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It’s a busy week for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program. The U.S. National Under-18 Team plays a single home game before heading out for its first international tournament. Meanwhile, the U17s travel to British Columbia for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
BACK TO ACTION: Following a bye week, the U18s return to action against the Chicago Steel this Friday at USA Hockey Arena. The squad has been off since posting back-to-back wins over Boston University (7-4 on Oct. 16) and Dartmouth (5-4 on Oct. 17). Next week Team USA heads to Switzerland for the Five Nations Tournament.
“This was a good week for our team,” U18 coach Danton Cole said. “We were able to put time in the weight room and get ready for one game before we head out to our first international tournament.”
READY FOR THE CHALLENGE: The U17s begin their international schedule at the 2015 World Under-17 Challenge in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, British Columbia. The tournament features eight teams split into two groups. Team USA is in Group A with Canada Black, Canada White and the Czech Republic. Group B features Canada Red, Finland, Russia and Sweden.
The U17s play an exhibition game against Canada Red at 9 p.m. Friday. The squad opens tournament action on Sunday against the Czech Republic before playing Canada White on Nov. 2 and Canada Black on Nov. 3. The quarterfinals begin on Nov. 5.
“This will be a good measuring stick for our team,” U17 coach Don Granato said. “The U17 Challenge is a good event. It is always a tough run for our team but it will be good for us.
“Preparation will be key for the World Challenge. We need to keep working on the positive things and be prepared for each game. We want to continue to improve with each contest.”
The U17s dropped a pair of one-goal games to Lincoln over the weekend, falling 3-2 on Friday and 5-4 in overtime on Saturday.
Jacob Tortora (Victory, N.Y.) and Grant Mismash (Edina, Minn.) registered the goals on Friday while goalie Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) stopped 33 shots. The next night, Scott Reedy (Prior Lake, Minn.) and Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) each tallied two goals while goalie Adam Scheel (Lakewood, Ohio) finished with 28 stops.
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.