DIRTY THIRTY: U17 forward Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) connected on a shorthanded breakaway attempt in the team's game against Muskegon on December 30 to pick up his 30th goal of the season.

The score made Eiserman the 18th player in NTDP history to eclipse the mark in a U17 season, joining the likes of Patrick Kane, Jack Hughes, Phil Kessel, Cole Caufield and most recently, Will Smith during last season.

On the year, Eiserman has averaged over a goal-per-game with his 30 scores coming in 29 games. He has added 19 assists for 49 total points to lead the Under-17 Team.

BACK IN THE GROOVE:  The U18s' line of Gabe Perreault (Hinsdale, Ill.), Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) and Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) has been one of hockey's most productive trios this season and they picked it right back up last weekend

In the team's 4-3 defeat at North Dakota, the three forwards combined for nine points. Perreault netted first to put Team USA on the board after a nice passing sequence from Smith and Leonard. Smith was the beneficiary of the second goal off a similar passing set-up from Perreault and Leonard. And the three future Boston College Eagles combined on the third score at the end of the middle frame that would eventually force the contest to extra time.

Perreault has 53 points (25g-28a) on the season to lead the team, while Smith has 50 points (19g-31a) in 28 games to take a narrow lead in points-per-game. Leonard has put up 20 scores and 17 assists to rank fourth on the team in scoring.

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP: After winning Group B in preliminary-round play and then taking down Germany with an 11-goal outburst in the quarterfinals, Team USA fell to Canada by a 6-2 final Wednesday evening to end the hopes of finishing back on top of the podium with a gold-medal finish.

The U.S. will play Sweden Thursday afternoon in their final game of the tournament with hopes of taking home a bronze medal.

NTDP alums Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud go into the last day of the tournament with 12 and 11 points, respectively, to rank second and third in overall scoring in the Championship.

Those two forwards, along with NTDP alum defenseman Luke Hughes, this year's captain for Team USA, were named the three best players of the tournament for the team at the conclusion of the semifinal loss.