NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nat'l Under-17 Team Plays Home-And-Home Series With Alpena

Published on November 1, 2006 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-17 Team hosts the Alpena IceDiggers of the North American Hockey League's North Division tonight at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube (Ann Arbor, Mich.). Game time is set for 7 p.m. EST. The National Team will close out the week by traveling to Alpena for a contest Friday night (Nov. 3) versus the IceDiggers at the Northern Lights Arena. Game time for Friday is also scheduled for 7 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 106-54-3-8 (W-L-OTL-T). 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.

VS. ALPENA THIS SEASON (0-2-0):

10/06/06 U.S. National Under-17 Team 2 @ Alpena IceDiggers 4 10/07/06 U.S. National Under-17 Team 1 @ Alpena IceDiggers 6

U.S. HEAD COACH JOHN HYNES ON THE WEEKEND AHEAD: "Alpena is going to be a big test for us this week. They have set the pace early in the season for the league [NAHL] and have done some really good things on the ice during the past six weeks. We look forward to the challenge that the games should provide for us."

GAME NOTES: The U.S. National Under-18 Team topped the IceDiggers last night by a count of 6-3 in Ann Arbor, Mich. ... Alpena currently leads the NAHL's North Division with 21 points after compiling a 10-5-1 record through 16 games this season. The 21 points puts the IceDiggers in fourth place overall in the entire league ... Alpena forwards Nolan Craner (10-17-27), and Todd Rudasill (10-16-26), rank first and second among the NAHL's point leaders for the 2006-07 season. Alpena forward Drew Pierson (9-9-18), also ranks in the top-10 on the league's scoring chart.

THREE'S COMPANY: USA Hockey's Women's Training Camp is being held this week at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube in conjunction with the daily routine of the U.S. National Under-18 and Under-17 Teams. The camp features an elite pool of U.S. women's ice hockey players, including some who will play for the 2006 U.S. Women's Select Team at the Four Nations Cup (Kitchener, Ont., Nov. 7-11). The participants will be in attendance at tonight's game versus Alpena, where five members of the camp (Chanda Gunn, Jamie Hagerman, Kristin King, Angela Ruggiero and Krissy Wendell) will be available for an autograph session during the first intermission. All five players participated on the 2006 U.S. Olympic Women's Team.

U.S. NATIONAL UNDER-17 TEAM NOTES: U.S. forward Kelen Corkum (Newbury, Mass.) will play his first game of the year tonight after missing the beginning part of the season due to injury ... The U.S. National Under-17 Team's leading scorer, Danny Kristo (Eden Prarie, Minn.), will not play tonight due to injury, but is expected to be in the line-up on Friday night in Alpena ... The 2006-07 U.S. National Under-17 Team is comprised of 23 players from 10 different states. Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota are the leading producers of new NTDP players for this year's U.S. National Under-17 Team. Each of the three states is the home of four National Team players.

TIS THE SEASON: U.S. defenseman Grant Scott (Sewickley, Pa.) and forward Michael Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) both made verbal commitments this week to play collegiately for the 2008-09 season. Grant committed to the University of Minnesota, joining teammates Jordan Schroeder (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Sam Lofquist (Faribault, Minn.), both of whom have already made the verbal commitment this season. Cichy joins fellow forward Danny Kristo in the 2008 recruiting class for the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. To date, 12 of the 23 players on the U.S. National Under-17 Team have made a verbal commitment to play college hockey during the 2008-09 season.

UP NEXT: On the horizon for the U.S. National Under-17 Team is its first international competition of the 2006-07 season. Team USA will host the 2006 Phantom Fireworks Four Nations Tournament at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. The tournament will feature the top players under 17 years of age from Russia, Slovakia, Swtizerland and the United States.

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 November 1, 2006


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