U18 NCAA OPPONENTS: On Friday night, the U.S. National Under-18 Team will meet Michigan for the 17th matchup in the NTDP's 20 year history. 

On Saturday night, the U18s will travel to Adrian College to face its first NCAA DIII opponent this season. Team USA has won each of their last three matchups with the Bulldogs and are 4-3 all-time. They have outscored Adrian 31-22 all-time.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team will skate in 17 NCAA games this season, including 12 tilts with Division I squads. Team USA recently concluded a 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. 

NTDP/MICHIGAN PLAYER HISTORY: The National Team Development Program has sent 43 players on to the University of Michigan, more than any other NCAA program. The Wolverines currently have eight former NTDP players on their roster: Evan Allen, Nick Boka, Griffin Luce, Luke Martin, Will Lockwood, Nick Pastujov, James Sanchez and Brendan Warren.

Currently, four players playing for the U18s are committed to play college hockey at the University of Michigan: Quinn Hughes  (Orlando, Fla.), Josh Norris (Oxford, Mich.) Michael Pastujov (Bradenton, Fla.), and Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Mich.). 

Pastujov and Norris signed their National Letter of Intents on Monday (Nov. 14) to play for the Wolverines during the 2017-18 academic year.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team currently has two University of Michigan commits: Mattias Samuelsson (Voorhees, N.J.) and Blade Jenkins (Jackson, Mich.).

5 NATIONS CHAMPIONS: The U.S. National Under-18 Team won the 2016 Under-18 Five Nations Tournament at USA Hockey Arena during the week of Nov. 1-5 following victories over Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Sweden. 

Team USA finished with a record of 3-1 and earned nine points in the standings, two more than any other team in the tournament. The U.S. National Under-18 Team has now won nine of the last ten international events held each November.

U17s VS. BLOOMINGTON SERIES: The U.S. National Under-17 Team is traveling to Bloomington, Indiana, for a two-game series against the Bloomington Thunder of the United States Hockey League. This is the first meeting between the teams this season.

Historically, the U.S. is 3-10 against the Thunder in the all-time series. The two teams will meet five total times during the 2016-17 campaign, while the U.S. National Under-18 Team will face off against the Thunder three times.

NTDP GOALIES START HOT IN NCAA: Hunter Miska (2011-13), Jake Oettinger (2014-16) and Joe Woll (2014-16) have started their collegiate careers among the best in college hockey.

Miska, who spent last season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL), is 7-1-0 to start the season with the University of Minnesota Duluth. He currently ranks second in the nation in winning percentage (.875).

Oettinger is third among rookies with a .932 save-percentage as he's collected four wins for Boston University.

Woll has started his collegiate career with Boston College by amassing a 7-2-1 record in ten starts while recording a 2.09 goals-against-average and .930 save percentage. 

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING UPDATE: Eighteen  players on the U.S. National Under-18 Team were named to the NHL Central Scouting's "Players to Watch" list released on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Grant Mismash (Edina, Minn.) was listed as an "A" prospect, indicating a first round grade for the upcoming 2017 NHL Entry Draft. A total of seven U18s were listed as "B" prospects, indicating potential second or third round picks. The other 10 NTDP players received "C" ratings, indicating fourth, fifth and sixth round candidates. The full list of USHL players rated can be found here.

WORLD UNDER-17 HOCKEY CHALLENGE: The U17s are coming off the 2016 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge that took place Oct. 27-Nov. 5 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The U.S. finished the tournament in fifth place after going 1-1-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the preliminary round before falling to Sweden, 4-3, in the quarterfinals. Team USA topped Canada Red, 3-2, in the fifth-place game.

ALUMNI IN NHL UPDATES: 

New York Rangers forward J.T. Miller (2009-11) is the co-team leader in points (13) and is third in the league in plus-minus with +12.

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard (2001-02) leads the league in both goals against average (1.22) and save percentage (.961) in his 11th season with the team.

Nick Foligno (2003-04) is the team captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets and recently donated $500,000 during his return to Boston Children’s Hospital after they saved the life of his newborn daughter born with a heart condition in 2013. She has since made a full recovery. Foligno and his teammates, Zach Werenski (2013-14) and Brandon Saad (2009-10), are second (12), third (11), and fourth (10) on the team in points, respectively. 

Ryan Suter (2001-03) leads the Minnesota Wild in both points (10) and assists (7). This is his the fifth season with the Wild.

St. Louis Blues alternate captain Kevin Shattenkirk (2005-07) is second on the team in points (10) and assists (7).

Calgary Flames rookie Matthew Tkachuk (2013-15) scored two goals, including the game-winner, on November 3rd against the San Jose Sharks the night he found out the Flames activated the first year of his three-year entry-level contract. His brother, Brady Tkachuk, is currently on the U.S. National Under-18 Team.

In his rookie season, Auston Matthews (2013-15) leads the Toronto Maple Leafs in goals (6) and is second on the team in points (11). He scored 4 of those goals in his first regular-season NHL game against the Ottawa Senators on October 12, setting a modern-hockey record for most goals scored in a player’s first game.

Kevin Labanc, who played for the NTDP from 2011-13, played in his first NHL game with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday (Nov. 8) in a 3-0 victory against the Washington Capitals. Labanc received the call up from the Sharks AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, after amassing  a team-leading 10 points (4-6-10) in 10 games to start the season.