WATERLOO BLACK HAWKS: The NTDP's six-game weekend kicks off as the Waterloo Black Hawks pay a visit to USA Hockey Arena on Friday evening.

Waterloo enters in third place in the Western Conference, with a 28-16-0-1 record through 45 games played.

Gavyn Thoreson, a top-10 leading scorer in the league, leads the offensive attack with 13 goals and 36 helpers for 49 points in 45 games. John Mustard, the game-winning goal scorer at the 2024 Chipotle All-American Game, has added 45 points and a team-high 22 goals scored for the Black Hawks.

Tyler Miller and Will Felicio, an in-season acquisition from Madison, lead the D-core. Both have potted eight goals from the blue line, while Miller has registered 18 assists to Felicio's 12.

Calvin Vachon and Jack Spicer are both qualified in net. The former has the slight edge in time played, with an 18-6-0 record, 2.86 GAA and .903 SV% while Spicer has gone 10-9-0-1 with a 2.97 GAA and .894 SV% in his duty.

The U17 squad fell to Waterloo back on December 28, and this game will wrap up the season series between the sides.

CEDAR RAPIDS ROUGHRIDERS: The Under-17 Team starts off its road 3-in-3 with a pair of games in Iowa to take on the RoughRiders. The games will be the first between the NTDP and Cedar Rapids this year, and the U18s will host in the rematches on March 15-16.

Cedar Rapids sits one spot above Team USA in the Eastern Conference standings with an 18-22-5-2 record, good for 43 points.

The RoughRiders have struggled to score this season, with their 131 goals the lowest scored on a per-game basis throughout the league. Defenseman Joel Kjellberg leads all current skaters in scoring with eight goals, 26 assists and 34 points.

In net, Rudy Guimond has held lead duty for the season. He has posted a 9-9-3-1 record, 3.67 GAA and .869 SV% in 23 appearances. Sam Scopa, in 18 games played, has a 5-10-1-0 record, 3.26 GAA and .880 SV% for the RoughRiders.

MADISON CAPITOLS: Madison is team 2 of 3 to come into Team USA's home barn this weekend. The U18s look for revenge after Madison took the first game of the series, 5-2, back on October 28.

NTDP alum Austin Burnevik recently set Madison's single-season points record and enters the weekend with 49 points (29g-20a) from 44 games played. Max Nagel (15), James Hong (14) and Andrew Kuzma (20) have all added double-digit goals for the team.

From the blue line, Jack Henry leads the team with five goals and 19 points this season.

Another NTDP alum leads the team in net, Minnesota native Carsen Musser. He has posted an 11-9-2-2 record, 2.73 GAA and .901 SV% in 24 games of action. Patriks Berzins, a Latvian headed to the University of Maine, has recorded a 9-10-2-0 record, 3.58 GAA and .886 SV% in backup duty.

GREEN BAY GAMBLERS: Former NTDP assistant coach Mike Leone brings his current Green Bay Gamblers squad to USA Hockey Arena to finish up the U18s trio of contests this weekend.

Four Gamblers have already cracked the 40-point plateau, including Julian Lutz, coming off a USHL Forward of the Week award, which saw him post seven points in three games last week. On the year, the German forward has 18 goals and a team-high 29 assists and 47 points. He's aided by Ben Poitras (15g-28a--43pts), Libor Nemec (21g-19a--40pts) and Jayson Shaugabay (12g-28a--40pts) in one of the league's most potent offensive attacks.

Chris Romaine has been the biggest producer from the defensemen, posting 22 points (4g-18a) in 37 games.

Adam Gajan, a participant in the latest World Junior Championship this winter, is the only qualified netminder for the Gamblers. He has played in 30 games and posted an impressive 19-8-2-1 record, 3.23 GAA and .902 SV%. He has posted wins in three of his last four decisions.

The U18s took the first game of the season series by a 10-3 tally on September 30, and Sunday's matinee will be the final game of the series.

DES MOINES BUCCANEERS: The U17s finish their busy weekend in Des Moines with a Sunday afternoon contest against the Buccaneers, who enter the weekend in seventh place in the West.

While just 5-5-0 over their last 10, the Bucs will come into weekend play winners of three straight after they swept Sioux Falls and Cedar Rapids last weekend.

2007-born Benjamin Kevan leads the squad with 19 goals and 41 points on the year. Ilya Protas is second on the team in scoring with 27 assists and 36 points in 45 games. He has also added a team-high three game-winning goals and 11 points on the power play.

Owen West (7g-8a--15pts), Aiden VanRooyan (2g-12a--14pts) and Connor Bewick (1g-11a--12pts) have been the best producers from the blue line.

Ethan Dahlmeir has taken the lion's share of time in the cage, playing to a 14-17-0-0 record, 2.87 GAA and .898 SV% in his 33 games played. 

After the U18s beat Des Moines back in October, this will close out the season series between the NTDP and Buccaneers.