NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-17 Team Continues First Round Playoff Series

Published on April 5, 2006 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team will continue its first round playoff series as they travel to Traverse City for games three and four versus the North Stars. Both Friday's (Apr. 7) and Saturday's games are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m at the Traverse City Centre ICE. The fifth and final game, if necessary, will be hosted by the National Team back at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube on Sunday (Apr. 9) with game time slated for 7:00 p.m.

U.S. HEAD COACH RON ROLSTON: Ron Rolston is in his second season with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He has amassed a career record with the NTDP of 75-35-11. Rolston was an assistant coach in the collegiate ranks at Lake Superior State University, Clarkson University, Harvard University and Boston College prior to joining the NTDP. Rolston has been selected to lead the 2007 National Junior Team that will compete at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship December 26, 2006 - January 6, 2007, in Leksand and Mora, Sweden.

SEASON SERIES: Traverse City (4-4-0) 9/30/05 USA 3 @ TC 4 10/1/05 USA 1 @ TC 2 (so) 11/26/05 USA 6 vs. TC 5 (so) 1/12/06 USA 2 vs. TC 4 1/13/06 USA 4 vs. TC 3 2/26/06 USA 4 @ TC 3 3/30/06 USA 1 vs. TC 2 3/31/06 USA 4 vs. TC 2

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE: Series Tied, 1-1 NAHL North Division Semi-Final Series Thurs. Mar. 30 TC 2 @ USA 1

Fri. Mar. 31 TC 2 @ USA 4 Fri. Apr. 7 at Traverse City Centre ICE, 7:30 p.m. Sat. Apr. 8 at Traverse City Centre ICE, 7:30 p.m. Sun. Apr. 9 at Ann Arbor Ice Cube, 7:00 p.m. * * if necessary

U.S. HEAD COACH RON ROLSTON ON THE WEEKEND AHEAD: "Last weekend proved, once again, just how evenly matched these two teams are. Now, this series becomes a best-of-three situation and the team that does all the little things is going to be the one that advances. One thing we know for sure, this series will continue to be a battle each and every night, and we'll need be on top of our game to advance to the next round."

U.S. NATIONAL UNDER-17 TEAM TIDBITS: The U.S. National Under-17 Team (33-21-5-3) boasts a home record of 12-7-2 and an equally impressive 22-15-3-3 mark away from Ann Arbor.

PLAYER NOTES: USA defensemen Colby Cohen (Radnor, PA) returns to the lineup after missing the last four games due to injury.

FIRST ROUND TIDBITS: The U.S. National Under-17 Team will be without its three leading scorers (Ryan Hayes, John Albert, Colin Wilson) and top-scoring defenseman Cade Fairchild. Hayes, Wilson and Fairchild are currently skating with the U.S. National Under-18 Team and Albert is out of the line-up due to injury ... USA defensemen David Kolomatis and forward Justin Vaive are also out of the line-up due to injury and are not expected to play in the first-round ... The winner of the USA/ Traverse City series will face the winner of the Cleveland/ Mahoning Valley match-up for a berth to the Robertson Cup Championships. The next round would start on or about April 12.

LAST WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team began their first round playoff series by splitting games one and two with the Traverse City North Stars. After dropping a tight defensive battle 2-1 in game one on Thursday Night, the National Team was able to rally for a 4-2 victory on Friday to even the series, 1-1. Brennan Vargas (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Kevin Shattenkirk (New Rochelle, N.Y.) had strong performances in both contests for Team USA. Box scores for last weeks games follow.

U.S. National Under-17 Team 1 vs. Traverse City North Stars 2 (Game #1)

Scoring By Period TC 1-1-0-- 2 US 0-0-1-- 1

First Period - Scoring: 1, TC, Zobak (Mullen, Oleksy), (pp) 16:19. Penalties: TC, Englebright (hooking), 10:45; US, Severyn (checking from behind), 15:34.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, TC, Juliano (Larke, Hackman), 8:25. Penalties: US, Shattenkirk (high stick), 11:18.

Third Period - Scoring: 3, US, Vargas (Cole), (pp) 9:43. Penalties: TC, Larke (unsportsmanlike conduct), 4:53; US, Severyn (holding), 4:53; US, Squires (high stick), 6:08; TC, Paeth (charging), 7:55; TC, Paeth (cross check), 14:48; US, Cole (interference), 16:05.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 Total TC 6 9 8 23 US 10 9 17 36

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 Total TC, Kaleniecki (60:00) 10-10 9-9 17-16 36-35 US, Phillips (59:00) 6-5 9-8 8-8 23-21

Power Play: US 1-3; TC 1-4 Penalties: US 5-10; TC 4-8 Officials: Referee- Adam Hendren

U.S. National Under-17 Team 4 vs. Traverse City North Stars 2 (Game #2)

Scoring By Period TC 1-0-1-- 2 US 0-1-3-- 4

First Period - Scoring: 1, TC, Juliano (Rush, Bidwill), 9:41. Penalties: TC, Madden (tripping), 6:33; TC, Madden (high stick), 14:16; TC, Nagorsen (hooking), 19:20.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, US, vanRiemsdyk (McRae, Squires), 19:02. Penalties: US, vanRiemsdyk (roughing), 1:46; US, Mosey (hooking), 7:34; US, vanRiemsdyk (slashing), 8:42; TC, Englebright (hooking), 9:45; TC, Madden (delay of game), 19:49; TC, Paeth (delay of game), 19:49; US, Sperry (delay of game), 19:49; US, Vargas (delay of game), 19:49.

Third Period - Scoring: 3, US, Shattenkirk (Mosey, Vargas), (pp) 6:47; 4, US, McRae (Vargas, Shattenkirk, 9:38; 5, TC, Juliano (Bidwill, Larke), (pp) 12:55; 6, US, Rust, (sh) 14:46. Penalties: TC, Hackman (hooking), 6:33; US, Schnell (fighting), 7:54; TC, St. John (fighting), 7:54; US, Squires (tripping), 11:16; US, Cole (hooking), 14:12; TC, Madden (slashing), 19:30.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 Total TC 2 6 7 15 US 15 18 19 52

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 Total TC, Donovan (60:00) 15-15 18-17 19-16 52-48 US, Unice (60:00) 3-2 6-6 7-6 15-13

Power Play: US 1-6; TC 1-5 Penalties: US 8-19; TC 9-21 Officials: Referee- Dan Monacelli Attendence: 453

NTDP ALUMNI UPDATE: University of Denver junior defenseman Matt Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) was named to the Hobey Baker Memorial Award ‘Hat Trick', as one of three finalists for the award given out to the top player in NCAA hockey. Carle, A real estate and construction management major, he carries a 3.30 grade-point average and was a WCHA All-Academic Team honoree. He participates annually in the "Skate with the Pioneers" event for terminally ill children and has volunteered at the Alaska Food Drive and a holiday children's charity drive ... Three NTDP alumni finished in the top 10 in Hobey Baker voting (Greg Moore- Maine, Matt Carle- Denver, Brett Sterling- Colorado College) ... Nine NTDP alumni are participating in this year's NCAA Frozen Four (Boston College-3, Wisconsin- 4, North Dakota-1, Maine-1) ... 16 of the 17 players from last season's U.S. National Under-18 Team that attended college this season participated in the NCAA tournament, not including two players (Ferriero-BC, Rau- CC) whom were added to the team for the Under-18 World Championships.

ABOUT THE NTDP: Founded in 1997, 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. Located in Ann Arbor, Mich., the program has been instrumental in helping the United States capture gold medals at the 2002 and 2005 IIHF World Under-18 Championships and the 2004 IIHF World Junior Championship. This past summer, 15 NTDP alumni were selected in the National Hockey League Entry Draft. In the seven years NTDP players have been eligible for the draft, 107 players have been selected.

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North American Hockey League Stories from April 5, 2006


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