LAST TIME OUT: Last Sunday, the U18s faced the Youngstown Phantoms for the first time this season, skating to a  5-2 win with goals courtesy of five different   players. 

On Monday, the U18s faced the Johnstown Tomahawks of the NAHL, skating to a  5-4 win to earn their fifth win in six games. 

The U17s lost a trio of games against USHL opponents, first suffering their first series sweep at the hands  of the Green Bay Gamblers in a Wednesday-Thursday series, before falling to the Muskegon Lumberjacks, 4-3,  at USA  Hockey Arena Saturday. 

ALL WILLY NILLY: Under-18 forward Jeremy Wilmer (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) comes into the weekend as one of the hottest skaters on the team. The Boston University commit recorded a three-point performance Monday afternoon in Johnstown and he now has eight points (4g-4a) over his last six games played. Wilmer’s 18 points on the year puts him in a tie for second-most on the U18s.

D = O: The U18 defensemen have taken a bigger role in producing offense over the past two games, scoring six of the team’s 10 goals. Aidran Hreschuk (Long Beach, Calif.) and Luke Hughes (Canton, Mich.) produced goals in each of the two games, while Sean Behrens (Barrington, Ill.) and Ty Gallagher (Clarkston, Mich.) added a goal apiece from the blueline. Behrens’ tally was the game-winner Monday afternoon as he broke a 4-4 tie with 2:07 remaining in regulation.

HERSHEY PARK: Under-18 defenseman Aidan Hreschuk has found his name on the scoresheet often as of late. The 5-foot-11 d-man recorded the game-winning goal Sunday afternoon in Youngstown with a wrist-shot from the left point while adding an assist on the first goal of the game. He scored in back-to-back games when he notched the team’s fourth goal in the third period of Monday’s win in Johnstown. 

The future Boston College Eagle now has 11 points on the season, good for second among the team’s defensemen, and has five points over his last four games.

POWER HOWARD: Isaac Howard (Hudson, Wis.) has been stellar in the offensive zone this season, leading the U17s in scoring with 17 goals, 16 assists and 33 points in 17 contests. The 5-11 forward  takes a 16-game point streak into this weekend's games, having not missed the scoresheet since Oct. 3. 

FRANK THE TANK: Frank Nazar III (Mount Clemens, Mich.) notched a goal and three assists in last week's trio of USHL contests. The Mount Clemens, Michigan native has recorded 13 points in the last eight games, which has included four multi-point performances.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE: As fans begin to return to USA Hockey Arena, Team USA has found its stride at home. The U18s are 4-1-0-0 at home while the U17s are 5-1-0-0 in six games. Team USA will host a total of 10 games in Plymouth during the month of January where they will look to continue the team success.

TERRIFIC 23: Twenty members of the 2020-21 U.S. National Under-18 Team and three former NTDP players were named to the National Hockey League Central Scouting's first rankings ahead of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. All 20 age-eligible U18 skaters for the draft were rated on the opening list.

AS GOOD AS GOLD: Fifteen NTDP  alumni became the latest skaters from the program to win an IIHF World Junior Championship after Team USA shut out Canada, 2-0, in the gold-medal game of the 2021 tournament in Edmonton, Alberta on Jan. 5. Forwards Alex Turcotte  and Trevor Zegras scored goals en route to the U.S. victory, and Spencer Knight stopped all 34 shots he faced to blank our neighbors to the  north.  

In addition, Zegras was named the MVP after leading the tournament in scoring with 18 points in seven games, good for second-most points by an American player in tournament history.