USA Hockey's NTDP Blog

It’s finally here! After two years of hard work at the National Team Development Program (for most of this year’s U.S. National Under-18 Team), they earned the right to make history as Team USA skates for its fourth straight IIHF Men’s World Under-18 Championship. The gold-medal showdown between Team USA and Sweden takes place today at 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. EDT). This is the third year in a row that these two teams will square off for the title.

I will not be able to blog in between periods as I will be working with TSN to help provide intermission interviews, in addition to covering the game for USA Hockey. I’ll still be Tweeting live scoring updates @USAHockeyScores and posting following the game on the NTDP Facebook page. So look for that.

For now I’ll leave you to enjoy the game. Catch it live on FASTHockey.com. Until next time…go USA!

A very tightly contested, conservative beginning to the third period as no one wants to give up a “home run” here. Five minutes run off the clock very quickly. Seth Jones (Plano, Texas) rips a shot that sails wide behind the net. Kyle Osterberg (Lakeville, Minn.) scoops up the loose puck, wraps it around the net and in for the go ahead goal!

J.T. Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) gets a great look at the night, flies in and is stuffed by Matt Murray’s pads. Good shot down at the other end on Collin Olson (Apple Valley, Minn.), but he denies the try. Jacob Trouba (Rochester, Mich.) comes flying down next for the Americans, but he’s denied as well.

A real bad hit near center ice and Team USA is whistled for an interference penalty. Wow, Canada just worked the puck for a good minute in its zone. A real timely save by Olson kept the Canadians at bay. Penalty killed. Just over four minutes remain in the period.

Riley Barber (Livonia, Mich.) does a great job at killing off some time on the clock in the corner. Here comes Murray out of the net at 42 seconds. Team USA does fantastic work at holding the puck in its own zone and Canada has time for just one rush. U.S. players collapse on him and the game ends as both sides get chippy.

Team USA earns a right to play for its fourth consecutive gold medal on Sunday (April 22) against Sweden. Thanks for reading and check back for more coverage on the U.S. National Under-18 Team. What a game! Go USA!

Matthew Lane (Rochester, N.Y.) kills off about about 30 seconds of the power play on his own, skating circles in the Canadian zone. And the U.S. eventually finds itself back at full strength.

Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn.) with a quick wrister that went off the glove of Matt Murray, the Canadian goalie, and off the crossbar. Close call there. Riley Barber (Livonia, Mich.), and really his whole line of Quentin Shore (Denver, Colo.) and Anthony Louis (Winfield, Ill.), seem to be flying around the ice. A real energy line if you will and fun to watch.

Frankie Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and J.T. Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) nearly team up to put the U.S. back on top. Compher’s shot whistles wide though.

Ryan Hartman (West Dundee, Ill.) is hooked and Team USA goes on its second power play. A near miss orchestrated by Nicolas Kerdiles (Irvine, Calif.) and Daniel O’Regan (Needham, Mass.), but nothing more of substance in the two minutes with the man advantage.

Another shot rung off the crossbar, this time by Vatrano. Good pressure sustained by the Americans in the later stages of this period. You can’t always get the bounces, but you hope you’ll get one when it counts.

Canada gets whistled for a delay of game, much the same as the U.S. did in the first. The U.S. skates five-on-four for two minutes. Matt Grzelcyk (Charlestown, Mass.) lets a quick shot go and looks for the deflection. Didn’t work this time around. But just as soon as the power play expired, Canada is whistled for a trip. Time to convert on one of these boys!

A few good tries, but the U.S. did not tally the go ahead goal and we remain tied, 1-1, after two periods of play. Hold on tight for a wild third frame.

Team USA is sporting its blue jerseys, Canada in white. Puck drops at 7:08 p.m. local time (due to TSN’s broadcast) and we’re off. Canada with the first shot of the game right out of the gate, easily turned aside by Collin Olson (Apple Valley, Minn.). Players are already lining up checks with Canada getting one good hit in before Frankie Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) runs his guy into the boards.

The U.S. seems a lot more composed to open this game and is the first to earn a power play when Ryan Hartman (West Dundee, Ill.) draws a boarding call. Nicolas Kerdiles (Irvine, Calif.) with the best look for the Americans yet, but the chance is blocked. Puck comes back down to the other end and Jacob Trouba (Rochester, Mich.) levels a Canadian skater. Teams now at full strength.

Seth Jones (Plano, Texas) tees off and is stopped. Vatrano follows that effort and throws a shot on net of his own, but the netminder gloves it and ices the puck. TV timeout. Good start to the game for the U.S. Let’s keep it up.

Jones pick up where he left off last game and runs his man hard into the unforgiving glass. Loud hit. The game settles into a rhythm with the U.S. gaining some momentum. Some very hard work and puck cycling leads to a great shot by J.T. Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) and the games first goal. Team USA up by one. That puck somehow found daylight.

Canada whistles a shot that just misses and rattles off the back boards. They come right back and just narrowly miss a wide open net, but Jones clears the crease. Canada maintains possession however and a shot gets redirected and past Olson. Tie game.

Some good back and forth occurs until Team USA gets whistled for a delay of game. Those short side boards are tough to work with. Last game, the Canadian power play was very dangerous. Andrew Copp (Ann Arbor, Mich.) makes a great hustle move and burns some time off Canada’s man advantage and time expires on the period. Canada will have a 50 second power play to open the second. See you then!

After what seemingly felt like a week (which was only two days off), Team USA meets a familiar foe tonight in the semifinals: Canada. The U.S. most recently beat this Canadian squad on Tuesday (April 17), to earn a bye to the semifinals, whereas Canada had to earn the right to play tonight by defeating Russia in the quarterfinals on Thursday (April 19).

Once again, this is going to be as good as advertised, as we saw in the first tilt earlier this week. I expect a lot of hard hits and a quick, back and forth pace to the game. This can only mean one thing: you better be watching!

Even with the days off, the U.S. was still hard at work, skating and getting instruction in meetings. But there was down time too, to catch up on sleep, visit with friends and family and even catch a movie (American Reunion). It was a small piece of home to go to the theater, get some popcorn and just hang out outside of the game. The movie was in English with Czech subtitles, so we lucked out there too.

The team also got some free time to explore more of Brno: the monuments, buildings, churches, shops, etc. I think a lot of the guys came back with a better appreciation of the city they have called home for the last two weeks. Sometimes you lose sight of that when it’s hotel, bus, rink, hotel every day for a week straight.

And now the zamboni comes out for one last flood of the rink before warmups begin. It’s USA vs. Canada in the semifinals for the second straight year. Hold on tight. We’re going to see a show. If you want to watch the game, you can do so online at FASTHockey.com. You can also follow along on Twitter @USAHockeyScores and the NTDP Facebook page.

I’ll be back to recap the first period and later the second. Until then…go USA!

Canada gets whistled for hooking to open the third frame. Team USA will look to grab the lead for the first time tonight. I neglected to mention that the crowd here isn’t too bad. There’s a lot more energy in the building than the last game against Denmark, that’s for sure. And the players are really vocal on the bench after goals and hits. Great atmosphere. Great rivalry.

Matthew Lane (Rochester, N.Y.) just got another really good break on the Canadian defense and did everything but convert. He’s been flying out there tonight. After that chance, Seth Jones (Plano, Texas) wristed a high shot through traffic to give the U.S. a 3-2 lead. You could hear the “woooo” by the defenseman from the stands.

Team USA is now playing with the lead for the first time tonight. Play seems to be tilting more towards the American end and just as I type that, Frankie Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) pots a goal to double the U.S. lead. And in the time it took to Tweet that and update my game release, Team USA gets sent to the box. We need a stop here.

We get one and go back to full strength. This game is not lacking on the ebbs and flows for both squads, that’s for certain. Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn.) just played one man wrecking crew, hitting a guy so hard that his stick popped out of his hands. Then he followed that up by drilling a player into the boards.

Canada got a fantastic look in the slot, but Collin Olson (Apple Valley, Minn.) stood tall. Great save. And another great save…the kid is playing sharp tonight. But a bad chain of events lead to a Canadian shooter all alone in the slot. He had time to tee it up and everything and didn’t miss.

That makes things very interesting. We wouldn’t have it any other way, would we hockey fans? We can expect a fury from Canada here in the remaining minutes. Canada pulls its goalie in favor of the extra attacker. Olson gloves the puck and the teams change lines. Timeout Canada.

The U.S. narrowly misses the empty net and Canada comes charging back into the zone. Jacob Trouba (Rochester, Mich.) makes a great move to knock Canada off the puck, take the guy down and clear the puck. Lane takes the feed and scores in the empty net.

Wow. What a great preliminary round for Team USA. With the victory, they finish 4-0-0-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L) and earn the bye to the semifinals. We’ll know about who they play and when later, so check back here or visit USAHockey.com for more information. Until then, thanks for reading and go USA!

Patrick Sieloff (Ann Arbor, Mich.) just flattened a Canadian skater. Wow. All I saw was the hit and in a flash, a pair of skates and an upside down body. Best check of the tournament so far for Team USA. A great one-handed attempt by Canada is blocked by Collin Olson (Apple Valley, Minn.) in the other end.

The Americans are whistled for a penalty and the Ghostbusters theme song fills the arena for the second time tonight. Strange. But entertaining. Nice effort by Cameron Darcy (South Boston, Mass.) to clear the puck.

And the shutout streak is over. Canada nets a power-play goal to take a 1-0 lead. Let’s see how Team USA responds. Moments after the goal, the U.S. is awarded a power play on its own. Seth Jones (Plano, Texas) had a great chance in the slot, but it was saved. Matt Grzelcyk (Charlestown, Mass.) with a rocket shot in front of the U.S. bench and it goes in! The power-play tally ties the game at one. I’d say they responded well.

A penalty called on Team USA comes and goes. Daniel O’Regan (Needham, Mass.) makes another great move to get a shot on net, but an interference call on the U.S. negates any momentum. Back on the penalty kill and Olson makes a solid save and covers.

A deflected puck makes its way over Olson’s shoulder and the game swings back in favor of the Canadians. Tough break as it comes on the power play again. Special teams absolutely playing a huge factor in the game thus far. And let’s hope we return the favor with another power-play tally as Canada is whistled for a hook.

Just like that, the man advantage comes to an end as the U.S. gets sent to the box again. One minute of four-on-four before Team USA is tasked with killing off Canada’s shortened power play.

Seth Jones (Plano, Texas) just laid out a skater from Canada. Remember what I said about Sieloff’s hit? Yeah, this one ranks up there too. And then Brady Skjei (Lakeville, Minn.) joins in on the hit parade. Canada tries to join in but ends up in the penalty box for a checking from behind.

A hungry U.S. team crashes the net on the power play and it results in a goal by Riley Barber (Livonia, Mich.). He kept at it and eventually knocked in the puck to tie the game, 2-2. The period ends and we can now look forward to an epic third period. What a game so far.

Win and you’re in…to the semifinals that is. But it’s a bit more tricky than that. A win by the U.S. and the squad earns the group title and a bye to the semifinals. But if Canada pulls it out, they must do so by three goals or more.

Mix in the medal round implications with an already sizzling rivalry between the two North American teams and this makes for a fun night of hockey in Brno, Czech Republic.

TSN is covering the game back in Canada and they met with U.S. National Under-18 Team head coach, Danton Cole, earlier in the day to get notes for the broadcast. And the players are well aware that they’re here too, though that does nothing to change their preparation for the game or focus. Just a fun added twist.

The guys went through a quick pre-game skate this afternoon and headed back to the hotel for some down time. After players enjoyed a little nap, it was back up and at them for a meal of pasta and chicken before getting on the bus to the rink. Pretty much the only thing you could hear on the trip was music blaring from everyone’s headphones. Game faces were on.

And now we sit in Kajot Arena, just one hour away from puck drop. Check back after the first and second periods for a full recap on what’s happening. Follow along on Twitter @USAHockeyScores, check the National Team Development Program Facebook page and watch the game live on FASTHockey.com. As you can see, there is no shortage for coverage. Thanks for reading and go USA!

Good couple of chances for Denmark, but Jared Rutledge (Chicago, Ill.) batted them away. A Denmark chant starts for a brief moment, the first sign of life from this crowd tonight. Part of the fun in international tournaments is the chants, the different flags waving, etc.

Ryan Hartman (West Dundee, Ill.) gets whistled and the U.S. must kill its second penalty. And just as it did the first time, Team USA kills the two minute man advantage for Denmark. Now Denmark sends a player to the box after getting caught holding.

Connor Carrick (Orland Park, Ill.) upends a Denmark player along the boards. He’s had a few good checks tonight.

Quentin Shore (Denver, Colo.) scores for Team USA to extend the U.S. lead to four goals. Give Carrick the assist on that one as well. And the ice tilts back in favor of the U.S. They are all skating hard here in the last five minutes.

We had a discussion about whether another U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team started the tournament with two shutouts and I don’t believe its been done. But three is a for sure first time occurrence. Quite remarkable.

Team USA’s best player of the game was Nicolas Kerdiles (Irvine, Calif.). Off to do the media rounds and get the game recap release out. Thanks, as always, for reading and go USA!

There is no game Monday, but you can be sure to see posts Tuesday, as the U.S. faces Canada. That’s always a fun matchup. It needs no build up or window dressing. We’ll see some great hockey. You can catch the game on FASTHockey.com and TSN in Canada is broadcasting the game as well.

Denmark is skating one man down due to a penalty at 20:00 of the first period. Team USA will look to double its lead right out of the gate. And just as I type that, Ryan Hartman (West Dundee, Ill.) takes a centering feed and clangs it off the post. Close, but no goal.

Moments later, Seth Jones (Plano, Texas) rockets the puck into the net. Nicolas Kerdiles (Irvine, Calif.) and Daniel O’Regan (Needham, Mass.) collect assists on the play. Team USA leads 2-0.

Hartman makes a jump to avoid the Denmark defender, falls, collects the puck back and manages to get a good shot on net. What a play. The Americans start buzzing around the net and it pays off when Frankie Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) knocks in a rebound. He just let loose on that puck. J.T. Compher (Northbrook, Ill.) and Matthew Lane (Rochester, N.Y.) get the helpers, giving them both two points on the night.

Thomas Di Pauli (Woodridge, Ill.) looks for his own tally on the rebound and has a point blank opportunity blocked by the goaltender. The U.S. is keeping Denmark’s netminder very busy this period and he’s performing well.

Denmark takes a timeout to settle down / get a breather as they have been on their heels for the majority of the period.

A big turnover leads to Denmark’s best look of the night, right in front of the net. But Jared Rutledge (Chicago, Ill.) stands tall and the chance is thwarted. A lot of Offspring is being played tonight. That’s old school hockey music right there.

Things start to get a bit chippy (for an international game), when a couple of big, open ice hits are delivered, but nothing comes of it. The whistle blows and we have two periods in the books. Team USA leads 3-0. Check back here for a post-game wrap and thanks for reading!