NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National U-17 Team Returns to Action Friday

Published on October 8, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team returns to action for the first time since September 20 this weekend when it faces off against North American Hockey League North Division foe Traverse City (Mich.) North Stars. Friday (October 10) and Saturday night's contests will be the team's first series against divisional opponents. The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. ET for both games at Centre Ice Arena. The U.S. National Under-18 Team heads to New York for a pair of ECAC Hockey tilts. Team USA will take on Union College at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday (October 11) before heading to Troy, N.Y., to play RPI on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.

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 154-94-6-16 (W-L-T-OTL). Rolston will also serve as the head coach for the U.S. National Junior Team at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ontario, Dec. 26, 2008-Jan. 5, 2009.

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 162-105-9-13 (W-L-T-OTL). Last season, Hynes led the U.S. National Under-18 Team to the bronze medal at the 2008 IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship.

U.S. NAT'L U-18 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-18 Team is 1-2-0 against NCAA Division I competition after falling to No. 2-ranked University of Michigan on Satuday (October 4), 4-1 ... Drew Shore (Denver, Colo.) notched an assist in the game to extend his point total to 12 (4-8), which leads Team USA ... Defenseman Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich.) tallied his first goal of the season against the Wolverines. Fowler (1-2--3) and Nick Mattson (Chanhassen, Minn./1-2--3) lead Team USA's blue line with three points each.

U.S. NAT'L U-17 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-17 Team has combined with the Under-18s for a 4-3-1 record in the NAHL, good for third place in the hotly contested NAHL North Division ... Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich./4-0--4) and Matt Nieto (Long Beach, Calif./2-2--4) lead the way for Team USA with four points each ... Defenseman Jon Merrill (Brighton, Mich.) will make his National Team Development Program debut in Traverse City Friday night.

NTDP vs. TRAVERSE CITY: The North Stars currently sit in first place in the NAHL North Division with a 6-2-0 record ... Last season, the NTDP went 5-4-1 against Traverse City (game-by-game results on page 2) and finished ahead of the North Stars by two points to earn the final NAHL North playoff berth ... This season, Nathan Urbaniak leads TC with eight points (2-6), while Kyle Bonis has six goals to pace the North Stars ... C.J. Motte and Brandon Stephenson have split time between the pipes for Traverse City, with each posting a 3-1-0 record, respectively. Motte holds the slight edge with a 2.25 GAA and .926 save percentage.

U18s vs. UNION: Saturday night's game will be the first meeting of Union College and the U.S. National Under-18 Team ... Nate Leaman, head coach of the Dutchmen, will serve as one of Ron Rolston's assistant coaches at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship. Leaman was an assistant coach under Rolston at the 2007 World Junior Championship, where Team USA earned the bronze medal.

U18s vs. RPI: The U.S. National Under-18 Team will meet the Engineers for the first time on Sunday evening ... U18 forward Jerry D'Amigo (Binghamton, N.Y.) has verbally committed to RPI. D'Amigo is the first NTDP player to commit to the school.

UP NEXT: The U.S. National Under-17 Team will play its first home series next weekend when it takes on NAHL North Division rival Marquette at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. The puck is set to drop at 7:00 p.m. ET on both Friday (October 17) and Saturday night ... The U.S. National Under-18 Team will travel to New York for another pair of games against NCAA competition. Team USA will meet NCAA Division III opponent Oswego State Universtiy on Friday (October 17) at 7 p.m. at the Campus Center, before heading to Ithaca, N.Y., to take on Cornell University of ECAC Hockey on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Lynah Rink.

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 October 8, 2008


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