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Photo by Rena Laverty
The U18s play a single game against the Youngstown Phantoms on Friday before returning home to USA Hockey Arena for another NCAA matchup with visiting Princeton University.
PLAYING THE PHANTOMS: The U.S. National Under-18 Team will face Youngstown for the third time this season. Their first meeting came as a preseason matchup at the Fall Classic East in Pittsburgh where Team USA fell to the Phantoms, 4-3. In the U18s USHL regular season opener, they captured a 5-3 victory over the Phantoms. Nine U.S. players recorded points, including three multi-point performances. Josh Norris (Oxford, Mich.) and Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) each had a goal and assist in the game while Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) made 23 saves en route to picking up his first USHL victory of the season.
The Phantoms are coming off a pair of losses to the Dubuque Fighting Saints last weekend. Alex Esposito leads the Phantoms in scoring with seven goals and five assists through nine games played. They are lead in goal by Ivan Kulbakov who has earned a record of 4-1-0 in five appearances while recording a 1.80 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage.
TACKLING THE TIGERS: The U.S. National Under-18 Team's matchup with Princeton University on Saturday night will be the fifth all-time meeting. The U18s are 2-2 all-time against the Tiger. Their last matchup came last season when Clayton Keller tallied twice and Trent Frederic and Keenan Suthers added goals in a 4-1 victory on Dec. 12 at Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton, N.J. Jake Oettinger made 18 saves in the win for Team USA. The two teams first played on Oct. 26, 2002 when the Tigers earned a 3-1 victory over Team USA. The U18s have outscored the Tigers, 12-11, all-time in the series.
The Tigers have yet to play a game this season, but will square off with Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan on Friday night before making the trip to USA Hockey Arena on Saturday. Last season the Tigers were 5-23-3 overall and 3-16-3 in ECAC play. Max Veronneau, the Tigers leading goal scorer from a year ago, returns to lead the Tigers offense. Senior goaltender Colton Phinney, who appeared in 30 games for the Tigers last year, returns as the starting goaltender.
USHL COMPETITION: The NTDP plays a full United States Hockey League season, split between the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams. The records for both teams are combined into one in USHL standings. At this point, the U18s are 1-0-1 in the USHL while the U17s are 1-5-0, good for eighth in the Eastern Conference.
NTDP/PRINCETON PLAYER HISTORY: Prior to the 2016-17 season, the National Team Development Program had sent one player on to the Princeton University. Matt Maglione, who played for the NTDP from 1999-2000 appeared in 115 games for the Tigers from 2000-2004 and registered 15 goals and 46 points in his collegiate career. At this time, no current NTDP player has committed to Princeton University.
NCAA OPPONENTS: The U.S. National Under-18 Team will skate in 17 NCAA games this season, including 12 tilts with Division I squads. This weekend concludes a challenging seven-game schedule in October alone, which included five teams ranked in the most recent USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll.
Team USA picked up their first victory against an NCAA opponent last Saturday night when Michael Pastujov (Bradenton, Fla.) scored with 32 seconds remaining in regulation to break a 1-1 tie with the second-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. Brady Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) scored a short-handed goal in the second period to tie the game. Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) made 32 saves en route to picking up his third win of the season.
Prior to their win over the Bulldogs, Team USA traveled to Madison to take on the University of Wisconsin at the Kohl Center on Friday night. Despite a late comeback attempt, the U18s lost 4-3. Jacob Tortora (Victor, N.Y.) tallied two goals in the game while Tommy Miller (West Bloomfield, Mich.) added two assists. Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.) made 24 saves on 28 shots.
Prior to their matchup with the Badgers, the U18s traveled to Maricucci Arena to take on the University of Minnesota on Friday, Oct. 14. They fell to the eighth-ranked Golden Gophers, 9-0. Other games this month included a 5-2 loss to Harvard University (Oct. 8), a 8-2 loss to second-ranked Boston University (Oct. 6) and a 5-1 loss to the University of Notre Dame.
Princeton is one of two teams that will skate against the Under-18 Team at USA Hockey Arena. Arizona State University will visit for a pair of matchups on Feb. 24 and 25.
FIVE NATIONS COMING TO USA HOCKEY ARENA: The 2016 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament will feature some of the top under-18 hockey players in the world and will be hosted by USA Hockey from Nov. 1-5 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. The tournament includes the U.S. National Under-18 Team, as well as teams from the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
Each team will compete in four games, with points awarded for wins (3), overtime wins (2) and overtime losses (1). The first-place team will be determined based on final point standings.
Many ticket packages are available by calling 734.453.6400 or visiting the tournament website.
WORLD UNDER-17 HOCKEY CHALLENGE: The U.S. National Under-17 team will travel to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario this week and next week to compete in the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. This is the first international competition for this group as they will take on three different Canadian teams (Canada Red, Canada White and Canada Black), as well as teams from Finland, Russia, and Sweden.
The U.S. roster includes 20 full-time members of the 2016-17 U.S. National Under-17 Team, part of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program based in Plymouth, Michigan, and two players from the Lincoln Stars and Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League, respectively.
The U.S. has played in five of the last seven title matches in this event, and has earned first place four times (2001, 2002, 2010, January 2014). Team USA had nine consecutive top-three finishes, stretching from 2006-14 (no event was held in 2007).
Under-18
Friday @ Youngstown Phantoms
Puck Drop: 7:05 p.m.
Stream: HockeyTv.com
Saturday vs. Princeton University
Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m.
Stream: HockeyTv.com