It is home sweet home for the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams this week. Both squads play games at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Ice Cube this week.

Tickets for home games are $7 for adults and $5 for children, seniors and active military members. Youth hockey players wearing their team jerseys are admitted for just $1 and group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling the NTDP at (734) 327-9251.

U18s PLAY TWO: The U18s host the Youngstown Phantoms at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday and the Muskegon Lumberjacks at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday in United States Hockey League action. In addition, select members of the U18 squad will play in the CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game on Thursday in Buffalo, New York.

“We will be able to work on some items in practice this week before the Prospects Game,” said head coach Don Granato, whose squad carries a 5-0 mark into this week. “We need to continue to build on what we have learned so far. Overall, we will work on the little details in our two USHL contests as we continue to prepare for our college opener in two weeks.”

The U18s won back-to-back games last week at the USHL Fall Classic East, beating Cedar Rapids 10-5 on Tuesday and Youngstown 6-3 on Wednesday.

Matthew Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo.) and Brendan Warren (Carleton, Mich.) each tallied two goals and earned one assist, while Jeremy Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.) and Auston Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz.) registered one goal and two helpers to pace the offensive attack against Cedar Rapids. Colin White (Hanover, Mass.) scored two goals while Joseph Masonius (Spring Lake, N.J.) and Christian Fischer (Wayne, Ill.) each had single tallies. Michael Lackey (Washington, D.C.) kicked out 25 shots to earn the win in net.

Against Youngstown, Tkachuk paced the offensive with a pair of goals. Warren, White, Casey Fitzgerald (North Reading, Mass.), and Tage Thompson (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) had single tallies. In goal, Luke Opilka (St. Louis, Mo.) stopped 20 shots.

U17 HOME OPENER: The U17s will face the Muskegon Lumberjacks in their USHL home opener at 7 p.m. Friday at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

“It will be good to get back into game action,” said head coach Danton Cole, whose squad last played on Sept. 12, in 1-0 loss to Muskegon in preseason action. “It’s good to get practice on the ice and work on our various systems.”

The U17s’ contest against the LaSalle Vipers scheduled for Saturday was cancelled. A make-up date is still in discussion.

ALL-AMERICAN PROSPECTS GAME: Nineteen current and former National Team Development Program players will suit up for the third annual CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game on Thursday at the First Niagara Center, home of the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres. The event will feature 42 of the top American-born prospects eligible for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Former NHL players Mike Grier and Eddie Olczyk will each coach a team, with U18 coach Don Granato and his assistant Nick Fohr serving as assistants. The teams will be divided as Team Grier and Team Olczyk.

Representing Team Grier from the NTDP will be netminder Luke Opilka, defensemen Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe, Mich./2013-14/Michigan), Christian Evers (Waukee, Iowa), Casey Fitzgerald and Caleb Jones (Frisco, Texas); and forwards Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass./2012-14/Boston University), Jeremy Bracco, Jack Roslovic (Columbus, Ohio) and Jordan Greenway.

The NTDP on Team Olczyk will consist of goaltender Michael Lackey; defensemen Grant Gabriele (Brighton, Mich.), Noah Hanifin (Norwood, Mass./2013-14/Boston College), Nicholas Boka (Plymouth, Mich.) and Steven Ruggiero (Kings Park, N.Y.); along with forwards Colin White, Troy Terry (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Dennis Yan (Troy, Mich./2013-14), Christian Fischer and Brendan Warren.

• The U17s and U18s will both compete in the USHL East Division, with the U17s playing 34 contests and the U18s playing 26. The squads will combine in the standings as Team USA, and if the team advances to the playoffs, the U17s will represent the NTDP.

• Former NTDP head coach Ron Rolston (2004-11) was named a scout for the Phoenix Coyotes.

• Jeremy Bracco (3-7--10) leads the U18s in points after the first five games. Matthew Tkachuk (6-2), Colin White (4-4), and Auston Matthews (2-6) sit in a three-way tie for second with eight points apiece. Christian Fischer (3-7) and Brendan Warren (5-2) round out the top six scorers with seven points each.

• In goal for the U18s, Michael Lackey and Luke Opilka split time. Lackey is 2-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage. Opilka is 3-0 with a 1.33 GAA and a .935 save percentage.

• For the U17s, six players have one point each, including Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill./1-0), Graham McPhee (Bethesda, Md./0-1), Michael Campoli (Ann Arbor, Mich./0-1), Adam Fox (Jericho, N.Y./0-1), Keeghan Howdeshell (Brighton, Mich./0-1) and Trent Frederic (St. Louis, Mo./0-1).

• In goal for the U17s, Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) and Joseph Woll have split time. Woll is 0-1 with a 1.36 GAA and a .956 save percentage, while Oettinger is 0-1 with an 8.00 GAA and a .750 save percentage.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.