For a second straight week, the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams will go on the road to play United States Hockey League series. The U18s play two games at the Lincoln Stars while the U17s face the Dubuque Fighting Saints and Bloomington Thunder. Team USA has combined for a 21-25-2 (W-L-OTL) mark in USHL play this season.

THROUGH THE "I" STATES: The U17s continue their road trip with a two-game set through Iowa in Illinois. Team USA plays the Fighting Saints Friday before facing the Thunder on Saturday.

“In some ways, it clarifies to the coaches and players what we need to work on,” said head coach Danton Cole, whose team has lost by one goal in four of its past five defeats. “We need to get a little better defensively and a little better offensively. It keeps the guys wanting to work hard.

“We have played pretty well and have been in games with chances to win. That is a positive. Overall, we are getting better each week.”

The U17s dropped a pair of one-goal games at Fargo this past weekend, falling 3-2 on Friday and 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday.

Ryan Lindgren (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Patrick Khodorenko (Walnut Creek, Calif.) tallied the goals on Friday. Joseph Woll (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) kicked out 30-of-33 shots between the pipes.

On Saturday, Joey Anderson (Roseville, Minn.), Luke Martin (St. Louis, Mo.) and Lindgren scored while goalie Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) stopped 30 of 33 shots.

SEEING STARS: The U18s travel to Lincoln to face the Stars on Friday and Saturday.

“The focus really for us is playing as a team this week,” head coach Don Granato said. “We want to have that focus from shift to shift and from each period to period and game by game. This is an important aspect for us as we continue to move forward and close out the USHL season.”

The U18s split a pair of games over the weekend, beating Bloomington 6-2 on Friday before falling at Chicago 5-4 in overtime on Saturday.

Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill.) and Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) each tallied two goals to pace the offensive attack against Bloomington, while Jack Roslovic (Columbus, Ohio) and Christian Fischer (Wayne, Ill.) each scored once. Luke Opilka (St. Louis, Mo.) earned the start in net and finished with 13 stops.

Against Chicago, Jeremy Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.), Keller, Roslovic and Tkachuk tallied the goals. Michael Lackey (Washington, D.C.) and Opilka combined for 26 stops.

• The National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp will take place March 20-24 at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. Fifty of the top American hockey players born in 1999 have been invited to the camp.
  NTDP alumni Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich./2004-05) and Freddy Meyer (Sanbornville, N.H./1997-2000) will serve as coaches at the camp. Current NTDP intern assistant coaches J.D. Forrest (Auburn, N.Y./1997-2000) and Tyler Walsh will also work behind the benches.

• Two former NTDP forwards, Frankie Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass./2010-12) and Cole Bardreau (Fairport, N.Y./2009-11), have signed NHL contracts.
  Vatrano inked a deal with the Boston Bruins after playing for the University of Massachusetts, where he tallied 18 goals and recorded 28 points in 36 contests.
  Bardreau signed with the Philadelphia Flyers. In four years at Cornell University, he scored 18 goals and registered 53 points in 103 career games. He was a member of the U.S. team that captured the gold medal at the 2013 World Junior Championship.

• Former NTDP and current Michigan Tech forward Blake Pietila (Brighton, Mich./2009-11) earned All-WCHA Third Team Honors. Pietila registered 10 goals and 21 points in conference play.

• Miami University senior Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich./2008-10) was named to the NCHC All-Second Team. Czarnik collected an NCHC-best 22 assists in 24 NCHC games and 26 total points.

• Miami defenseman Louie Belpedio (Skokie, Ill./2012-14) earned NCHC All-Rookie Team honors. He tied for the points lead among rookie defenseman with seven.

• The U18s carry a 38-11-2-2 (W-L-OTL-T) mark into this week’s action.

• Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz./39-44) leads the U18s with 83 points in 45 games. Matthew Tkachuk (32-40) is second with 72 points while Jeremy Bracco (23-44) is third with 67 points. Jack Roslovic (18-41) and Christian Fischer (24-23) round out the top five with 59 and 47 points, respectively.

• In goal for the U18s, Michael Lackey and Luke Opilka split time. Opilka is 23-5-1-0 with a 2.88 goals-against average and an .882 save percentage while Lackey is 14-6-1-2 with a 2.86 GAA and an .887 save percentage.

• The U17s carry an 18-27-2 (W-L-OTL) mark into this week.

• Clayton Keller (25-34) paces the U17s with 59 points. Joey Anderson (18-18) ranks second with 36 points while Chad Krys (Ridgefield, Conn./3-26) is third with 29 points. Nick Pastujov (Bradenton, Fla./13-15) sits fourth with 28 points. Max Jones (Rochester, Mich./17-8) and Adam Fox (Jericho, N.Y./4-21) are tied for fifth with 25 points apiece.

• In goal for the U17s, Joseph Woll and Jake Oettinger share duties. Woll is 9-15-0 with a 3.37 GAA and an .887 save percentage while Oettinger is 9-12-2 with a 2.62 GAA and a .914 save percentage.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.