NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-18 Team Returns to NAHL Action

Published on November 22, 2005 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: After returning Monday from a weekend in Maine, the U.S. National Under-18 Team will travel to Traverse City, Mich. on Wednesday to take on the North Stars of the North American Hockey League.

U.S. HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES: John Hynes is in his third season with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. Hynes has spent time as an assistant coach at the University of Massachuttes Lowell and the University of Wisconsin. He was also an assistant coach at Boston University and with the NTDP. Hynes has amassed a career record with the NTDP of 76-41-7.

U.S. HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES: "Wednesday will be our third game in five days, our second long stretch in as many weeks. Playing these type of series in November will prepare our players for the rigors of the world tournament in April."

LAST TIME THEY MET ...

Traverse City

First Meeting

UP NEXT: After the Thanksgiving holiday weekend off (Nov. 26-27), the U.S. National Under-18 Team will travel to Bozeman, Mont. (Dec. 2) to take on the Bozeman Ice Dogs of NAHL's west division in a weekend series.

TIDBITS: The U.S. National Under-18 Team is 7-0-0 versus NAHL opponents this season ... Team USA is 11-1-0 in non-National Collegiate Athletic Association games this season, with the lone loss coming at the 2005 Under-18 Four Nations Tournament in Finland versus Sweden (Nov. 10) ... U.S. National Under-18 and Under-17 Teams have a combined 15-5-3 record in the NAHL, as Team USA stands in first place in the north division.

LAST WEEKEND: On Saturday night, the U.S. National Under-18 Team battled the fourth-ranked University of Maine at Alfond Arenain Orono, Maine, but fell, 7-2. On Sunday, Team USA played the Atlantic Junior Hockey League All-Stars in Biddeford, Maine, and raced to a 7-2. Game summaries from the weekend are below.

University of Maine 7 vs. U.S. National Under-18 Team 2

USA 1 1 0 - 2

Maine 1 2 4 - 7

ORONO, Maine -- The U.S. National Under-18 Team fell to the fourth-ranked Maine Black Bears, 7-2, in front of 4,877 at the Alfond Arena. Michael Carman (Apple Valley, Minn.) gave Team USA a 1-0 lead 16: 01 into the first period. Maine evened the game 43 seconds later on a power-play goal from Michael Laveille. Team USA outshot Maine in the first period, 10-8, including two chances by Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) that clanged off the goal post. Maine stretched the lead to two in the second period on goals from Bryan Plaszcz and Keenan Hopson. With twelve seconds remaining in the period Team USA forward Luke Popko (Skillman, N.J.) redirected a shot from Chris Atkinson (Sparta, N.J.) to cut the deficit to one. Maine totaled three power-play goals on five opportunities in the game. In the third, Maine scored four unanswered goals to put the game out of reach for Team USA. Joe Palmer (Yorkville, N.Y.) stoppped 39 of 46 Maine shots in goal for Team USA.

U.S. National Under-18 Team 7 vs. AJHL All-Stars 2

USA 4 2 1 - 7

AJHL 0 0 2 - 2

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Behind the hat trick of U.S. National Under-18 Team leading scorer Parick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.), the U.S. National Under-18 Team topped the Atlantic Junior Hockey League All-Stars, 7-2. Team USA jumped out to an early lead thirteen seconds into the game on a goal from Michael Carman (Apple Valley, Minn.). Kane scored the next two goals for Team USA to stretch the lead to three. With 23 seconds remaining in the first, Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) snuck one by AJHL goaltender Casey Tuttle to give Team USA a 4-0 lead after one. In the second period, Kane scored his third goal sixteen seconds into the frame for Team USA. Captain Brian Strait (Waltham, Mass.) scored on a blast from the point early in the second period. In the third period Bill Sweatt (Elburn, Ill.) finished out the scoring for Team USA. Joe Palmer (Yorkville, N.Y.) and Drew Palmisano (Ann Arbor, Mich.) combined to stop 26 AJHL All-Star shots.

NTDP ALUMNI UPDATE: The NTDP's first alumnus to play in the NHL, David Tanabe (White Bear Lake, Minn.), was traded from the Phoenix Coyotes to the Boston Bruins on Saturday (Nov. 19) ... Miami (Ohio) University freshman forward Nathan Davis (Rocky River, Ohio) recorded two assists on Saturday (Nov. 19) night to lead the RedHawks past Notre Dame, 3-0 ... Colorado College senior forward Brett Sterling (Pasadena, Calif.) leads the country in scoring with 22 points (12-10) in 14 games ... The University of Michigan versus University of Minnesota match-up on Friday night (Nov. 25) will feature 13 NTDP alumni (Michigan-9, Minnesota-4) going head-to-head.

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. The program has been instrumental in capturing 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 NHL Entry Draft. In the seven years NTDP players have been eligible for the NHL draft, 107 players have been selected.

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North American Hockey League Stories from November 22, 2005


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