NAHL U.S. National Team

U.S. Nat'l Under-18 Team Plays Final Two NCAA Contests of the Season

Published on February 27, 2007 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


THIS WEEK: The U.S. National Under-18 Team returns to the NCAA scene when it travels to Bemidji, Minn., to take on College Hockey America's Bemidji State University on Friday and Saturday (Mar. 2-3) at the Glas Fieldhouse. Friday's game is set for a 7:35 p.m. CST start, while Saturday's contest will face-off at 7:05 p.m. The contests versus the Beavers will be the last NCAA games of the season for the U.S. National Under-18 Team.

U.S. HEAD COACH RON ROLSTON: Ron Rolston is in his third season with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. He has amassed a career record with the NTDP of 111-50-11-6 (w-l-t-otl). Rolston was an assistant coach in the collegiate ranks at Lake Superior State University, Clarkson University, Harvard University and Boston College prior to joining the NTDP. Recently, Rolston served as the head coach of the bronze-medal-winning U.S. National Junior Team that competed in the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Leksand and Mora, Sweden.

U.S. HEAD COACH RON ROLSTON ON THE WEEKEND AHEAD: "We are very fortunate to be able to play against NCAA competition so late in the season. We are looking forward to these games as our final opportunity to challenge ourselves against older and more experienced competition."

GAME NOTES VERSUS BEMIDJI- The oldest member of the Beavers, Garrett Roth (2/17/1982), is seven years and 363 days older than the youngest player on the U.S. National Under-18 Team (Vinny Saponari- 2/15/90) ... The U.S. National Under-18 Team is 0-1-1 versus College Hockey America teams this season following a 6-5 overtime loss to Wayne State University on Feb. 2 and a 2-2 tie at Robert Morris University on Nov. 19, 2006 ... Beavers defenseman John Vadnais (Stillwater, Minn.) played the 2002-03 season at the National Team Development Program and recorded 10 points (1-9) in 62 games for Team USA.

U.S. NATIONAL UNDER-18 TEAM NOTES: The U.S. National Under-18 Team is 5-9-2 versus NCAA Division I opponents this season, which includes overtime losses at the hands of the University of Michigan, Boston College, the University of North Dakota, Northern Michigan University and Wayne State University ... Team USA assistant captain Teddy Ruth (Naperville, Ill.) and leading-scorer James vanRiemsdyk (Middletown, N.J.) will both be out of the lineup due to injury. Ryan Grimshaw (Rochester, N.Y.) and Vinny Saponari (Powder Springs, Ga.), both originally members of the U.S. National Under-17 Team, will continue to play with the Under-18 squad.

LAST WEEK: The U.S. National Under-18 Team swept a three-game North American Hockey League weekend series at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. On Friday night (Feb. 23) Team USA dropped the Marquette Rangers, 5-0. On Saturday Team USA kept the Rangers off the scoreboard again en route to an 8-0 victory. Team USA then dropped the Alpena IceDiggers on Sunday (Feb. 25) by a 4-1 count.

UP NEXT: The U.S. National Under-18 Team will finish the remainder of the 2006-07 regular season at home versus NAHL opponents. Team USA will host the Traverse City North Stars on Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, at 7:00 p.m. EST. The U.S. National Under-18 Team will close out the regular season when it hosts the Springfield Jr. Blues on March 23-24.

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).

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North American Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2007


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