MUSKEGON LUMBERJACKS: Muskegon currently sits in fourth place in the USHL's Eastern Conference with 23 total points in 21 games played. 

The 'Jacks are led by forward Quinn Hutson, who has recorded a team-high 25 points with 11goals and 14 helpers on the season. Joey Larson leads the team with 15 goals on the season, while Phillip Trescas has also hit double digits and added 10 scores. Defenseman Jacob Guevin is second amongst all USHL blueliners with 22 points (2g-20a) on the 2021-22 campaign. 

Simon Latkoczy is the lone qualified goaltender for Muskegon and he has appeared in 17 of the first 21 contests. The Slovakian netminder has posted an impressive 11-5-1-0 record with a 3.21 goals-against average and .892 save percentage for the 'Jacks.

The meeting will be the fifth of the season between Muskegon and Team USA, the second matchup with the Under-17 Team. In their only previous game, the Lumberjacks posted a 5-0 win over the U17s at USA Hockey Arena on November 24. There will be eight more games played between the NTDP and 'Jacks after this weekend, as soon as next week's Kid's Day game at USA Hockey Arena when the U18s host  Muskegon for a 10:30 a.m. start on Wednesday, December 15.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS: Their first test comes Saturday afternoon at the hands of the Boston University Terriers, coming off a Friday night game against rival Boston College.

The Terriers roster boasts nine NTDP alums in defensemen Case McCarthy, Ty Gallagher, Alex Vlasic and Domenick Fensore, forwards Logan Cockerill, Luke Tuch, Dylan Peterson and Tyler Boucher and goaltender Drew Commesso. Cockerill is the captain of this year's Terriers team while Commesso and Peterson have been invited to Team USA's World Junior Camp next week.

BU has gotten off to a tough 6-9-2 record to start the season, 5-5-2 in Hockey East play, but picked up a pair of wins last weekend with a sweep of New Hampshire, collecting 3-1 and 2-1 wins in the home-and-home set. 

Five Terriers skaters have hit the double-digit mark in points this season with Wilmer Skoog (6g-7a-13pts) and Domenick Fensore (2g-11a-13pts) leading the charge. Following them is Peterson (6g-6a) with 12 points and Robert Mastrosimone (5g-6a) and Case McCarthy (5g-6a) with 11 points apiece for BU. McCarthy was recently named the Hockey East Defender of the Month for November after leading all league defensemen with a quartet of goals in seven games. 

In the cage, Commesso has gotten the lion's share of playing time, starting 16 of 17 games for Boston U. The Norwell, Massachusetts, native has played to a 6-7-2 record, 2.82 GAA and .900 SV%, but has really picked up the play of late, stopping 57 of 59 shots he faced against the Wildcats.

This will be the 11th all-time meeting between BU and Team USA, and the Terriers own an 8-1-1 record overall. The NTDP's lone win came back in 2015, skating to a 7-4 victory over the Terriers. 

MERRIMACK COLLEGE WARRIORS: The Warriors sit in eighth place in Hockey East with a 6-8-0 overall record. They last played back on November 27, a 3-2 loss to Union, after last week's series with UConn was postponed.

The Warriors are led by senior forward Max Newton who has picked up 15 points (7g-8a) in 14 games. Filip Forsmark and Ben Brar have also pitched in six goals apiece for Merrimack.

MC has split its goaltenders thus far, with Zachary Borgiel taking nine games with a 4-4-0-1 record and Hugo Ollas has started the other five with a 2-3-0 record.

The two sides have split two previous meetings, the last one coming back in December 2012 that Team USA took by a 3-1 final.