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U18s Entertain the Green Bay Gamblers this Weekend

By Becky Olsen, 01/26/16, 8:00AM EST

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Saturday is Star Wars Night to Help Benefit Mott Children's Hospital

The U.S. National Under-18 Team will play two United States Hockey League games at home this week while, the U.S. National Under-17 Team has a bye week. 

Home Sweet Home: The U18s return home for a mini-series with the Green Bay Gamblers on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. both nights. 

“I think we learned stuff from our games last weekend,” said U18 head coach Danton Cole. “That is one of the reasons we play NCAA [Division] I teams: they are faster and better. There are areas that we continue to improve. In the third period of the MSU game, I thought we did a good job of getting pucks to the net. We need to play that way each night.”

The U18s dropped a pair of games last week, falling 5-2 at Michigan on Jan. 21 and 3-2 in overtime at Michigan State on Jan. 23.

Against Michigan, Keenan Suthers (Macomb, Mich.) and Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill.) registered the goals. Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) kicked out 32 shots between the pipes.

Keller and Joey Anderson (Roseville, Minn.) tallied goals, about five minutes apart in the third period to pace the offense versus Michigan State. Joseph Woll (St. Louis, Mo.) finished with 27 saves. 

Bye Week: The U17s will enjoy a bye week as the squad begins preparations for the 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament, which runs Feb. 9-13 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.

“This break comes at a good time for our squad,” said U17 head coach Don Granato. “We will get two days of practice, and then our players will have a break and the opportunity to go home and spend time with their families. We expect our players to come back recharged and ready to get to work for the Five Nations.

“It’s been a tough year at times for this squad. Injuries have been an issue but our players continue to work hard, both in practice and in games. It’s a learning process in the U17 season but our players have shown vast improvement since the start of the year.”

The U17s dropped a pair of games at Madison, falling 6-1 on Jan. 22 and 5-4 on Jan. 23. Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) tallied the lone goal while Adam Scheel (Lakewood, Ohio) finished with 28 saves in game one.

In game two, Jacob Tortora (Victory, N.Y.), Scott Reedy (Prior Lake, Minn.), Joey Cassetti (Pleasanton, Calif.) and Grant Mismash (Edina, Minn.) registered the goals. Scheel stopped 31 shots.

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Notebook

  • The Jan. 30 game against Green Bay is “Star Wars Night". Among the festivities planned for Star Wars Night are appearances by characters from the beloved film franchise and extended universe, as well as a ceremonial puck drop. The Under-18 Team will wear specially designed jerseys that will be auctioned off to benefit C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

  • Tickets are on sale for the 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament, which will be held Feb. 9-13 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. The event features the United States along with squads from the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden. For more information, click here.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y./2004-06) was named the National Hockey League First Star of the Week on Jan. 18.  Kane tied for the league lead in points (4-3--7), including recording his first career regular-season hat trick (623 GP) in a 4-1 win over Toronto on Jan. 15.

  • Michigan forward Tyler Motte (St. Clair, Mich./2011-13) was named the Big Ten First Star on Jan. 20. Motte tallied four goals and recorded seven points in the Wolverine’s home-and-home series against Ohio State.

  • There are two familiar names on Green Bay’s roster: defenseman Grant Frederic is the older brother of U18 forward Trent Frederic (St. Louis, Mo.), while forward Jason Dhooghe is the older brother of U17 forward Sean Dhooghe (Aurora, Ill.).

  • The U18s carry a 27-8-3-1 (W-L-OTL-T) mark into this week’s action.

  • Clayton Keller (25-46) continues to pace the U18s with 71 points in 37 games. Kieffer Bellows (Edina, Minn./28-19) ranks second with 47 points while Adam Fox (Jericho, N.Y./7-34) sits third with 41 points. Joey Anderson (16-17) and Trent Frederic (14-14) round out the top five with 33 and 28 points, respectively.

  • Jake Oettinger and Joseph Woll split time in net for the U18s. Oettinger is 16-6 with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. Woll is 11-2-3-1 with a 2.12 GAA and a .921 save percentage.

  • The U17s carry a 13-19-5 (W-L-OTL) overall mark into its bye week.

  • Scott Reedy (15-26) leads the U17s with 41 points in 37 games while Grant Mismash (16-16) is in second with 32 points. Evan Barratt (12-19) ranks third with 31 points. Jacob Tortora (13-11) and Josh Norris (Oxford, Mich./11-12) round out the top five with 24 and 23 points, respectively.

  • In goal, Dylan St. Cyr and Adam Scheel split time between the pipes. St. Cyr is 8-10-2 with a 3.76 GAA and an .877 save percentage. Scheel is 5-9-3 with a 4.42 GAA and an .877 save percentage.

NTDP in the News

  • Find out how a mindset change has helped J.T. Miller (East Palestine, Ohio/2009-11) excel with the Rangers.

  • Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz./2013-15) is earning high marks during 4-game point streak.

  • Find out more about the American Hockey League Rockford IceHogs Jake Dowell’s (Eau Claire, Wis./2001-03) chapter of chance.

  • Read more about how the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane is on pace for a historic season.

  • Find out how a speech impediment does not slow down Pittsburgh’s Bryan Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./2008-10).

  • Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Mich./2012-14) is bringing it for Detroit Red Wings in rookie year.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.