NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-17 Team Weekly

Published on January 16, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team will compete in the Phantoms Hockey Showcase, which will be held January 18-21 at the Boardman Ice Zone in Boardman, Ohio. Besides Team USA, the Showcase will feature the other five teams from the North American Hockey League's North Division - Alpena, Mahoning Valley, Marquette, St. Louis and Traverse City. Each squad will play four games over the four-day event. The U.S. National Under-17 Team challenges Alpena at 12 p.m. ET on Jan. 18 and 20, and plays Marquette on Jan. 19 and 21 at 4 p.m. ET and 1:30 p.m. ET, respectively.

COACH ROLSTON ON THE WEEKEND: Ron Rolston is in his fourth season with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He has amassed a career record of 139-76-11-7 (W-L-T-OTL).

U.S. HEAD COACH RON ROLSTON: "This is a big weekend for positioning in the league playoffs. We are playing two teams that are in front of us in the standings so it's important that we get some points in these games."

SEASON SERIES AGAINST THE ICEDIGGERS: The U.S. National Under-17 Team is 1-2 vs. Alpena in the 2007-08 slate. Team USA dropped a pair of contests to the IceDiggers (Nov. 1, 25), before picking up a victory Dec. 6. The U.S. National Under-17 Team is 1-1 in Alpena this season, compared to an 0-1 mark at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

ABOUT ALPENA: Thanks to a 9-1 record in their last 10 games, including a sweep of the Marquette Rangers last weekend, the IceDiggers (21-12-2) rank second in the NAHL North Division Standings with 44 points. Erik Peterson leads Alpena with 45 points (13-32), while Evan West is the top point getter on the blue line with 18 (4-14). Nate Pellegrino (12-6-1, 2.87, .906) has been a constant in the Ice Diggers' net, while Nick Graves (7-0-1, 1.66, .928) has added additional depth for his team.

SEASON SERIES AGAINST THE RANGERS: Marquette holds a 4-2 advantage in six prior meetings with the U.S. National Under-17 Team this year. Team USA's two victories (Sept. 28, Nov. 30) came in Marquette.

ABOUT MARQUETTE: The Rangers (20-13-2) have compiled 42 points, good for fourth place in the NAHL North Division standings. Offensively, Aaron Pietila is the top producer with 39 points (16-23). Nick Condon leads Marquette's defensive corps with 28 points (3-25). Matt Brooker (14-5-0, 3.39, .903) and Beau Christian (6-8-2, 3.68, .889) have appeared in 20 and 18 games, respectively.

UP NEXT: The U.S. National Under-17 Team travels to the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan for a two-game set against the Traverse City North Stars next Friday (Dec. 25) and Saturday (Jan. 26) at Center Ice Arena. Both contests are slated to begin at 7:05 p.m. ET.

U.S. NATIONAL UNDER-17 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-17 Team has received game-winning goals from 12 different players in the 2007-08 campaign ... Tyler Amburgey (Rowlett, Texas) contributed his first game-winner of the year at Mahoning Valley (Jan. 11) ... David Wohlberg (South Lyon, Mich.) and Colin Moore (Medfield, Mass.) each played in their first games with the U.S. National Under-17 Team last weekend at Mahoning Valley ... Wohlberg netted two goals in Team USA's 3-2 victory over the Phantoms (Jan. 11) ... Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.), Ryan Bourque (Boxford, Mass.) and Kyle Palmieri (Montvale, N.J.) made their first appearances with the U.S. National Under-18 Team at Ohio State (Jan. 11). Morin registered a goal and an assist, while Bourque chipped in a power-play goal ... The U.S. National Under-17 Team has won 15 games when it tallies at least four goals ... Eleven of Team USA's 19 wins this year have come in games it scored five or more goals ... A total of 15 players from the 2007-08 U.S. National Under-17 Team have verbally committed to play NCAA Division I college hockey.

MATTSON RAMPING UP OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: Nick Mattson (Chanhassen, Minn.) has compiled one goal and 14 assists this season after he handed out a helper at Mahoning Valley (Jan. 12). His 15 points ranks first among Team USA defensemen. Mattson registered five assists at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, including a career-high three helpers in a 6-2 win against Russia (Dec. 30). His five-point total at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge was good for a share of third among Team USA players.

MORIN AND D'AMIGO TO PARTICIPATE IN AHL ALL-STAR GAME: The Binghamton Senators and the American Hockey League have announced that Jerry D'Amigo (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Jeremy Morin have been selected as RBC Future All-Stars for the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic.

The RBC Future All-Stars will participate alongside the AHL All-Stars in select events during the 2008 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 27. Their scores in those events will count toward the total score for the evening.

Notes: The 2008 AHL All-Star Classic will take place at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, N.Y., on January 27-28, and will be televised live in the United States and Canada ... Tickets for the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic are available now by calling 607.722.7367.

MAXWELL STRONG IN NET: Brandon Maxwell (Winter Park, Fla.) owns a 5-1-0 record in his last six games and is averaging 26 saves per outing in that stretch. In addition, he stopped more than 30 shots in two of those contests.

VICTORY HONDA CUP SET FOR THIS WEEKEND: The third annual Victory Honda Cup, hosted by USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, will be held at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube Jan. 18-20. The tournament showcases top midget players from all over the country, including teams from Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The event consists of 20 teams - 10 in the Midget Major pool and 10 in the Midget Minor pool.

"Our hope for hosting this tournament is that it will allow for a wide geographical sampling of talent to compete against each other in a mid-season invitational tournament," said Ryan Rezmierski, director of player personnel for the NTDP. "Secondly, we are excited to expose the participants to the U.S. National Team Development Program, as well as to other scouts and recruiters from all over North America."

FOLLOWING THE U.S. NATIONAL UNDER-17 TEAM: Log on to www.nahl.com/b2.cfm to access B2 Networks, which provides live video broadcasts for each of Team USA's games against NAHL opponents. Jon Oman will provide live play-by-play for the four games at the Phantoms Hockey Showcase Jan. 18-21.

STATES OF HOCKEY: In the 11-year history of the National Team Development Program, players from 27 states have donned the Team USA uniform. This season 15 different states are represented between the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams.

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 nine years NTDP players have been eligible for the draft, 141 players have been selected, including the number one overall selection in 2000 (Rick DiPietro), 2006 (Erik Johnson) and 2007 (Patrick Kane).

- A total of 16 players with connections to the NTDP were selected in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, including five players in the first round.

- Patrick Kane and James vanRiemsdyk became the first two American-born players selected first and second in the 2007 NHL Draft.

- Kane's selection, added with the St. Louis Blues' choice of Erik Johnson in the 2006 NHL Draft, represented the first time American-born players have been chosen first overall in consecutive years.

HOCKEY WEEKEND ACROSS AMERICA: USA Hockey will lead the first-ever Hockey Weekend Across America, a three-day nationwide celebration of the sport set for Feb. 15-17, 2008.

Each of the three days associated with Hockey Weekend Across America has a theme, including Friday's Wear Your Jersey to School Day, Saturday's Bring A Friend to the Rink Day and Sunday's Celebrate Local Hockey Heroes Day.

A special website - HockeyWeekendAcrossAmerica.com - has been established to act as the information hub for the event. It features material for download, including the event logo and poster. Additional information will continue to be added, including highlights of activities planned in conjunction with Hockey Weekend Across America from around the country.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

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North American Hockey League Stories from January 16, 2008


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