MADISON CAPITOLS:  The U18s and Capitols are set to square up for the first time this season Thursday evening in Madison.

The Caps come into the game on a seven-game losing streak and currently sit in the final spot of the Eastern Conference standings.

Finnish forward Miko Matikka has been a huge bright spot for the team, as he leads all non-Chicago Steel players in league scoring. The rookie, a draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes, has netted 16 goals and added 19 assists for 35 points in 28 games this season. Quinn Finley (10g-17a--27pts) and Jack Musa (12g-14a--26pts) have also contributed to the Caps' offensive attack.

On the blue line, a pair of Madison defensemen have reached double-digit point totals in the first half of the season, as Will Felicio (2g-10a--12pts) and Nick Wallace (1g-10a--11pts) lead the Capitols' defense.

The team runs a pair of goaltenders, eld by starter Mason Kucenski, who has struggled to a 4.76 GAA and .827 SV% in 17 appearances on the season. He's backed up by Slovakian netminder Ratislav Elias, who has posted a 3.49 GAA and .871 SV% in his 12 games of action on the year.

The two teams will meet three more times this season after the weekend, one in Michigan and end the season series March 10-11 in Wisconsin.

GREEN BAY GAMBLERS: The Under-17 Team gets a weekend pair with the Green Bay Gamblers to mark the return of Gamblers head coach and general manager, Mike Leone, back to USA Hockey Arena. Leone was an assistant coach with the NTDP from 2019-2022, before taking the head coach position this summer.

Green Bay sits three points ahead of Team USA in the USHL rankings, currently in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference.

The Gamblers have one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the league, but are led offensively by Northeastern commit Eli Sebastian, who has produced 24 points (9g-15a) in 28 games this season. Raimonds Vitolins leads the team with 16 helpers on the season while Barrett Hall tops all skaters with 10 goals for Green Bay. Both forwards have 20 total points for the campaign.

Belarussian defenseman Artyom Levshunov has already scored eight goals, including four on the man advantage, to lead Green Bay's blueliners and is fifth overall in the league in scoring by a defenseman.

Michigan native Kristoffer Eberly is the lone qualified goaltender for the Gamblers. He has posted an impressive 14-5-1-1 record with a 2.71 GAA and .904 SV%. More recently, Green Bay acquired Slovakian netmidner Adam Gajan from the NAHL's Chippewa Falls Steel and in three USHL games, Gajan has been excellent with a 2.02 GAA and .920 SV%. He led Slovakia in net at the 2023 World Junior Championship earlier this month.

WISCONSIN BADGERS: Wisconsin comes into their exhibition matchup with a 9-13-0 overall record, but has performed much better on home ice, splitting a dozen games at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers come off a Big Ten series where they split with Notre Dame, shutting out the Irish 2-0 last Friday evening and dropping the rematch by a 6-4 final Saturday night.

NTDP alum Cruz Lucius leads the Badgers in scoring and comes into the weekend off being named the Big Ten's Second Star of the Week after he produced five points in the weekend split against Notre Dame. Lucius leads the team with eight goals, 15 assists and 23 points.

Corson Ceulemans, a 2021 1st-round selection of the Columbus Blue Jackets, paces the Badgers defense with six goals, eight assists and 14 total points, all top numbers amongst the team's blueliners.

Jared Moe has started 18 of 22 Badgers games in net, running an 8-9-0 record, 2.79 GAA and .912 SV%.

In nine previous meetings between the two sides, Wisconsin has taken six wins to the NTDP's three. But Team USA has won two of the last three contests, including a 4-0 shutout of the Badgers in the most recent game on December 2, 2021 last season.