Game Preview - Team USA U-18
From a statistical standpoint, this series means virtually nothing. But from a team growth standpoint, this game is essential.
Team USA hasn't done great thus far this year against teams in the WCHA, going 0-3-1 with their closest result being with the Gophers, finishing in a 1-1 tie. I think this is an excellent chance for the Bulldogs to be able to experiment with new ideas and lines that may solve issues in scoring and Saturday's chemistry.
Overview:
The Team USA Under-18's shutout Michigan State 3 to 0 on Tuesday in their most recent game, extending their winning streak to 4 games. To be honest I can't tell ya a whole lot about this team because I've never actually seen them play, but these are very talented players whom could potentially be ready to play at the NCAA level. Top Scorers...
Also, for those of you who are going to the game and like to follow college hockey as a whole, I'll list every person on the roster with this year's stats and where they're planning on play college puck at.
And then there were a couple of players that did play a couple of games with this team, but went on to play elsewhere like for their high school or junior teams. Those players are listed below.
So that's about it for our opponents on Saturday, let's move on...
Last weekend I predicted a split for Minnesota Duluth, but I was a little saddened by the final score on Saturday. After winning 3-2 on Friday night, something must have happened during the night because Saturday's loss to Colorado College ended 1-5. So, whether it was due to minor injuries or what, I hope this weekend is used to really work out any kinks as the Bulldogs continue to battle for home ice in the WCHA. Top Scorers...
Let's Compare:
The Verdict:
As much as I would love to say this is going to be an easy, Saturday afternoon win, it has the potential to not be. There is no doubt this team has got plenty of talent. If this were a series game that actually had some meaning to it, I woud say the Dogs would win. But, being this game doesn't mean very much giving tUMD a chance to try some new things, the minors just might have a chance to capitalize on errors from those new trials. So this ones up in the air!
The game starts at 2:07 and can be view on My9 if you live in the Duluth area, or on the Radio/online at 94x.
Go Dogs!!
Team USA hasn't done great thus far this year against teams in the WCHA, going 0-3-1 with their closest result being with the Gophers, finishing in a 1-1 tie. I think this is an excellent chance for the Bulldogs to be able to experiment with new ideas and lines that may solve issues in scoring and Saturday's chemistry.
Photo: Dave Harwig
Overview:
The Team USA Under-18's shutout Michigan State 3 to 0 on Tuesday in their most recent game, extending their winning streak to 4 games. To be honest I can't tell ya a whole lot about this team because I've never actually seen them play, but these are very talented players whom could potentially be ready to play at the NCAA level. Top Scorers...
|
Pos.
|
(GP)
G-A-Pts.
|
Pts/G
|
|
|
Tyler
Kelleher
|
F
|
(33)
15-14-29
|
0.88
|
|
Anthony
Louis
|
F
|
(30)
11-12-23
|
0.77
|
|
Tyler
Motte
|
F
|
(33)
15-10-25
|
0.76
|
|
Will
Butcher
|
D
|
(33)
6-8-14
|
0.42
|
|
Connor
Clifton
|
D
|
(33)
4-5-9
|
0.27
|
|
Pos.
|
(GP)
GAA/Sv%
|
Mins.
|
|
|
Thatcher
Demko
|
G
|
(22)
2.41/.900
|
1246
|
Also, for those of you who are going to the game and like to follow college hockey as a whole, I'll list every person on the roster with this year's stats and where they're planning on play college puck at.
|
Name
|
Pos.
|
GP
|
G
|
A
|
Pts.
|
Pts/G
|
College
|
|
Tyler
Kelleher
|
F
|
37
|
17
|
18
|
35
|
0.95
|
New
Hampshire
|
|
J.T.
Compher
|
F
|
22
|
6
|
14
|
20
|
0.91
|
Michigan
|
|
Sean
Malone
|
F
|
25
|
12
|
10
|
22
|
0.88
|
Harvard
|
|
Anthony
Louis
|
F
|
32
|
15
|
13
|
28
|
0.88
|
Miami
Ohio
|
|
John
Hayden
|
F
|
23
|
5
|
13
|
18
|
0.78
|
Yale
|
|
Evan
Allen
|
F
|
37
|
13
|
13
|
26
|
0.70
|
Michigan
|
|
Tyler
Motte
|
F
|
37
|
15
|
11
|
26
|
0.70
|
Michigan
|
|
Hudson
Fasching
|
F
|
35
|
9
|
11
|
20
|
0.57
|
Minnesota
|
|
Kevin
Labanc
|
F
|
37
|
7
|
11
|
18
|
0.49
|
Notre
Dame
|
|
Michael
McCarron
|
F
|
32
|
5
|
10
|
15
|
0.47
|
Western
Michigan
|
|
Shane
Eiserman
|
F
|
33
|
8
|
7
|
15
|
0.45
|
New
Hampshire
|
|
Dawson
Cook
|
F
|
29
|
3
|
5
|
8
|
0.28
|
Notre
Dame
|
|
Name
|
Pos.
|
GP
|
G
|
A
|
Pts.
|
Pts/G
|
College
|
|
Will
Butcher
|
D
|
37
|
7
|
13
|
20
|
0.54
|
Denver
|
|
Connor
Clifton
|
D
|
37
|
4
|
9
|
13
|
0.35
|
Quinnipiac
|
|
Keaton
Thompson
|
D
|
37
|
2
|
10
|
12
|
0.32
|
North
Dakota
|
|
Steven
Santini
|
D
|
37
|
0
|
11
|
11
|
0.30
|
Boston
College
|
|
Trevor
Hamilton
|
D
|
30
|
1
|
5
|
6
|
0.20
|
Miami
Ohio
|
|
Gage
Ausmus
|
D
|
36
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
0.19
|
Denver
|
|
Scott
Savage
|
D
|
37
|
1
|
5
|
6
|
0.16
|
Boston
College
|
|
Clint
Lewis
|
D
|
32
|
0
|
5
|
5
|
0.16
|
Cornell
|
|
Name
|
Pos.
|
GP
|
Mins.
|
GAA
|
SV%
|
College
|
|
Thatcher
Demko
|
G
|
25
|
1426
|
2.10
|
0.911
|
Boston
College
|
|
Hunter
Miska
|
G
|
15
|
828
|
2.97
|
0.857
|
*
|
And then there were a couple of players that did play a couple of games with this team, but went on to play elsewhere like for their high school or junior teams. Those players are listed below.
|
Name
|
GP
|
G
|
A
|
Pts.
|
Pts/G
|
College
|
|
Vinni
Lettieri
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
2.00
|
Minnesota
|
|
Frankie
Vatrano
|
5
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
0.80
|
U. Mass
|
|
Nolan
Stevens
|
4
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0.25
|
*
|
|
Blake
Christensen
|
13
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
0.23
|
*
|
|
Connor
Hurley
|
10
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
0.20
|
Notre
Dame
|
|
Ryan
Fitzgerald
|
5
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0.20
|
Boston
College
|
|
Michael
Babcock
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
*
|
|
Jacob
Pritchard
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
*
|
|
Kiefer
Sherwood
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
Miami
Ohio
|
|
Tom
Marchin
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
*
|
|
Karson
Kuhlman
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
Minnesota
Duluth
|
|
Mike
Laffin
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
*
|
|
Nicolas
Kerdiles
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
*
|
|
Tyler
Young
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.00
|
*
|
So that's about it for our opponents on Saturday, let's move on...
Last weekend I predicted a split for Minnesota Duluth, but I was a little saddened by the final score on Saturday. After winning 3-2 on Friday night, something must have happened during the night because Saturday's loss to Colorado College ended 1-5. So, whether it was due to minor injuries or what, I hope this weekend is used to really work out any kinks as the Bulldogs continue to battle for home ice in the WCHA. Top Scorers...
|
Pos.
|
(GP)
G-A-Pts.
|
Pts/G
|
|
|
Mike
Seidel
|
F
|
(24)
12-11-23
|
0.96
|
|
Tony
Cameranesi (TOR)
|
F
|
(24)
10-12-22
|
0.92
|
|
Austin
Farley
|
F
|
(22)
8-9-17
|
0.77
|
|
Wade
Bergman
|
D
|
(23)
2-13-15
|
0.65
|
|
Andy
Welinski (ANA)
|
D
|
(24)
2-9-11
|
0.46
|
|
Pos.
|
(GP)
GAA/Sv%
|
Mins.
|
|
|
Matt
McNeely
|
G
|
(16)
2.60/.898
|
945
|
Let's Compare:
|
Bulldogs
|
U.S. Under-18
|
|
|
10-11-3
|
...Overall...
|
22-11-4
|
|
8-7-3
|
WCHA
|
0-3-1
|
|
5-4-1
|
Home
|
//
|
|
5-5-2
|
Away
|
//
|
|
2.67
|
Avg. Offense
|
3.65
|
|
2.83
|
Avg. Defense
|
2.49
|
|
16.5
|
PIM/G
|
15.1
|
|
22.4%
|
Power Play
|
17.9%
|
|
83.7%
|
Penalty Kill
|
84.8%
|
|
33.2
|
Shots/G
|
36.0
|
|
26.0
|
Opponent S/G
|
23.0
|
The Verdict:
As much as I would love to say this is going to be an easy, Saturday afternoon win, it has the potential to not be. There is no doubt this team has got plenty of talent. If this were a series game that actually had some meaning to it, I woud say the Dogs would win. But, being this game doesn't mean very much giving tUMD a chance to try some new things, the minors just might have a chance to capitalize on errors from those new trials. So this ones up in the air!
The game starts at 2:07 and can be view on My9 if you live in the Duluth area, or on the Radio/online at 94x.
Go Dogs!!
0 comments :