October 23, 2009

By Becky Olsen
Special to USAHockey.com

Another busy weekend is on tap for the U.S. National Team Development Program. The Under-18 team will face three college teams in New York over a three-day span, while the U-17s head out on the road for a two-game stint in Sioux City and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

UNDER-18 TEAM PLAYS THREE GAMES: The U-18 team will head to the Empire State for a three-game NCAA swing over a three-day span. The U-18s begin the weekend with a Friday night (Oct. 23) contest at Utica College at 7 p.m. before heading to Ithaca, N.Y., for a Saturday showdown with No. 6-ranked Cornell University at 7 p.m. The three-game weekend wraps up with a Sunday matinee at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.

“We are going to use every single game to prepare for the Four Nations,” U-18 coach Kurt Kleinendorst said. ”We need to show up every night, play to our potential and win games. The more I see this group play, the more I see them coming together and getting comfortable.”

The U-18s split a pair of games last weekend, beating Bowling Green State, 7-2, on Oct. 16 and dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker to Sioux City on Oct. 17. Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) notched two goals and five other players (Bill Arnold, Bryan Rust, Luke Moffat, Nick Shore and Brandon Saad) scored for the  U-18s. Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) stopped 27 shots as the U-18s earned their first collegiate win.Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) scored the lone goal as the U-18s outshot Sioux City, 41-17, on Saturday.

“We went into Bowling Green and played a solid game for 60 minutes,” Kleinendorst said. “We had a little bit of a letdown against Sioux City but there is a lesson there. We can see what happened and know that we are capable of playing anyone on our schedule and having success.”

UNDER-17 TEAM BEGINS LONG ROAD TRIP: The U-17 team, which is still looking for its first win in the USHL, heads out on its longest road trip of the season to date. The U-17s will face the Sioux City Musketeers on Friday (Oct. 23) at 7 p.m. at the Tyson Events Center before heading to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena for a 7:05 p.m. showdown with the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders on Saturday (Oct. 24).

“This is a new experience for our team,” U-17 coach Ron Rolston said. “We will be leaving on Thursday night on a sleeper bus and arriving in Sioux City on Friday morning. One of the main things that we need to do is to make sure our players stay with their normal habits and routines, such as nutrition and sleep.

“No one has experienced this and we have no one that can walk us through what to expect. We were going to have to do is sooner or later as we find the best way to do things within the league [in terms of travel].”

The U-17s dropped a 4-2 decision to Sioux City on Friday, Oct. 16, and a 4-1 game at Indiana on Saturday, Oct. 17. Alexx Privitera(Old Tappan, N.J.) andAustin Hervey (Brighton, Mich.) tallied goals for Team USA, while netminder Matt McNeely (Burnsville, Minn.) finished with 40 stops against Sioux City. McNeely made 31 stops and Ryan Haggerty (Stamford, Conn.) netted the lone goal in the 4-1 loss to the Ice.

“I think we are making strides. It is being able to hold that intensity throughout the game,” Rolston said. “Once the guys learn to execute for 60 minutes, they will only get better. They are competitive and battle hard. They need to work on creating more offense.”

NOTEBOOK

* Six players with NTDP ties, including four current players, were among the top 30 NHL Entry Draft-eligible players listed in the International Scouting Services’ October rankings. The list includes No. 2 Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich.), No. 11 JonMerrill (Brighton, Mich.), No. 15 Derek Forbort (Duluth, Minn.), No. 23 Jarred Tinordi (Millersville, Md.), No. 26 JasonZucker (Las Vegas, Nev.) and No. 29 Emerson Etem (2008-09).

* Austin Hervey (Brighton, Mich.) was added to the Team USA Under-17 roster. The 6-foot, 187-pound forward spent the 2008-09 season with Detroit Catholic Central High School.

* U-17 netminder Matt McNeely (Burnsville, Minn.) has recorded 121 saves in his last three starts, including 40 stops vs. Sioux City and 31 at Indiana, and has lowered his goals-against average to 4.86.

* Forward RyanHaggerty (Stamford, Conn.) paces the U-17s with seven points, including a team-best four goals. Blueliner Matt VanVoorhis (Edina, Minn.) is second with five points (2-3). Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) and Robbie Russo (Westmont, Ill.) lead the U-17s with four assists each.

* Since registering five goals on Oct. 3 at Chicago, the U-17s have scored a combined four goals in their last four games. The team is averaging 2.0 goals per game while giving up almost five goals per contest (4.97).

* U-18 forward Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) continues to pace the team in scoring with nine points (5-4) through the first nine games. Defensemen JustinFaulk (South St. Paul, Minn./5-1--6) and JonMerrill (Brighton, Mich./2-4--6) are tied for second with six point each. Four of Faulk’s five goals have been on the power play.

* U-18 netminder Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) holds a 2.26 GAA and a .889 save percentage, while Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) has a 2.42 GAA and a .921 save percentage.

* The U-18 team’s seven goals scored against BGSU was the team’s most since registering eight in the season-opener against the University of Waterloo (Sept. 18, a 8-0 victory).

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.