Team USA’s National Developmental U-18 team (18-22-2) is USA hockey’s team for developing young players into hockey stars to represent the country at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) tournaments.
The team directly represents the U.S. at the IIHF U-18 Men’s World Championship and is used as a steppingstone to prepare players for the IIHF World Junior Championships which is a U-20 tournament and one of the IIHF’s most prestigious.
The National Developmental team spends its season playing in international tournaments, competing in the United States Hockey League (USHL), and challenging universities to exhibition games.
This weekend, it’s the Falcons’ (15-10-4) turn to face Team USA. This is the first time BG is playing Team USA since Jan. 27, 2023, when the Orange and Brown fell 6-3. Goal scorers in that game include current Falcons Ryan O’Hara and Seth Fyten, along with notable Boston College forwards Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault, and even current San Jose Shark and Boston College alum Will Smith.
The current USNTDP roster consists of 23 college commits with notable names such as forwards Cole McKinney (Committed to the University of Michigan), Will Moore (Committed to Boston College), Richard Gallant (Committed to Harvard University), and Jack Murtagh (Committed to Boston University). These are USNTDP’s main stars so far this season and will pose the biggest threat to BGSU.
McKinney leads the team in assists (22) and points (36). Moore and Gallant are tied for the team’s lead in goals with each player having scored 18. Murtagh is second in points with 35 while also taking a team-leading 106 shots on goal.
Team USA’s last set of games was against international opponents as part of the 2025 U-18 Five Nations tournament where they finished 3-1 with their lone loss coming at the hands of Sweden. USNTDP rallied and won the remaining three games of the tournament against Switzerland, Finland, and Czechia.
BG is coming off a great stretch of conference play, most recently splitting a series against St. Thomas University. The Falcons will look at this game as a tune-up game for the remaining two weeks of CCHA play and the playoffs that follow. Expect the Falcons and Coach Dennis Williams to play some players who haven’t seen an abundance of ice time throughout the season and try multiple line combinations throughout the night.
In terms of goaltending, BG will most likely rotate through multiple throughout the night to let everyone get some playing time. Team USA could play any of their three goalies Joey Slavick, Patrick Quinlan, and Harrison Boettiger. Slavik has been the best statistically of the three, currently sitting with a .903 save percentage and 2.78 goals against average, while also recording 2 shutouts so far this season.
This weekend will be a fun, no-pressure, test for the Falcons who will be able to try out multiple line combinations and rest some star players while just enjoying the game without having to worry about the impact they are having on the CCHA standings.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Nathan Burkett will have the call from Plymouth, Michigan starting at 6:45 on WBGU 88.1 FM for the Friday night matchup on Feb. 14.
Falcon Four Players to Watch
Forward – Cole McKinney, USNTDP
McKinney leads Team USA in points and assists and is currently on a seven-game point streak while scoring five goals and six assists over that span.
Forward – Jack Murtagh, USNTDP
Murtagh is currently second in points and averages above a point per game while leading the team in shots on goal. He is also on a five-game point streak with two goals and five assists in those games.
Freshman Forward – Adam Zlnka, Bowling Green
While this will be Zlnka’s first time facing America’s U-18 team, he is no stranger to playing team USA, as he has faced them while playing for team Slovakia in the 2023 and 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships. He even recorded an assist in Slovakia’s win during the 2023 matchup.
Sophomore Forward – Adam Schankula, Bowling Green
Schankula has only played in one matchup so far this season but was present in both of BG’s previous exhibition games. In the two exhibition games BG played previously this season, Schankula recorded a goal and an assist. He also scored three points in 14 games played last season after joining the Falcons halfway through the season.
