MELTING THE STEEL: The U18s host the Chicago Steel on Friday and Saturday, and the U17s will face the Steel at their arena on Sunday. These will be the last three meetings out of six against the Steel this season. The NTDP lead the season series 2-1 so far against Chicago.
In the most recent game against the Steel, the U18s won 4-3 with goals from Jack DeBoer (Madison, N.J.), Oliver Wahlstrom (Quincy, Mass.), Ty Emberson (Eau Claire, Wis.), and Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.).
The Steel are 23-23-1-4 (W-L-OTL-SOL) in USHL play this season and currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with 51 points. The Steel are 4-5-0-1 in their last 10 games and have the 2nd ranked offense and 15th ranked defense in the league. They currently sit 7th in power play (19.7%) and 9th in penalty kill (81.5%).
Steel Top Scorers: Jack Dugan (22-29-51 in 46 GP), Blake McLaughlin (20-25-45 in 46 GP), Graham Lillibridge (4-36-40 in 47 GP)
Steel Plus-Minus Leaders: Graham Lillibridge (+8), Derek Daschke (+8), Jordan Seyfert (+7)
Steel Goaltenders: Oskar Autio (18-16-1-0 in 36 GP, 2.93 GAA, .903 SV%), Justin Robbins (5-7-0-4 in 17 GP, 3.73 GAA, .881 SV%)
2017-18 Results/Schedule vs. Chicago Steel: October 7, 2017, U17s @ Chicago (W, 10-5); November 17, 2017, U17s vs. Chicago (L, 6-2); January 20, 2018, U18s @ Chicago (W, 4-3)
NTDP All-Time Record vs. Chicago Steel: 27-21-7 (W-L-OTL) Home: 14-10-3 Road: 13-11-4
KNOCKING OUT THE ACES: The U17s travel to Bloomington, Illinois to face the Central Illinois Flying Aces. These will be the final two meetings out of eight this season against the Flying Aces. Central Illinois is currently 13-34-2-3 (W-L-OTL-SOL) in USHL play this season and are currently last in the USHL with 31 points in 52 GP.
The Flying Aces are 1-9-0-0 in their last 10 games. They rank 16th in penalty-kill (75.9%) and power play (12.4%). They have the 14th ranked offense (137 GF) and worst defense (215 GA).
In the last meeting between the two clubs (Feb. 24), the U17s defeated the Flying Aces, 7-4. Ryder Rolston (Birmingham, Mich.) scored twice in the victory, and Michael Gildon (Plano, Texas), Erik Middendorf (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Domenick Fensore (Thornwood, N.Y.), Danny Weight (Lattingtown, N.Y.), and Patrick Moynihan (Millis, Mass.) all also tallied a goal.
Flying Aces Top Scorers: Max Andreev (11-25-36 in 49 GP), Calen Kiefiuk (14-20-34 in 52 GP), Jakub Lacka (15-11-26 in 45 GP)
Flying Aces Plus-Minus Leaders: Davis Bunz (+5), Cory Babichuk (+4), Lucas McGregor (+3)
Flying Aces Goaltenders: Ryan Snowden (3-11-1-1 in 18 GP, 3.58 GAA, .894 SV%), Zach Stejskal (5-16-0-1 in 26 GP, 4.53 GAA, .855 SV%)
2016-17 Results/Schedule vs. Central Illinois Flying Aces: November 18, 2017, U18s vs. Central Illinois (W, 5-0); December 9, 2017, U18s vs. Central Illinois (W, 4-2); January 12, 2018, U17s @ Central Illinois (W, 6-5); January 13, 2018, U17s @ Central Illinois (W, 4-2); February 23, 2018, U18s vs. Central Illinois (W, 4-1); February 24, 2018, U17s vs. Central Illinois (W, 7-4)
NTDP All-Time Record vs. Central Illinois Flying Aces: 6-0-0 (W-L-OTL) Home: 4-0-0 Road: 2-0-0
LAST TIME OUT: The U.S. National Under-18 Team hosted the Madison Capitols and swept the weekend series. On Thursday (Mar. 15), the U18s were lead to victory (10-3) by Joel Farabee (Cicero, N.Y.) who posted two goals and two assists for a four-point showing. Cam York (Anaheim Hills, Calif.), Gavin Hain (Grand Rapids, Minn.), Alex Turcotte (Island Lake, Ill.), Cole Caufield (Stevens Point, Wis.), Mattias Samuelsson (Voorhees, N.J.), Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.), Jonathan Gruden (Rochester, Mich.), and Tyler Weiss (Raleigh, N.C.) tallied goals in the win. On Friday night (Mar. 16), the U18s won 6-4 with Jake Wise (Reading, Mass.) recording a natural hat-trick, Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) posting a three-point night with two goals and one assist, and Joel Farabee (Cicero, N.Y.) also tallying a three-point night with one goal and two assists.
The U17s traveled to Waterloo, Iowa for their weekend series against the Waterloo Black Hawks. They lost their first game, 6-1, on Friday night (Mar. 16). Ryder Rolston (Birmingham, Mich.) recorded the lone goal in the loss. On Saturday night (Mar. 17), the U17s lost, 6-4. John Farinacci (Chatham, N.J.) recorded his first goal as a member of the NTDP in the defeat. Drew Helleson (Farmington, Minn.), Erik Middendorf (Scottsdale, Ariz.), and Trevor Zegras (Bedford, N.Y.) also scored in the loss.