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Dubuque Visits Plymouth as U17s Head to Slovakia

By Becky Olsen, 12/15/15, 8:00AM EST

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U17 Squad Begins the Four Nations Tournament this Weekend

The U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams will both be in action this week. The U18s have a two-game United States Hockey League home stand while the U17s head to Slovakia to play in the Four Nations Tournament.

DUBUQUE COMES TO TOWN: The U18s host the Dubuque Fighting Saints on Friday and Saturday at USA Hockey Arena. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. both nights. Dubuque is second in the USHL Eastern Division standings.

The U18s ran their winning streak to eight games over the weekend, posting back-to-back road victories at Princeton University on Saturday and Neumann University on Sunday.

In the 4-1 win at Princeton, Kieffer Bellows (Edina, Minn.) scored twice and Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) kicked out 18 shots. Trent Frederic (St. Louis, Mo.) and Keenan Suthers (Macomb, Mich.) also tallied goals.

Bellows again scored twice in the 9-1 win against Neumann, while R.J. Murphy (Needham, Mass.), Nick Pastujov (Bradenton, Fla.), Will Lockwood (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Patrick Khodorenko (Walnut Creek, Calif.), J.D. Greenway (Potsdam, N.Y.), James Sanchez (Northbrook, Ill.) and Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill.) also scored. Goalie Joseph Woll (St. Louis, Mo.) kicked out 30 of 31 shots to earn the win.

FOUR NATIONS: The U17s head across the pond for their second international tournament of the season. They’ll face Russia, Switzerland and host Slovakia at the Four Nations Tournament in Púchov.

After a pre-tournament contest against Slovakia on Wednesday, the U.S. opens tournament play against Russia on Friday, plays Slovakia again on Saturday and ends with Switzerland on Sunday.

“We had a good week of practice and our players are ready to go,” U17 coach Don Granato said. “We will need to work hard and play a full 60 minutes in each game in order to have success. I think our players learned some lessons at the first international tournament that we will be able to use in each game.”

Upcoming Games

Notebook

  • Seventeen players with NTDP ties were selected to the USA Hockey selection camp for the 2016 World Junior Championship. The camp will be held this week at Agganis Arena in Boston.
    Current NTDP players include defenseman Chad Krys (Ridgefield, Conn.) along with forwards Kieffer Bellows and Clayton Keller. Other attendees include goalie Luke Opilka (St. Louis, Mo./2013-14); defensemen Louie Belpedio (Skokie, Ill./2012-14), Ryan Collins (Bloomington, Minn./2012-14), Casey Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass./2013-15), Brandon Fortunato (North Hills, N.Y./2012-14), Charlie McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y./2013-15), and Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe, Mich./2013-14); along with forwards Anders Bjork (Mequon, Wis./2012-14), Ryan Hitchcock (Manhasset, N.Y./2012-14), Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz./2013-15), Ryan MacInnis (St. Louis, Mo./2012-13), Sonny Milano (Massapequa, N.Y./2014-14), Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo./2013-15) and Colin White (Hanover, Mass./2013-15).
  • The Los Angeles Kings called up former NTDP forward Michael Mersch (Park Ridge, Ill./2008-10) on Dec. 10, and he made his NHL debut the next day against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mersch finished with two shots on goal in 11:01. Former NTDP players Jamie McBain (Faribault, Minn./2004-06), Nick Shore (Denver, Colo./2008-10) and Derek Forbort (Duluth, Minn./2009-10) also play for the Kings.
  • Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./2004-06) ran his point streak to 26 games on Sunday with an assist in the first period. It marks the longest point streak in the NHL since 1992-93. In this span, Kane has 16 goals and 24 assists.
  • Former NTDP netminder Hunter Miska (North Branch, Minn./2011-13) currently plays for the Dubuque Fighting Saints.
  • Defenseman Trevor Hamilton (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./2011-13) was selected as the USHL Defenseman of the Week on Dec. 7. He tallied one goal and added five assists in Muskegon’s two-game split the previous week.
  • University of Wisconsin forward Ryan Wagner (Park Ridge, Ill./2013-14) was selected as the Big Ten Conference Third Star on Dec. 8. He scored two goals and recorded five points in a loss and a shootout loss at the University of Michigan.
  • University of Connecticut forward Tage Thompson (Oyster Bay, N.Y./2014-15) earned Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors on Dec. 7. He recorded three power-play goals in two games, including both game winners in a sweep of No. 5 UMass Lowell.
  • The U18s bring a 22-4-1 (W-L-T) mark into this weekend’s play.
  • The U18s are led by Clayton Keller (17-38), who has 55 points in 27 contests. Kieffer Bellows (24-16) is second with 40 points, while Adam Fox (Jericho, N.Y./3-23) sits third with 26 points. Joey Anderson (Roseville, Minn./10-12) is fourth with 22 points. Trent Frederic (11-7) and Will Lockwood (10-8) round out the top six with 18 points each.
  • Goalies Jake Oettinger and Joseph Woll split time for the U18s. Oettinger is 13-3 with a 2.25 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. Woll is 9-1-1 with a 1.67 GAA and a .935 save percentage.
  • The U17s carry an 8-11-4 (W-L-OTL) overall mark into international play.
  • Heading into the Four Nations Tournament, Scott Reedy (Prior Lake, Minn./10-14) leads the U17s with 24 points. Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa./7-12) is second with 19 points, while Josh Norris (Oxford, Mich./8-9) ranks third with 17 points. Grant Mismash (Edina, Minn./7-8) is fourth with 15 points. Brady Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo./5-8) and Quinn Hughes (Orlando, Fla./2-11) round out the top six with 13 points each.
  • In goal for the U17s, Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) and Adam Scheel (Lakewood, Ohio) split time. St. Cyr is 4-8-2 with a 3.53 GAA and an .886 save percentage. Scheel is 4-3-2 with a 4.41 GAA and an .879 save percentage.

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Tag(s): News Archive  NTDP & Opponents  Under-18 Team  Under-17 Team  NTDP/Arena News 

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