The U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams will break for the holidays before returning to action next week.
THREE IN SIX: The U18s have three games in six days starting Dec. 29 against United States Hockey League’s Chicago Steel. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. at USA Hockey Arena. The squad then heads to Minnesota to play the University of Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 2 and St. Cloud State University on Jan. 3.
The U18s are coming off a pair of losses to Dubuque, falling 4-3 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday.
Ryan Lindgren (Minneapolis, Minn.) tallied a pair of goals while Nick Pastujov (Bradenton, Fla.) scored once on Friday. Goalie Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) finished with 31 stops.
Joey Anderson (Roseville, Minn.) potted the lone goal on Saturday while Joseph Woll (St. Louis, Mo.) finished with 27 stops.
FOUR NATIONS AND BEYOND: Following a third-place finish at the Four Nations Tournament, the U17s break for the holidays before returning to play three USHL contests. The U17s host the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Dec. 30 at USA Hockey Arena. The squad then heads on the road for a two-game series at Dubuque on Jan. 1-2.
The U17s finished with a 1-1-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record at the Four Nations Tournament in in Púchov, Slovakia.
Team USA opened with a 5-4 overtime win against Russia on Friday. Jacob Tortora (Victor, N.Y.) scored the winner while Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) finished with 28 saves. Josh Norris (Oxford, Mich.) scored two goals to pace the offense while Grant Mismash (Edina, Minn.) and Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) had single tallies.
The U17s then dropped a 5-4 decision to Slovakia on Saturday. Barratt led the offense with two goals while Sean Dhooghe (Aurora, Ill.) and Scott Reedy (Prior Lake, Minn.) each scored. Adam Scheel (Lakewood, Ohio) and St. Cyr combined for 30 saves.
Tortora had a hat trick to lead the U17s to a 10-1 win over Switzerland in the final game on Sunday. Joey Cassetti (Pleasanton, Calif.), Brady Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.), Graham Slaggert (South Bend, Ind.), Randy Hernandez (Miami, Fla.), Brannon McManus (Newport Beach, Calif.), Dhooghe and Mismash also scored in the win. St. Cyr finished with 17 saves.
The U17s beat Slovakia 8-3 in an exhibition match on Dec. 16.
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Notebook
- Two former National Team Development Program players made their National Hockey League debuts last week.
Defenseman Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn./2010-12) debuted for the New York Rangers on Dec. 15. He was on the ice for 14:54 and had one shot on goal against the Edmonton Oilers.
Forward Michael McCarron (Macomb, Mich./2011-13) made his debut for the Montreal Canadians on Dec. 19. He finished with two shots on goal in 12:10 of total ice in a 6-2 loss at Dallas. - Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./2004-06) is the only U.S.-born player to score 20 or more goals in each of his first nine seasons in the NHL. Kane leads the NHL in both point (50) and assists (29), and ranks second in goals (21).
- Yale University forward John Hayden (Greenwich, Conn./2011-13) was named the ECAC Player of the Week on Dec. 15. Hayden tallied two goals, including the game winner, in Yale’s win over Boston University on Dec. 11.
- University of Minnesota forward Hudson Fasching (Burnsville, Minn./2011-13) earned Big Ten Conference Third Star Honors on Dec. 15. Fasching tallied three goals in a split at the University of Michigan.
- The U18s carry a 22-6-1 (W-L-T) mark into their next contest. They are 7-1-1 record against college teams.
- Clayton Keller (17-38) paces the U18s with 55 points while Kieffer Bellows (Edina, Minn./24-17) is second with 41 points. Adam Fox (Jericho, N.Y./3-25) ranks third with 28 points. Joey Anderson (11-12) is fourth with 23 points. Trent Frederic (St. Louis, Mo./11-7) and Will Lockwood (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./10-8) round out the top six with 18 points each.
- Jake Oettinger and Joseph Woll split time in net for the U18s. Oettinger is 13-4 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. Woll is 9-2-1 with a 1.95 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
- The U17s have an 11-12-4 (W-L-OTL) overall record.
- The U17s are paced by Scott Reedy (11-18), who has 29 points in 27 games. Evan Barratt (10-16) is second with 26 points while Josh Norris (11-12) ranks third with 23 points. Grant Mismash (10-10) is fourth with 20 points. Rounding out the top-six scorers are Jacob Tortora (11-7) and Brady Tkachuk (6-12), who have each tallied 18 points.
- In goal, Dylan St. Cyr and Adam Scheel split time for the U17s. St. Cyr is 6-9-2 with a 3.37 GAA and an .889 save percentage. Scheel is 5-3-2 with a 4.45 GAA and an .874 save percentage.
NTDP in the News
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Kieffer Bellows is looking to make his own name in NHL.
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Calm aura helps Ducks’ John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./2009-11) battle for No. 1 goaltending job.
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Speaking of the Ducks, Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich./2007-09), a six-year veteran at 24, is a bright spot on Anaheim’s defense.
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Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif./2012-13) overcame pain and tragedy to become one of hockey’s top goalie prospects.
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College is over but Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass./2012-14) is still getting schooled.
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Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich./2012-14) credits the NTDP for his quick rise.
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.