MUSKEGON LUMBERJACKS: The game marks the first matchup between the 'Jacks and U17s after the Under-18 Team has played Muskegon previously this year. The two teams will meet six times over the course of the 2021-22 campaign.

The Lumberjacks come into the game sititng in sixth place in the USHL's Eastern Conference, with 13 total points in 15 games played.

Muskegon is led by defenseman Jacob Guevin who has racked up 17 points (2g-15a) on the season. Up front, forwards Quinn Hutson, older brother of U18 defenseman Lane Hutson, and Ben Strinden lead the Lumberjacks with 14 points apiece. Joey Larson leads the team with 10 goals on the season and has 13 total points.

In the cage, Russian netminder Platon Zadorozhny is the lone qualified goaltender for Muskegon and has posted a 3-2-0 record with a 3.73 goals-against average and .881 save percentage. Cameron Korpi, Jan Skorpik and Carson Limesand have all appeared in four games for Muskegon on the season.

ADRIAN BULLDOGS: The Bulldogs were the last domestic team the U18s faced before heading overseas to capture the Five Nations championship in Monthey, Switzerland earlier in the month. The U18s skated to a 4-3 win on November 5 at USA Hockey Arena.

Adrian enters the game on a four-game winning streak, not having lost since that last game against Team USA. The Bulldogs swept Marian University by a combined 11-5 final over two games played in Wisconsin and then followed that up with a pair of 3-2 wins in a home-and-home set with Trine University last weekend.

Adrian is led by junior forward Hunter Wendt, who has potted four goals and added three assists for seven total points on the season. Toronto native Alessio Luciani has matched Wendt's seven points to tie for the team lead with a goal and six helpers on the season.

Adrian runs three goalies through its rotation with Cameron Gray, Nic Tallarico and Dershahn Stewart all receiving time in net on the young season. Stewart leads the trio with a .921 save percentage while Gray's 2.33 goals against average is the best mark of the group.

The Bulldogs and Team USA are quite familiar with each other with 17 all-time meetings dating back to 2008, including four games over the course of the 2020-21 season. Adrian won the first game before the U18s came back to win the next three by a combined score of 27-7. After Nov. 5's 4-3 Team USA win, this will be the final meeting between the two squads for this season. 

BUFFALO STATE BENGALS: The Bengals are off to a 3-4 start for the season, but are coming off a big 7-1 win over Potsdam Saturday evening. Buffalo State will also square off with Elmira on Tuesday (Nov. 23) night before heading out to Michigan.

Junior forward Nikita Kozyrev, a native of Estonia, leads the Bengals with 8 points (3g-5a) through the team's first seven games. Joel Frazee leads the team with four goals and has six total points on the season.

Emil Norrman has seen the majority of the time in net for the Bengals, starting five of the seven games thus far. He comes into the week with a 2-3-0 record with a 2.82 GAA and .911 save percentage.

GREEN BAY GAMBLERS: The Gamblers have two skaters well out in front of the rest of the team in terms of points. Defenseman Damien Carfagna has picked up 15 total points (2g-13a) through 13 games of action.

He is closely followed by forward Jackson Hallum, who has netted 10 goals and added four helpers for 14 points on the year. Hallum suited up with the Under-18 Team for their game at Michigan Tech in mid-October. 

In net, Aaron Randazzo has had an impressive start to the season, getting out to just a 4-4-0-1 record in 11 games, but backed by a 2.92 goals-against average and .913 save percentage, which ranks seventh among qualified goalies in the USHL. 

CHICAGO STEEL: Chicago has four skaters who have already eclipsed the 20-point mark and all rank in the top-5 in the USHL in scoring. Jackson Blake leads all USHL skaters with 26 points (9g-17a) on the season. He is followed by Adam Fantilli with 24 points (14g-10a), while Sam Lipkin (10g-11a) and Joe Miller (6g-15a) each have 21 total points.

In the net, NTDP alum Gibson Homer has taken over the lion's share of the playing time and has posted a 6-1-4 with a 2.87 GAA and .912 SV%. He's backed up by Nicholas Haas who has a mighty 7-1-0 record in eight games.

This matchup will be the final between the U18s and Steel for the 2021-22 season.