CAN'T BE TAMED: U18 forward Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) is off to the fastest start in NTDP history as he ran his record-long point streak to 14 consecutive games to begin a season.

The Boston College commit scored a power-play goal in Thursday's 5-2 win and added two points with a goal and an assist in Friday's OT victory.

Smith has now scored a goal in five straight games for the U18s and has recorded multiple points in eight of the 14 games, including five with three or more.

Smith, listed at 6-foot, 182 pounds, is averaging exactly 2.00 points-per-game thus far and leads the U18s with 28 points. His three game-winning goals tie for the team lead and Smith has added a trio of power-play tallies, while his +12 rating is one off the team lead.

Smith led the birth class with 64 points in 63 games last season and is on pace to blow past those numbers in his U18 campaign.

NILLY NELLY: Fellow U18 forward Danny Nelson (Maple Grove, Minn.) has picked up the scoring pace of late as he has found the back of the net in each of the past four games, scoring five total goals over the stretch.

After picking up three points in three games to start the 2022-23 season, Nelson went four straight without seeing his name on the scoresheet.

Since playing Michigan Tech on October 8, Nelson has produced nine points (5g-4a) over the past six games to move into fifth overall on the team in scoring. The University of Notre Dame commit has been a force attacking the net and his 45 shots on goal ranks second to Smith among all U18 skaters.

UP TO THE CHALLENGE: For the first time since 2019, the U.S. Under-17 National Team will return to the Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Canada.

The event runs from November 3-12 in Langley and Delta, British Columbia, and will be the first international experience for this year's U17s.

“I’m really excited,” said Max Plante, a native of Hermantown, Minnesota. “I haven’t played against another country. Our team is really excited. It will really hit home when we play that first game against Finland.”

“It’s an honor to put on the USA jersey and play against other countries for the first time,” said James Hagens, a native of Hauppauge, New York. “It will be cool to play against kids our own age. It will be a fun experience and different than what we have been doing so far.”

“I’m excited for this tournament and to see where we are at as a team,” head coach Nick Fohr said. “It’s always been a fun tournament and it’s a hard tournament to win. We haven’t seen these other countries yet. It’s always interesting to see where we slot against them and our team depth. It always serves as a springboard as someone is ready and waiting to step up. I’m excited to see who that might be this year.”

HAT-TRICK OR TREAT:  NTDP alum Tage Thompson (Oyster Park, N.Y. / NTDP 2014-15) scored three goals and added three assists for the Buffalo Sabres in Monday night's 8-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings to double his previous career-high in points and become the third player to score six-or-more points in a game on Halloween.

With the point total, Thompson became the sixth player in Sabres franchise history with six points in a game and the first since Pat LaFontaine nearly 30 years ago. The University of Connecticut alum's Halloween hat-trick marked the 22nd in NHL history.

After producing a career-high 38 goals and 68 points during the 2021-22 season, Thompson has quickly regained his form to collect 12 points (6g-6a) through Buffalo's first nine games to start the year.

2022 U18 FIVE NATIONS: USA Hockey Arena is proud to host the 2022 U18 Five Nations Tournament, taking place from November 8-12, 2022, in Plymouth, Michigan.

The best hockey players under the age of 18 from the United States, Czechia, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland will all compete in a round-robin style schedule, facing off against all other teams throughout the week.

The promotional schedule for the tournament was announced earlier this week which includes discounted tickets for kids (Tuesday) and veterans (Friday) as well as a pair of giveaways on Friday (T-Shirt / White Out) and Saturday (USA Flag) evenings!

All tickets for the Five Nations will be sold as day passes - one ticket provides entry to both games on a given day. Tickets for all five days of the tournament are on sale now and fans can purchase by visiting the USA Hockey Arena box office in person or by calling 734-453-8400!