NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-17 Team Faces Division Foes This Weekend

Published on December 8, 2005 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team travels to Alpena, Mich., on Friday (Dec. 9) night to take on the Ice Diggers at 7 p.m., then return home to host the Cleveland Barons on Sunday (Dec. 11) at 3 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 55-23-9. 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.

U.S. HEAD COACH RON ROLSTON ON THE WEEK AHEAD: "We need to continue to work hard as a team on and off the ice. This weekend is our last series before World U-17 Challenge, hopefully we can get some momentum going into our marquee event."

LAST TIME THEY MET ... Alpena Ice Diggers 10/29/05 U.S. National Under-17 4 @ Alpena 2

Cleveland Barons

12/6/05 Barons 2 @ U.S. National Under-17 1, OT

‘TIS THE SEASON: USA Hockey's NTDP and the United States Marine Corps are hosting a Toys For Tots Drive at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. Collection began on Tuesday, Dec. 6, when the Cube when the U.S. National Under-17 Team hosted the Cleveland Barons. The drive will end on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor , Mich., when NTDP alumni and current Detroit Redwings Jimmy Howard (Ogdensburg, N.Y.), Brett Lebda (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and U.S. National Team alumnus and fellow Redwing, Mark Mowers (Decatur, Ga.) join current NTDP players to sign autographs in exchange for the donation of a new toy.

TIDBITS: So far this season, 10 players from the U.S. National Under-17 Team have verbally committed to play collegiately during the 2007-08 school year.

LAST WEEK: On Tuesday (Dec. 6) night, the Cleveland Barons topped the U.S. National Under-17 Team, 2-1, in overtime. A brief game summary from the match-up is below.

Cleveland Barons 2 at U.S. National Under-17 Team 1, OT

Cleveland 1 0 0 1 -- 2 USA 0 0 1 0 -- 1

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The U.S. National Under-17 dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Cleveland Barons in North American Hockey League play tonight at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

Cleveland, which came into the game second in the NAHL standings, opened the scoring at the 18:32 mark of the first frame on a goal from Adam Snead. James vanRiemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) evened the game for Team USA with 6:25 remaining in the third, sending the game to overtime.

With 1:43 left in overtime Tomas Petruska beat USA goaltender Brad Phillips (Farmington Hills, Mich.) from the slot to win the game for the Barons. Phillips made 22 shots on the night in goal for Team USA.

NOTES: The National Team Development Program remains in first place of the North American Hockey League with a 17-6-4 record overall.

UP NEXT: Next weekend (Dec. 16) the U.S. National Under-17 Team travels to Boardman, Ohio, for a weekend series against the Mahoning Valley Phantoms of the NAHL. On December 26, Team USA travels to Regina, Saskatchewan, to participate in the 2006 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. The U.S. National Under-17 Team will face Slovakia, Team Ontario, Team West (Canada) and Team Quebec in the round robin format event.

NTDP ALUMNI UPDATE: New York Islander Rick DiPietro (Winthrop, Mass.) earned a victory over fellow NTDP alumnus and Detroit Redwing Jimmy Howard, 2-1, in Detroit on Sunday (Dec. 4). This matchup was the first time two NTDP alumni golatenders went head-to-head ... The NTDP's second-highest career point getter Andy Hilbert (Howell, Mich., 73-80--153) made his first appearance for the Chicago Blackhawks after being traded from Boston earlier this season ... On Monday (Dec. 5), USA Hockey announced its 2006 National Junior Team. Included on the roster are 11 former NTDP players and current NTDP player Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minn.) ... University of Minnesota freshman forward Phil Kessel (Madison, Wis.) was named the CSTV/HCA Division I Rookie of the Month for November. NTDP alumni have garnered both CSTV/HCA Division I Rookie of the Month awards so far this season, with Jack Johnson (Faribault, Minn., Univ. of Michigan) for the month of October.

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 December 8, 2005


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