The National Team Development Program has a busy week ahead of it as the U.S. National Under-18 Team heads out for a pair of contests while the U.S. National Under-17 Team will play a single road game.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The U18s will go to Huntsville, Ala., to face the University of Alabama-Huntsville in a two-game set on Friday (Nov. 30) and Saturday (Dec. 1). Team USA last faced UAH Feb. 24-25, 2012, when the U18 squad posted 3-2 and 6-3 victories.

“It’s nice for our squad to experience playing the same team on back-to-back nights since we do not usually have this experience,” U18 coach Don Granato said. “It allows the coaching staff and players to make adjustments from night one to night two.”

The U18s are coming off a 10-4 win over St. Mary’s University on Sunday. Anthony Louis (Winfield, Ill.) and Kevin Labanc (Staten Island, N.Y.) each recorded a hat trick in the game. Evan Allen (Sterling Heights, Mich.) recorded a pair of goals while John Hayden (Greenwich, Conn.) and Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.) recorded single tallies. Meanwhile, Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.) and Hunter Miska (North Branch, Minn.) combined to make 10 stops.

“It was nice to see some guys get on the score sheet [11 of 20 skaters registered at least one point],” Granato said. “We gave up some third-period goals to make the score closer than the game appeared. Overall, I was fairly pleased with our team’s effort.”

USHL ACTION CONTINUES: The U17s continue United States Hockey League action with a single game at the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Saturday (Dec. 1). Face off from L.C. Walker Arena will be at 7:15 p.m. EST.

“In USHL play, the key concept for this team is learning how to play a full 60 minutes,” U-17 head coach Danton Cole said. “We need to have that competition level each night in order to have success.”

The U17s dropped a pair of games at Youngstown over the weekend, falling 6-0 on Friday (Nov. 23) and 3-0 on Saturday (Nov. 24).

NOTEBOOK
• UAH coach Kurt Kleinendorst, who is in his first season behind the Chargers’ bench, served as a head coach for the NTDP in 2009-10. He led Team USA to the International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Under-18 Championship in 2010.

• The U18s are 10-1-1 (W-L-OTL) in their last 12 games. During this span, the squad is averaging 4.67 goals per game while allowing 2.33 goals.

• The U18s hold a 3-4-2 (W-L-T) mark against NCAA competition this season.

• Since returning to the lineup after missing the first 14 games due to injury, John Hayden has recorded three goals and 11 points in eight contests. This includes four points (1-3) against St. Mary’s on Sunday.

• The U18s are paced in scoring by Tyler Kelleher (11-11), who has compiled 22 points in 22 games. Anthony Louis (12-7) is second with 19 points while Tyler Motte (St. Clair, Mich./8-8) is third with 16 points. Rounding out the top-five scorers are Evan Allen (10-5) and Sean Malone (West Seneca, N.Y./6-9), as both players have 15 points.

• Meanwhile, in goal for the U18s, Thatcher Demko posts a 9-2-0-2 (W-L-OTL-T) mark along with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. Hunter Miska is 4-4-1-0 with a 3.56 GAA and an .836 save percentage.

• Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass./6-10) leads the U17s in scoring with 16 points while Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y./8-7) is second with 15 points. Joe Wegwerth (Brewster, N.Y./7-5) ranks third with 12 points. A four-way tie exists for fourth place as Alex Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y./6-5), Chris Wilkie (Omaha, Neb./5-6), Jack Glover (Golden Valley, Minn./2-9) and Brandon Fortunato (North Hills, N.Y./0-11) have 11 points each.

• In goal, Edwin Minney (Wind Gap, Pa.) has seen the majority of the action for the U17s, posting a 4-7-1 record, a 4.58 GAA and an .860 save percentage.

• The U17s were shutout in back-to-back games for the first time all season at Youngstown. Dating back to the Four Nations Tournament game against Switzerland on Nov. 11, the team has not scored at goal in 122:41.

• The U17s are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games, with all four victories coming at the Four Nations Tournament. In this span, the U17s are averaging 2.8 goals per game while allowing 4.1 goals.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.