NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. National Under-18 Team Travels Across Town To Face Wolverines Then North To Alpena

Published on January 11, 2006 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: On Friday night (Jan. 13) the U.S. National Under-18 Team will make it's shortest road trip of the season (2.91 miles) across Ann Arbor, Mich., to battle the ninth-ranked University of Michigan Wolverines at 7:35 p.m. The following night (Jan. 14) Team USA travels to Alpena, Mich., to take on the Alpena Ice Diggers of the North American Hockey League 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 81-44-8.

U.S. HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES ON THE WEEKEND AHEAD: "Our guys are coming off a good holiday break, this week is about reconnecting as a team and returning to the workmanlike mentality that will lead us into the second half of our season."

LAST TIME THEY MET ... University of Michigan Feb. 26, 2005: U.S. National Under-18 Team 5 @ Michigan 6

Alpena Ice Diggers (NAHL) Sept. 18, 2005: Alpena 1 @ U.S. National Under-18 Team 11

USA PLAYER TIDBITS: USA forward Luke Popko (Skillman, N.J.) has committed to play collegiately next year at Boston University of the Hockey East Conference ... Two U.S. National Under-18 Team players remain undecided for next season, Tony Mosey (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Steve Sperry (Southlake, Texas) ... USA goaltender Brett Bennett (Williamsville, N.Y.) has returned to practice after being sidelined since September with an injury, Bennett has not appeared in a game this season for the NTDP ... Defenseman Chris Summers (Milan, Mich.) will play at the University of Michigan this fall.

WEEKEND MATCH-UP NOTES: Michigan owns the all-time series versus the NTDP, 5-0 ... Five players from last year's U.S. National Under-18 Team are playing for Michigan this season. In all, 17 NTDP alumni have skated for the Wolverines ... In the last match-up between the 18's and Alpena, the game totaled 202 penalty minutes ... The Under-18 Team is undefeated (10-0-0) versus NAHL opponents this season.

LAST WEEKEND: The U.S. National Under-18 Team traveled north to take on Division III University of Wisconsin Superior on Friday night (Jan. 6), then Division I University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday night (Jan. 7). After a slow start on Friday, the U.S. National Under-18 Team fought back from a four goal deficit to gain a 5-4 lead early into the third period. The Yellow Jackets evened the scorewith 3:06 remaining in the game to earn the tie. Saturday night started similarly as Team USA found themselves two goals down at the end of the first period. The Bulldogs piled three more goals on in the second frame to stretch the lead to four at 6-2. USA scored on the power-play goal with one minute remaining in the game to make the final 6-3.

U.S. National Under-18 Team 3 at University of Minnesota Duluth 6

Scoring By Period USA 1-1-1 -- 3 UMD 3-3-0 -- 6

First Period - Scoring: 1, UMD, Williams (Gergen, Stapleton), 4:34; 2, USA, Sweatt, 9:01; 2, UMD, Sharp (Kemp, Greer), 11: 55; 4, UMD, Gergen (Davis), 15:43. Penalties: UMD, Raymond (hooking), 6: 39; UMD, Davis (interference), 12:29; USA, Summers (boarding), 16:48.

Second Period - Scoring: 5, UMD, Stapleton (Raymond, McKnight), (pp) 3:18; 6, USA, Williams, 6:15; 7, UMD, Gergen (Williams, Stapleton), 7:44; 8, UMD, Kemp (Sharp, Greer), 9:55. Penalties: UMD, Gergen (holding), 0:17; USA, Mosey (hooking), 2:21; USA, Williams (interference), 4:05; UMD, Davis (hooking), 17:53.

Third Period - Scoring: 9, USA, Carman (Summers, Kane), (pp) 19:00. Penalties: UMD, Swanson (hooking), 2:10; USA, Williams (interference), 9:06; UMD, Niskanen (roughing), 18:56.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 Total USA 6 6 9 21 UMD 20 13 8 41

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 Total USA, Palmer (60:00) 20-17 13-10 8-8 41-35 UMD, Reichmuth (40:00) 6-5 6-5 x-x 12-10 UMD, Carlson (20:00) x-x x-x 9-8 9-8

Power Play: USA 1-6; UMD 1-4 Penalties: USA 4-8; UMD 6-12 Officials: Referee-Bill Mason Attendance: 4,120

U.S. National Under-18 Team 5 at University of Wisconsin Superior 5

Scoring By Period USA 0-3-2 -- 5 WIS 4-0-1 -- 5

First Period - Scoring: 1, WIS, Bickley (Paige, Miller), 8:34; 2, WIS, Berman (Bausano), 11:14; 3, WIS, Reda (Radovich, Bickley), 14:58; 4, WIS, Guiguet (Berman), 18:52. Penalties: No Penalties.

Second Period - Scoring: 5, USA, Sweatt (Geoffrion, O'Brien), 2:16; 6, USA, Flynn (McBain, Carman), 5:05; 7, USA, Rakhshani (Atkinson, Mosey), 5:05. Penalties: WIS, Moncur (holding), 8:31; USA, Sweatt (hooking), 9:35; WIS, Berman (roughing), 15:52; USA, Atkinson (roughing), 16:50.

Third Period - Scoring: 8, USA, Ratchuk (Atkinson, Popko), 0:45; 9, USA, Williams (Kane, Carman), 5:08; 10, WIS, Miller (Paige, Dardis), 16:54. Penalties: USA, Flynn (holding) 9:48; WIS, Berman (holding), 9:48.

Shots By Period 1 2 3 Total USA 11 22 16 49 WIS 9 8 8 25

Goaltending (SH-SV) 1 2 3 OT Total USA, Palmer 15-11 9-9 11-10 0-0 35-30 WIS, Bonelly 6-6 16-13 8-6 5-5 35-30

Power Play: USA 3-6; WIS 0-2 Penalties: USA 3-6; WIS 3-6 Attendance: 1,476

UP NEXT: On Thursday (Jan. 19) the U.S. National Under-18 Team travels to the NAHL Showcase in Boardman, Ohio. Team USA will play four games in four days versus opponents from the NAHL north division.

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 January 11, 2006


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