November 6, 2009

By Becky Olsen
Special to USAHockey.com

The National Team Development Program Under-17 and Under-18 teams head to their first international competition — the Four Nations Cup — this week. The U-18s will head to Finland for a three-team round robin event while the U-17s travel to Slovakia for a three-game set.

UNDER-18 TEAM OFF TO FOUR NATIONS CUP: The U-18 team heads to Finland for the Under-18 Four Nations Cup, Nov. 6-8. Team USA faces Sweden (Nov. 6/11:30 a.m. ET), Finland (Nov. 7/8 a.m. ET) and Switzerland (Nov. 8/11:30 a.m. ET) in various locations around Finland.

“I am more comfortable where we are all, based on our schedule from the last few weekends,” U-18 coach Kurt Kleinendorst said. “We are competing and guys are fitting into our structure. We are going to have to adjust to playing on a big rink. It is still hockey, but we have to look at our defensive approach and defensively, we have more room in the big rink. I have some experience coaching in Europe so it will be interesting to see how we adjust.”

Team USA dropped a 3-2 decision to Finland in exhibition play on Nov. 4. Bill Arnold (Needham, Mass.) and Matthew Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) tallied goals and Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) stopped 14 shots in the team’s only warmup prior to beginning play at the Four Nations.

The U-18s picked split a pair of games last weekend, falling 4-3 to Omaha in a shootout on Friday and posting a 3-2 shootout win over NCAA III Adrian College on Saturday. Arnold scored twice in regulation and once during the shootout in the loss to Omaha. Netminder Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) made 34 saves and stopped all four shooters in the shootout in Team USA’s win over Adrian. Arnold and Austin Czarnik (Washington, Mich.) scored the goals in the shootout.

UNDER-17 TEAM PLAYING IN SLOVAKIA: The U-17 team heads to Trnava, Slovakia, for the Under-17 Four Nations Cup. Team USA opened played with a 6-2 win over Russia on Thursday, Nov. 5. Seth Ambroz (New Prague, Minn.) scored two goals, while Matt Van Voorhis (Edina, Minn./1-2--3) and Blake Pietila (Brighton, Mich./1-2--3) each notched three points and Matt McNeely (Burnsville, Minn.) turned aside 22 shots in the opening win.

“This was a great way to start the tournament for us,” U-18 coach Ron Rolston said. “We’re happy to have won the game, but this is just one step. We’ve got to get better every time out because the other teams in this tournament will be doing the same.”

The U-17s will face Slovakia (Nov. 6/11:30 am. ET) and Switzerland (Nov. 7/8 a.m. ET) to close out the round-robin tournament and the team’s first international competition of the season.

“We now get back into our own age group and are playing against teams that have the same physically maturity level, so we will have more possession of the puck and be able to create offense in different ways that we have not been able to do so far in the USHL,” Rolston said. “That hopefully will add to our confidence as a team, offensively. Guys have more success, get more shots and make more plays. It is easier to get over to the puck and be strong with the puck when you are playing against your same age group. That kind of confidence is something we need right now as a group.”

NOTEBOOK

* Goaltender Matt Mahalak (Monroe, Mich.) and forwards Seth Ambroz (New Prague, Minn.) and Austin Wuthrich (Anchorage, Alaska) were added to the U-17 roster for the Four Nations. Mahalak plays for the United States Hockey League’s Youngstown Phantoms, Ambroz skates for the Omaha Lancers, also of the USHL, and Wuthrich is a member of the Team Illinois Midget Major squad. Meanwhile, forwards Charlie Coyle (East Weymouth, Mass.) and Nick Bjugstad (Coon Rapids, Minn.) joined the U-18s at the Four Nations. Coyle is a member of the Eastern Junior Hockey League’s South Shore Kings and Bjugstad is a senior forward at Blaine (Minn.) High School.

* For all but three players on the U.S. Under-17 roster, Thursday’s game vs. Russia marked their first international competition. Defensemen Jake McCabe (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Connor Murphy (Dublin, Ohio) and Wuthrich each skated for the U.S. Under-17 Select Team at the 2009 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in August.

* Forward Ryan Haggerty (Stamford, Conn./5-3--8) and defenseman Matt Van Voorhis (Edina, Minn./3-5--8) pace the U-17s in scoring with eight points each. Forwards Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif./2-4--6) and Blake Pietila (Brighton, Mich./3-3--6) are tied for second with six points.

* Goaltender Matt McNeely (Burnsville, Minn.) has appeared in nine games, posting a 2-8-1 record along with a 4.54 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage.

* Forward Brandon Saad (Gibsonia, Pa.) continues to pace the U-18s in scoring with 15 points (6-9) in 15 games. There is a four-way tie in scoring for second with 10 points with Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn./7-3--10), Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev./6-4--10), Nick Shore (Denver, Colo./5-5--10) and Jon Merrill (Brighton, Mich./2-8--10).

* Between the pipes, the U-18 tandem of Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) and Andy Iles (Ithaca, N.Y.) have been consistent. Campbell holds a 2.24 GAA and .922 save percentage, while Iles carries 2.17 GAA and .917 save percentage into this weekend.

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.