MSU prepares to welcome NTDP Under-18 Team to Munn

By Alyssa Girardi –

EAST LANSING — With the inaugural Big Ten regular season coming to a close and the league tournament on the horizon, this week will offer MSU hockey a chance to nurse nagging injuries and step back from the intensity of the past few months.

For the second straight season, MSU will take on the U.S. National Under-18 Development Program, located in Ann Arbor, in an exhibition game. The two teams will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday at Munn Ice Arena.

The National Team Development Program, or NTDP, is made up of select U-17 and U-18 players who compete in the United States Hockey League and international tournaments. U-18 head coach is Danton Cole, a four-year letterwinner at MSU from 1985-89.

The U-18s also play multiple NCAA D-I and D-III teams. This season, the NTDP has gone 7-8 in NCAA competition, with notable wins against Michigan (5-4), Miami (Ohio) (4-2) and, most recently, Bowling Green (6-1).

“They’re very skilled, and they have some of the best kids in the country playing,” Anastos said. “They’re playing with lots of confidence. They’ll be all geared up to play a college team, I’m sure, but they skate well. They have good skills, they have depth on their team, and they’ll be hard to play against.”

Anastos said Monday was a light skate for the team, and Tuesday was an optional practice to give the banged up players a chance to heal.

Junior defenseman RJ Boyd is out “for a while” after a sprained ankle obtained last weekend, but Anastos said the other injuries on the team are just nagging.

The Spartan coaching staff will use the exhibition game as an opportunity to play a few players who don’t receive regular ice time, including senior goaltender Will Yanakeff, whom Anastos said he expects to play Saturday.

If he starts, it will be Yanakeff’s first time in net since Nov. 9, a 3-2 overtime loss to Michigan Tech.

At the other end of the ice possibly in net for the NTDP could be Edwin Minney, an MSU commit. With a 15-8-1 record and a .906 save percentage, Minney has received the bulk of playing time this season.

“It’s a good opportunity, if he does play, for Michigan State fans to see one of our goalies of the future, and I hope he gets an opportunity to play.”

Also on the NTDP roster is Spartan commit Dylan Pavelek, a forward from Marysville, Mich. Pavelek has a 10-6-16 scoring line through 43 games.