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2018 U.S. National Junior Team Roster Trimmed to 27

By USAHockey.com, 12/19/17, 8:00AM EST

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U.S. Faces Belarus in Pre-Tournament Game Tomorrow in Jamestown, N.Y.; HockeyTV To Stream Both U.S. Pre-Tournament Games

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The roster for the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team has been trimmed to 27 players. The United States will travel to Jamestown, New York, this afternoon for its first pre-tournament game against Belarus at Northwest Arena tomorrow. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET and tickets are on sale now. 

"These decisions are never easy, especially considering the outstanding level of competitiveness we've seen from these players so far in camp," said Jim Johannson, general manager of the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team and also the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey. "These next four days, particularly the two pre-tournament games, will provide Coach Motzko and his staff a clearer picture in determing a final roster that will represent the United States on home ice in Buffalo." 

After its game against Belarus, the U.S. will skate at Northwest Arena Thursday and Friday (dec. 21-22) before facing Sweden in its final pre-tournament game on Dec. 22 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. Puck drop for that game is also 7 p.m. ET and tickets can be purchased here.

The 27 remaining players includes seven returnees from the gold medal-winning 2017 U.S. National Junior Team, including forward Joey Anderson (Roseville, Minn./University of Minnesota Duluth), who was named captain of Team USA on Dec. 17. 

U.S. Final Roster

HockeyTV To Stream Both U.S. Pre-Tournament Games

USA Hockey also announced today that HockeyTV will live stream both U.S. pre-tournament games. Steve Warzala will handle play-by-play duties with Christopher Lachapelle providing color commentary for both games. Current subscribers of HockeyTV can watch the games with their active subscription. Users whose subscriptions have expired can simply log in to their existing HockeyTV account and activate a new subscription. New users to HockeyTV should go to USAHockey.HockeyTV.com and register for an account. 

NOTES: The U.S. National Junior Team released defenseman Cole Hults (Stoughton, Wis./Penn State University) ... The updated U.S. National Junior Team roster includes players from 10 states, including Alaska (1), Connecticut (3), Florida (2), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (3), Missouri (4), New York (1) and Washington (1) ... The final 23-player roster, which is expected to be named by Dec. 23, will represent the United States in the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Buffalo, New York, from Dec. 26, 2017 - Jan. 5, 2018. The U.S. will play in the first ever outdoor game in tournament play when it takes on Canada at New Era Field on Dec. 29, 2017. Tickets for that game, as well as all other tournament games, are available here ... Jim Johannson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations, is serving as the general manager of Team USA for the eighth consecutive year ... Bob Motzko (St. Cloud, Minn.), who guided Team USA to its fourth-ever gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship in Montreal and Toronto, Canada, is returning as head coach for the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team. He is joined behind the bench by assistant coaches Greg Brown (Scituate, Mass.), Grant Potulny (Grand Forks, N.D.), Kris Mayotte (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Steve Miller (Littleton, Colo.), all of whom were part of his gold medal-winning staff a year ago. ... USA Hockey’s international council, chaired by Gavin Regan (Potsdam, N.Y.), vice president of USA Hockey, has oversight responsibilities for all U.S. national teams ... All U.S. games will be broadcast live on NHL Network. 

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U.S. Schedule

Date Opponent Location Result U.S. Player of Game
Wed., Dec. 20 Belarus
Pre-Tournament Game
Northwest Arena
Jamestown, N.Y.
W, 14-0 NA
Fri., Dec. 22 Sweden
Pre-Tournament Game
Erie Insurance Arena
Erie, Pa.
W, 3-1 NA
Tues., Dec. 26 Denmark
Preliminary Round
KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
W, 9-0 Casey Mittelstadt
Thurs., Dec. 28 Slovakia
Preliminary Round
KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
L, 2-3 Brady Tkachuk
Fri., Dec. 29 Canada
Preliminary Round
New Era Field*
Orchard Park, N.Y.
W (SO) 4-3 Casey Mittelstadt
Sun., Dec. 31 Finland
Preliminary Round
KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
W, 5-4 Joey Anderson
Tues., Jan. 2 Russia
Quarterfinals
KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
W, 4-2 Kieffer Bellows
Thurs., Jan. 4 Sweden
Semifinals
KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
L, 2-4 Josh Norris
Fri., Jan. 5 Czech Republic
Bronze-Medal Game
KeyBank Center
Buffalo, N.Y.
W, 9-3 Trent Frederic

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