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

Published on December 7, 2005 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release

THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-18 tavels to Williams (Mass.) College to take on the NCAA Division III, Ephs on Friday night (Dec. 9), then battle the third ranked University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt., on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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. Hynes has amassed a career record with the NTDP of 79-41-7.

U.S. HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES: "We face two very tough opponents this weekend. Through the month of December, we play some very tough teams, all on the road. This stretch of games will be great experience and continue to develop us for the World tournament in April."

LAST TIME THEY MET ... Williams College 11/30/2003 U.S. National Under-18 3 @ Williams 6

University of Vermont 12/6/2002 U.S. National Under-18 2 @ Vermont 5

TIDBITS: Vermont assistant captain, Brady Leisenring (Stowe, Vt.), served as the captain of the U.S. National Under-17 Team (1999-00) ... Team USA forward Chris Atkinson (Sparta, N.J.) will play for the Catamounts next fall when he enters the University of Vermont ... Vermont is the third team (Cornell, Maine) the U.S. National Under-18 team will face that is ranked in the top-ten. Team USA will also face the sixth ranked University of Michigan and top-ranked University of Wisconsin.

UP NEXT: On Friday night (Dec. 16) Team USA faces the top-ranked University of Wisconsin in Madison (Wis.) at 7:07 p.m.(cst). The following night, the U.S. National Under-18 Team invades the Milwaukee School of Engineering in Milwaukee (Wis.) at 7 p.m. (cst).

‘TIS THE SEASON: USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in conjunction with the United States Marine Core are hosting a Toys For Tots Drive at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. Collection will begin on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 at the Cube when the U.S. National Under-17 Team hosts the Cleveland Barons at 7 p.m. The drive will end on Wednesday, December 11, at Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor when Detroit Red Wings Jimmy Howard (NTDP Alumni), Brett Lebda (NTDP Alumni)and Mark Mowers (U.S. National Team Alumni) join Team USA players to sign autographs in exchange for the donation of a new toy.

LAST WEEKEND: The U.S. National Under-18 Team traveled to Bozeman, Mont., to take on the ICEDOGS of the North American Hockey League's West Division in exhibition action. The boxscores from the weekend are below.

U.S. National Under-18 Team 2 at Bozeman 1 Scoring By Period USA 0-1-1 -- 2 BOZ 0-0-1 -- 1

First Period - Scoring: No Scoring. Penalties: BOZ, Fylling (slashing), 8:38; USA, Johnson (hooking), 5:37.

Second Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Popko (Atkinson, Johnson), 12:14. Penalties: USA, Flynn (roughing), 9:10; BOZ, Josepher (roughing), 9:10; BOZ, Molle (cross checking), 2:53; BOZ, Bailey (cross checking), 1:12.

Third Period - Scoring: 2, USA, Kane (Carman, Montgomery), 10:46; 3, BOZ, Bunger (Fylling, Omilusk), 19:30. Penalties: USA, Popko (checking from behind), 15:47; USA, Carman (cross checking), 7:55; BOZ, Bunger (slashing), 3:20.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 Total USA 15 10 7 32 BOZ 6 9 9 24

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 Total USA, Palmer 6-6 9-9 10-9 24-23 BOZ, Dalton 15-15 10-9 7-6 32-30

Power Play: USA 0-4; BOZ 0-3 Penalties: USA 4-10; BOZ 5-12 Officials: Referee-Dan Monacelli Attendance: 1,323

U.S. National Under-18 Team 4 at Bozeman 3 Scoring By Period USA 0-2-2 -- 4 BOZ 1-0-2 -- 3

First Period - Scoring: 1, BOZ, Krefski (Ellingson, Schumacher), 12:03. Penalties: BOZ, Bench (too many men), 3:36; USA, Palm (fighting), 8:31; BOZ, Fylling (fighting), 8:31.

Second Period - Scoring: 2, USA, Kane (Ratchuk, Carman), 3:36; 3, USA, O'Brien (Johnson, Williams), 8:22. Penalties: BOZ, Bunger (interference), 9:33; USA, Palm(tripping), 16: 09.

Third Period - Scoring: 4, BOZ, Howe (Fylling, Heidinger), 0:27; 5, USA, Williams, 11:40; 6, USA, Carman (Kane), (pp), 15:33; 7, BOZ, McManamin (Heidinger), 19:53. Penalties: BOZ, Pinder(slashing), 13:33; USA, Rakhshani (holding), 17:48.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 Total USA 10 26 3 39 BOZ 7 8 6 21

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 Total USA, Palmer 7-6 8-8 6-4 21-18 BOZ, Jarboe 10-10 26-24 3-1 39-35

Power Play: USA 1-3; BOZ 0-2 Penalties: USA 3-9; SWE 4-11 Officials: Referee-Ryan Sweeney Attendance: 1,819

NTDP ALUMNI UPDATE: New York Islander's Rick DiPietro (Winthrop, Mass.) earned a victory over fellow NTDP alumni Jimmy Howard (Ogdensburg, N.Y.) as the Isles topped the Red Wings, 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 scorer Andy Hilbert (Howell, Mich.- 153 points) made his first appearance for the Chicago Blackhawks after being traded to from Boston earlier this season ... On Monday (Dec. 5) USA Hockey announced the 2006 National Junior Team, included on the roster are 11 former NTDP players and one current (Erik Johnson) ... 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, the other going to Jack Johnson (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. 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.

United States Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2005

• Chuck-Your-Buck being held Friday - Tri-City Storm
• RoughRiders, Jaycees Team Up for Third Annual Teddy Bear Toss Saturday - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
• U.S. National Under-18 Team Returns to NCAA Action - USHL

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.