expected to be named Dec. 22 ... Miles Koules is on a four-game point streak in the USHL. The forward has one goal and four assists in the five game span dating back to Oct. 22 ... Frankie Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) has scored one goal in back-to-back contests ... Stefan Matteau (Chicago, Ill.) continues to pace the Under-18 Team in scoring with 18 points (8-10). Nicolas Kerdiles (Irvine, Calif./10-5--15) is second while Riley Barber (Livonia, Mich./8-6--14) is third ... In goal, Collin Olson and Jared Rutledge (Chicago, Ill.) split time in net for Team USA. Olson is 6-5-0 with a 2.59 goals-against-average and an 88.6 save percentage. Rutledge is 6-4-1 with a 2.96 GAA and an 89.6 save percentage.

NTDP ALUMNI UPDATE: Eric Nystrom (Syosset, N.Y./1999-01) has scored at least one goal in four of his last five games, including the game winner on Dec. 1 in the Dallas Stars' 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators ... Ryan Kesler (Livonia, Mich./2000-02) tallied three assists on Sunday (Dec. 4) to help lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames ... Phil Kessel (Madison, Wis./2003-05) still leads the National Hockey League in points (17-18--35) after registering a pair of assists on Monday (Dec. 5) as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Rangers, 2-1. Kessel followed up that success with a one goal performance against New Jersey on Tuesday (Dec. 6) ... Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./2004-06) leads the NHL in assists with a current total of 22. Kane has earned six assists in his past four games and added one goal during that span. Kane is sixth in the NHL in points with 30 (8-22) ... Jimmy Howard (Odgensburg, N.Y./2001-02) has a league-high 15 wins to date this season. His 1.83 goals-against-average is also good for fourth best in the NHL ... Jamie McBain (Faribault, Minn./2004-06) scored both goals, his firsts of the 2011-2012 season, for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 3-2 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 3.

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United States Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2011


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