Both the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams will be action this week against United States Hockey League opponents. The U18s have a pair of home games while the U17s hit the road for two contests in Iowa.

FINAL HOMESTAND: The U18s close out the regular season by hosting the Chicago Steel at 7 p.m. ET Friday and the Muskegon Lumberjacks at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Both games are at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

“There is a bit of finality to this weekend as we are in the final stretch before we head to the world championship,” said head coach Don Granato, whose squad is 8-2 in its last 10 games. “We had so much going on the last two years that -- it's surreal to start thinking about that final home game. It’s a huge two-year commitment, but the players know much the time and the team means to them.

“We want to work on improving on each and every shift. We will be looking for a full 60-minutes of play in both games this weekend”

The U18s swept a pair of road games this past weekend at Lincoln, winning 11-3 on Friday and 8-0 on Saturday.

Jeremy Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.), Christian Fischer (Wayne, Ill.) and Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.) paced the offensive attack with two goals each in the game one victory. Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.), Jordan Greenway (Potsdam, N.Y.), Tage Thompson (Oyster Bay, N.Y.), Colin White (Hanover, Mass.) and Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill.) had single tallies. In goal, Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) kicked out 14 of 17 shots to earn the win.

In game two, Luke Opilka (St. Louis, Mo.) stopped all 32 shots to earn the shutout. Troy Terry (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Jack Roslovic (Columbus, Ohio), Chad Krys (Ridgefield, Conn.), Fischer, Keller, Matthews, Tkachuk and White provided the offense.

IOWA BOUND: The U17s head back out on the road this week for a two-game set with the Sioux City Musketeers on Friday and Saturday. Game time is set for 8:05 p.m. ET each night at the Tyson Events Center.  

The U17s dropped a pair of one-goal games on the road this weekend, falling 3-2 at Dubuque on Friday and 2-1 at Bloomington on Saturday.

Patrick Khodorenko (Walnut Creek, Calif.) and Keeghan Howdeshell (Brighton, Mich.) scored the goals while Joseph Woll (Dardenne Prairie, Mo.) kicked out 34 of 37 shots between the pipes against Dubuque. Joey Anderson (Roseville, Minn.) scored the lone goal and Michael Lackey (Washington, D.C.) finished with 23 stops against Bloomington.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: Several U18 players are climbing the NTDP record book:

• With 90 points this season, Auston Matthews sits third on the single-season points chart. Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) holds the record with 102 points in 2005-06.
• Matthews’ 42 goals place him sixth on the single-season chart. Kane (2005-06) and Phil Kessel (Madison, Wis./2003-04 and 2004-05) share the single-season mark with 52.
• With 48 assists, Matthews is sixth on the single-season chart while Jeremy Bracco has 47 helpers to place seventh. Bracco and Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y.) share the single-season mark with 58, set in 2013-14.
• Luke Opilka has 24 victories in net, which ties him for seventh with John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./2010-11). Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif.) holds the single-season mark with 32 wins in 2012-13.

Tickets for home games played at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube are $7 for adults and $5 for children, seniors and active military members. Youth hockey players wearing their team jerseys are admitted for $1 and group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling the National Team Development Program at (734) 327-9251.

• Former NTDP netminder Collin Olson (Apple Valley, Minn./2010-12) plays for Sioux City, while defenseman Trevor Hamilton (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./2011-13) plays for Muskegon.

• Boston University freshman forward Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass./2012-14) earned Hockey East Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors on March 19. It is the first time both awards have gone to the same player since the 1992-93 season, when the University of Maine's Paul Kariya took home the honors, and just the third time one skater has won the top accolades in league history (Brian Leetch/Boston College/1986-87).

• In addition, Boston University coach David Quinn, who coached at the NTDP from 2002-04, was voted Hockey East Coach of the Year by his peers.

• Several former NTDP players earned all-conference honors from the Hockey East Conference. Earning first-team honors were Matthew Grzelcyk (Charlestown, Mass./2010-12/Boston University), Robbie Russo (Westmont, Ill./2009-11/Notre Dame) and Eichel. Defensemen Noah Hanifin (Norwood, Mass./2003-14/Boston College) and Michael Paliotta (Westport, Conn./2009-11/Vermont) were second-team honorees. Thatcher Demko (Boston College), Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass./2011-13/New Hampshire) and Alex Tuch (Baldwinsville, N.Y./2012-14/Boston College) picked up honorable mention status.

• Several former NTDP players earned honors from the Big Ten Conference. The University of Michigan’s Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich./2012-14) was selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and also earned first-team honors and a spot on the All-Freshman team. Michigan defenseman Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe, Mich./2013-14) also received first-team honors and was selected to the All-Freshman team.
  Michigan forward Andrew Copp (Ann Arbor, Mich./2012-14) and University of Minnesota forward Travis Boyd (Hopkins, Minn./2009-11) received second-team honors. Meanwhile, Minnesota blueliner Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn./2010-12) was an honorable mention selection.

• Cornell University forward Cole Bardreau (Fairport, N.Y./2009-11) took home a pair of awards from the ECAC hockey on March 20. He earned ECAC Best Defensive Forward Award and also earned ECAC third-team honors.

• University of North Dakota defenseman Nick Mattson (Chanhassen, Minn./2007-09) was named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year on March 19. Mattson, who is a management major with a 3.9 GPA, was named to the Academic All-America Third Team last year and received the NCAA Elite 89 award for having the highest GPA of any participant at the 2014 Frozen Four.

• Former NTDP forward Hudson Fasching (Burnsville, Minn./2011-13) was selected as the Big Ten First Star on March 18. Fasching registered three goals and six points in a sweep of Penn State as Minnesota won its second consecutive Big Ten Championship.

• Team USA has combined for a 23-27-2 (W-L-OTL) mark in USHL play this season.

• The U18s carry a 40-11-2-2 (W-L-OTL-T) mark into this week’s action.

• The U18s are paced by Auston Matthews (42-48), who has accumulated 90 points in 49 contests. Matthew Tkachuk (34-43) is second with 77 points while Jeremy Bracco (26-47) is third with 73 points. Jack Roslovic (19-45) and Christian Fischer (27-25) round out the top five with 64 and 52 points, respectively.

• In goal for the U18s, Michael Lackey and Luke Opilka have shared time. Opilka is 24-5-1-0 (W-L-OTL-T) with a 2.74 goals-against average and an .887 save percentage while Lackey is 14-6-1-2 with a 2.86 GAA and an .882 save percentage. In two starts with the U18s, Jake Oettinger is 2-0 with a 2.50 GAA and an .891 save percentage.

• The U17s carry an 18-29-2 (W-L-OTL) mark into this week’s action. Six of the last seven losses have been by one goal.

• The U17s are paced by Clayton Keller (25-34) with 59 points. Joey Anderson (19-18) ranks second with 37 points while Chad Krys (3-26) is third with 29 points. Nick Pastujov (Bradenton, Fla./13-15) sits fourth with 28 points. There is a three-way tie for fifth with 25 points: Max Jones (Rochester, Mich./17-8), Adam Fox (Jericho, N.Y./4-21) and Patrick Khodorenko (7-18).

• In goal for the U17s, Joseph Woll and Jake Oettinger have shared duties. Woll is 9-16-0 with a 3.36 GAA and an .888 save percentage while Oettinger is 9-12-2 with a 2.62 GAA and a .914 save percentage.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.