SCORING DEPTH: The Under-17 Team has spread the scoring wealth this season as seven players have 30 or more points at the team's 40-game played mark of the campaign.

Will Moore (Ithaca, N.Y.) leads the squad with 18 goals, 35 points, +10 rating and 0.97 points-per-game. The 6-foot-2 forward enters the weekend off a two-point performance last week against Muskegon.

Diminutive forward LJ Mooney (West Mifflin, Pa.) is one off of Moore's lead with 17 goals and has added 16 helpers for 33 points, good for second on the U17s. Mooney has registered eight points (4g-4a) over his last five games, including a hat-trick in the team's 8-4 win over Finland at the Five Nations.

Boston University commit Jack Murtagh (East Greenbush, N.Y.), fresh off a two-goal performance Sunday afternoon against Muskegon, is tied for third on the team in scoring with Conrad Fondrk (White Bear Lake, Minn.). Both skaters have identical lines of 14 goals, 18 assists and 32 points on the season. The former has eight multi-point games this season, including a career-high four points, two goals and two assists, back on January 6 against Tri-City. Fondrk has averaged a point-per-game over the team's last six contests.

Cullen Potter's (Minneapolis, Minn.) 20 helpers leads the team's forwards and he's added 11 scores for 31 total points.

On the back end, Charlie Trethewey (Woodbine, Md.) leads all U17 defensemen with 12 goals and 31 points. Donny Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.) has a team-high 24 assists that have accounted for all of his points on the year.

The final 30-point scorer on the squad is Chicagoland native Cole McKinney (Lake Forest, Ill.). The University of Michigan commit has really come alive of late, racking up nine points (2g-7a) in four games at the Five Nations and returned stateside to collect a helper last Sunday afternoon.

WELCOME BACK, JANNY: NTDP alum Kai Janviriya (2021-23) makes his return to USA Hockey Arena this weekend as a member of the Lincoln Stars.

The Bloomfield, Mich., native has had a great season on the Stars blue line, posting four goals, 13 assists and 17 points. He was also named one of the team's alternate captains prior to the start of the season.

Janviriya, a University of Connecticut commit, was part of the NTDP the previous two seasons and was a member of Team USA's gold-medal winning 2023 Under-18 Men's World Championship team last April in Switzerland.

RICHTER WATCH: The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) announced the semifinalists for this year's Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men's NCAA Division I hockey, and a pair of NTDP alums made the list!

Colorado College's Kaidan Mbereko (Aspen, Colo. / NTDP 2019-21) and Michigan State's Trey Augustine (South Lyon, Mich. / NTDP 2021-23) were both named as two of only three freshmen or sophomores on the list.

Mbereko, coming off NCHC Goaltender of the Week honors, has been phenomenal for the Tigers this year. He has posted an 18-9-1 record with a 2.44 GAA and .917 SV% in 28 games played.

Augustine has been thrown into the fire in East Lansing and been every bit up to the challenge. In 27 appearances, the Under-18 Men's World Championship and World Junior Championship gold-medal winning netminder has posted an 18-6-2 record with three shutouts, a 2.87 GAA and .917 SV% for the Spartans.

WEEKEND PROMOS: The Under-18 Team's game against the Stars on Friday night marks Team USA's annual bobblehead night! This year's iteration features Florida Panthers superstar Matthew Tkachuk. The NTDP product helped Team USA to a gold-medal finish at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship in Zug & Lucerne, Switzerland and followed that up by collecting 11 points (4g-7a) in seven games to help Team USA to a silver medal at the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland. The Scottsdale, Arizona, native has netted back-to-back 100-point season in the NHL and is nearly on pace to do it again for a third consecutive season.

The honorary first puck will be dropped by Matthew's father, Keith Tkachuk, an Olympian, USA Hockey Hall of Famer and one of 11 Americans ever to record 1,000+ points in the NHL. Keith currently serves as the St. Louis Blues' director of recruitment.

On Saturday night, Olympic gold medalist Buzz Schneider will be in the house as we celebrate Miracle on Ice Night at USA Hockey Arena, presented by the Miracle League of Plymouth. Schneider was one of three Team USA players to record five goals in the 1980 Olympics, including the first U.S. goal in the historic 4-3 win over the Soviet Union. The Minnesota native was the only returning member of the 1976 team.

After the game, remember to bring your blades to Stay & Skate with Team USA! The Under-17 Team will return to the ice to skate and sign autographs for all the fans. Limited skate rentals are available for free, but we recommend bringing your own to ensure you're part of the fun!