COLE, PUT YOUR RECORDS ON: U17 forward Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) had a five-goal, six-point week in three games that saw him become the NTDP's all-time goals leader for a U17 skater.

Before the midway mark of the U18s 10-1 win over Muskegon on Tuesday night, Oliver Moore (Mounds View, Minn.) slid a pass through the crease that Eiserman teed up from the right circle. The goaltender got a piece of the shot, but the puck trickled in to give Eiserman his record-setting 55th goal of the season, passing Cole Caufield for most in a U17 campaign.

Eiserman added another pair of goals on the night for his sixth hat-trick and 18th multi-goal game of the campaign.

The University of Minnesota commit followed up that performance with a two-goal, one-assist game Saturday night in Chicago en route to being named the USHL's Forward of the Week with five goals and a helper over three games played.

POSTSEASON BOUND: For the first time since the 2018-19 season, Team USA clinched a position in the Clark Cup Playoffs.

Their seeding is still yet to be determined with six games to play in the USHL season, but Team USA can still finish anywhere from 1st-5th place in the final standings.

The USHL's Clark Cup Playoffs will feature 12 teams, six from each of the Eastern and Western Conferences, beginning on Monday, April 24. The opening round will begin with a three-game first round series between the #3 and #6 seeds and #4 and #5 seeds. All three games will be played at the higher seed's home location on three consecutive nights.

In their last playoff appearance in the 2019 playoffs, Team USA fell to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the first round.

10 AGAIN: Last Tuesday's 10-1 win over Muskegon marked back-to-back games that the Under-18 Team put up a decade on the scoreboard, after blanking the Lumberjacks 10-0 back on March 18 at USA Hockey Arena.

Five different skaters collected at least five points over the 20-goal, two-game outburst. Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) combined for four goals and four assists for a team-high eight points. Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) added five goals and an assist, Gabe Perreault (Hinsdale, Ill.) had a goal and four helpers, Beckett Hendrickson (Minnetonka, Minn.) recorded three goals and two assists and defenseman Cole Hutson (Barrington, Ill.) dished out five helpers over the two games.

The 20 goals scored were the second-most in back-to-back games from the U18s this season after they netted 21 in two games on February 12 and 24.

2023-24 UNDER-17 TEAM:  Twenty-three players including 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders were selected to join USA Hockey's National Team Development Program earlier this week. The players, all from the 2007 birth year, will compete as the U.S. National Under-17 Team for the 2023-24 season.

The 24 rostered players of next year's U17s come from 13 different states; Minnesota (6), New York (3), Illinois (2), Michigan (2), North Dakota (2), Pennsylvania (2), Alaska (1), California (1), Colorado (1), Maine (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (1) and Wisconsin (1).

HOBEY FINALIST: After the top-10 Hobey Baker list was unveiled on March 15, the list is down to the final three which includes NTDP alum Logan Cooley (Pittsburgh, Pa. / NTDP 2020-22), who plays at the University of Minnesota.

Cooley is having a fantastic freshman season by every measure. He is second in the nation in points with 57 (20g), the fifth-highest mark of any Minnesota freshman ever.

The 3rd overall pick to the Arizona Coyotes in 2022 makes up one-third of college hockey's best line, centering Jimmy Snuggerud (23rd overall to St. Louis in 2022 and another NTDP alum) and Matthew Knies, the odds-on soon-to-be Toronto Maple Leaf.

Cooley's 37 assists and plus-37 rating are also tops among Division I. He notched at least a point in 31 of 37 games this season, currently riding a 15-game point streak (8-22-30 in that span). Minnesota is 2-3-1 in games where he does not record a point.

This year's winner will be announced during the Frozen Four on Friday, April 7, at Sparman Wharf in Tampa, Fla. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. ET, and NHL Network will carry coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET.

IIHF UNDER-18 MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: The Under-18 Team finished up its domestic schedule and now sights will be set on preparing for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Men's World Championship later this month in Basel and Porrentruy, Switzerland.

The tournament will be the 24th such event hosted by the IIHF and includes Canada, Czechia, Germany, Slovakia and Sweden in Group A, and Finland, Latvia, Norway, Switzerland and the United States competing in Group B.

The U.S. opens tournament play on Thursday, April 20, when they take on Latvia in the preliminary round at 4:00 p.m. local (10:00 a.m. ET) at St. Jakob Arena in Basel. All Team USA tournament games will broadcast live on NHL Network.