NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-17 Team Hosts Mahoning Valley, Travels to Traverse City

Published on February 20, 2007 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team attempts to continue its longest unbeaten streak of the season (six games) when it hosts the Mahoning Valley Phantoms for a North American Hockey League North Division contest tonight (Feb. 20) at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube at 7 p.m. EST. Team USA will then hit the road for a three-game weekend series against the Traverse City North Stars. Game times are set for 7 p.m. EST on Friday (Feb. 23) and Saturday (Feb. 24), while Sunday's contest will commence at 1 p.m. EST.

U.S. HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES: John Hynes is in his fourth season with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He has amassed a career record with the NTDP of 119-70-10-5 (W-L-T-OTL). Hynes has earned a gold (2006) and a silver medal (2004) at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championships as a head coach and a gold (2002) as an assistant. In 2005, Hynes led the U.S. National Under-17 Team to a first-place NAHL North Division regular-season finish and a North Division playoff championship, marking the first time this double feat was accomplished by the NTDP. Prior to his arrival in Ann Arbor, he spent time as an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the University of Wisconsin. Hynes will serve as head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team that will compete at the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2007 - Jan. 5, 2008, in Liberec and Pardubic, Czech Republic.

U.S. HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES ON THE WEEK AHEAD: "All of our North American League games are important as we begin the season's stretch run. We need to focus on playing a full 60 minutes and eliminating the small let-downs in order to be successful in the final few months."

U.S. NATIONAL UNDER-17 TEAM NOTES: U.S. forwards Robbie Czarnik (Washington, Mich.), Kelen Corkum (Newbury, Mass.) and Danny Kristo (Eden Prarie, Minn.) will all be out of the lineup tonight versus Mahoning Valley ... Vinny Saponari (Powder Spring, Ga.) is expected to return to the U.S. National Under-17 Team after spending time with the U.S. National Under-18 Team ... Tonight's game versus Mahoning Valley will be the last home contest of the NAHL regular season for the U.S. National Under-17 Team. Team USA will visit all four NAHL North Division opponents in the final stretch of the regular season. NAHL playoffs are slated to begin on Thursday, April 5.

GAME NOTES - MAHONING VALLEY: The Phantoms currently hold the best record in the NAHL at 38-10-1 and have secured a spot in the playoffs ... The U.S. National Under-17 Team has dropped all eight contests versus the Phantoms this season.

TRAVERSE CITY: The North Stars currently sit three points ahead of Team USA in the NAHL North Division standings, although Team USA has eight games in hand on Traverse City ... The U.S. National Under-17 Team is 3-3-1 versus the North Stars this season.

LAST WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team topped the Alpena IceDiggers on Sunday, (Feb. 18) by a 3-2 final in a shootout at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. Colin Moore (Medfield, Mass.) scored on the final shot of the shootout to seal the win for Team USA. Netminder Adam Murray (Anchorage, Alaska) made 33 saves to earn his second win in as many career starts with the U.S. National Under-17 Team.

UP NEXT: The Under-17 Team travel to Alpena, Mich., to take on the Alpena IceDiggers on Friday and Saturday (March 2-3), at the Northern Lights Arena. Both games are set for 7 p.m. EST starts.

NTDP ALUMNI UPDATE: Boston College sophomore forward Nathan Gerbe (Oxford, Mich./2003-05) was named the Hockey East Conference Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday, Feb. 18. Gerbe recorded four goals and seven points, including consecutive three-point nights during a two-game sweep of No. 5 University of Maine ... University of Minnesota freshman forward Michael Carman (Apple Valley, Minn./2004-06) recorded two goals on Saturday night (Feb. 17) to lead the Gophers past Colorado College.

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 eight years NTDP players have been eligible for the draft, 124 players have been selected, including the number one overall selection in both 2000 (Rick DiPietro) and 2006 (Erik Johnson).

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



North American Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central