Michigan
U.S. NTDP U-18 Team (ex)
Wolverines to Face USA Hockey NTDP U-18 Team in Plymouth
11/29/2017 2:54:00 PM | Ice Hockey
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Dec. 2 -- at US NTDP U-18 Team (Plymouth, Mich.), 7 p.m.
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The U.S. NTDP U-18 Team Series
Michigan and the US NTDP U-18 Team meet for the 18th time in as many seasons, with U-M holding a 15-2 record in the series. The two teams first met on Dec. 12, 2000, as Michigan defeated Team USA, 4-2. From that date until January 2013, the Wolverines never lost to the U.S. NTDP U-18 Team, going 12-0.
Last season, U-M defeated the US NTDP U-18 Team at home, 6-3. This will be the first time the Wolverines have played against the developmental team outside of Yost Ice Arena, and their first game at USA Hockey Arena -- the former home of the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers.
Scouting Team USA
The US NTDP U-18 Team is led by head coach Seth Appert, who is in his first season behind the bench for Team USA. He spent the previous 11 seasons as the head coach of the men's ice hockey team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Appert led the Engineers to the 2011 NCAA Tournament and the program's highest ECAC finish in more than 20 years in 2012-13 when RPI finished second in the conference.
Team USA has a 13-8 record this season.
Plymouth to Ann Arbor
The NTDP has produced 47 Michigan players over the years, including juniors Nicholas Boka and Brendan Warren, sophomores Will Lockwood, Griffin Luce, Luke Martin, Nick Pastujov and James Sanchez and freshmen Quinn Hughes, Josh Norris and Nick Pastujov.
Last Weekend's Rivalry Series
The Wolverines dropped both games at home against rival Ohio State. On Friday, Michigan fell to the Buckeyes, 3-2, with goals from Sam Piazza and Josh Norris. Saturday's game was a 5-1 loss for the Maize and Blue with Joseph Cecconi scoring Michigan's lone goal.
Free Hockey
Michigan has had five games head to overtime this season. This is the largest number of overtime contests for the Wolverines since they played in nine during the 2015-16 season.
GOALLL!!!
Michigan ranks eighth in the nation in goals per game, averaging 3.50 goals over its first 14 games.
Block it Out
Michigan ranks first nationally with an average of 17.79 blocked shots per game and third in total blocked shots (249). Sam Piazza ranks eighth nationally with 2.42 blocks per game.
Run DMC
Michigan's "DMC" line of Dexter Dancs, Cooper Marody and Tony Calderone totaled 15 points in the series at Penn State five weekends ago, nine points four weekends ago against Ferris State, 11 points three weekends ago against Minnesota and eight points two weekends ago against Wisconsin.
The trio has combined for 47 points through 14 games. In comparison, the iconic "CCM" line of JT Compher, Kyle Connor and Tyler Motte had a combined 49 points through 14 games in 2015-16.
Climbin' the Ranks
Marody ranks fourth nationally with 21 points on the season and second with 17 assists. Calderone is tied for sixth nationally with 10 goals.
Double Vision for Coop
Marody's multi-point streak of eight games ended last weekend. Over the span he tallied 19 points (4G, 15A), and became the first Wolverine to record multiple points in eight consecutive games since Brian Wiseman did so during the 1993-94 season, when he tallied 21 points (6G, 15A) between Dec. 4, 1993-Jan. 7, 1994.
Senior Superlative
U-M senior defenseman Sam Piazza is one of 20 NCAA men's ice hockey student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2017-18 Senior CLASS Award as individuals who excel on and off the ice. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Captain Calderone and Co.
The University of Michigan hockey team elected senior forward Tony Calderone as captain for the 2017-18 campaign, while classmate Sam Piazza will serve as alternate captain alongside junior defenseman Joseph Cecconi and sophomores Griffin Luce and Jake Slaker.
Calderone becomes the 98th captain in the program's history, joining the likes of Al Renfrew, Red Berenson, Mel Wakabayashi, Brendan Morrison, Kevin Porter and JT Compher, to name a few.
Deker HOF Induction
Michigan hockey team celebrated the induction of its seven-member 2017 Dekers Hall of Fame class. Jason Boterill, Matt Herr, Brendan Morrison, Bill Muckalt and Marty Turco were at the newly minted Red Berenson Rink to celebrate their induction into the most prestigious group of Michigan hockey alumni. Denny Felsner and John Madden were also honored but could not attend.
Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena
Red Berenson was honored for his 33 seasons of coaching Michigan hockey when the ice rink inside Yost Arena was officially named the Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena.
The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved on Thursday, Oct. 19 an addition to the naming structure at historic Yost Arena at its monthly meeting. In honor of a legendary figure, the regents formally approved the designation of the ice rink as the Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena.
Did you know?
• Michigan has an overall record of 295-164-24 all-time in the month of December.
• Michigan's average age of 20 years, 324 days is the third youngest in NCAA DI Men's Hockey, ranking only behind Boston College (20 years, 125 days) and Boston University (20 years, 127 days)
• Michigan freshman defenseman Quinn Hughes is the youngest player in NCAA DI Men's Hockey (Oct. 14, 1999), while teammate Michael Pastujov is the fourth youngest (Aug. 11, 1999).
• With an average weight of 191.52 pounds, Michigan ranks as the ninth biggest team in NCAA DI Men's Hockey, with the biggest being UMass Lowell (199.66).
• Mel Pearson is one of nine new head coaches in NCAA DI Men's Hockey.
• Michigan had 17 alums make an NHL opening night roster, second most amongst NCAA DI Men's Hockey programs behind Boston College (19). U-M had 22 alums make at least one appearance in the NHL last season, ranking only behind BC (24) and tied with North Dakota (22).
• With Carl Hagelin and Kevin Porter raising the Stanley Cup last spring with the Pittsburgh Penguins, U-M alums have now raised the cup 16 times, which is tied for third most amongst NCAA DI Men's Hockey programs (Wisconsin 19, Boston College 18, North Dakota 16).
• Michigan's 36 NCAA Tournament appearances rank second behind Minnesota (37), while ranking tied for fourth with six appearances in the last 10 years.
• Michigan's 24 Frozen Four appearances rank second behind Boston College (25).
• Michigan's 10 draft picks on the 2017-18 roster are the third most of any NCAA DI Men's Hockey program, trailing Minnesota (13) and Boston University (12).
• Built in 1923, Yost Ice Arena is tied for the second-oldest arena in NCAA DI Men's College Hockey with Princeton's Baker Arena, trailing Northeastern's Matthews Arena (1910).
• Jason Botterill '97 was named the General Manager of the Buffalo Sabres on May 11, 2017, becoming the 12th GM of an NHL organization who played collegiate hockey.
Up Ahead
The Maize and Blue have a home-and-home series with rival Michigan State next week. The game on Thursday (Dec. 7) will take place at home in Ann Arbor while Friday's matchup will be in East Lansing. Michigan leads the all-time series, 156-132-21, over the Spartans. Last season, the Wolverines went 1-2-2 against Michigan State.
