USA Hockey / Ticket Info

TROY, N.Y. – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), specifically the Houston Field House, will be the site of the opening of training camp for the 2011 United States World Junior Championship Team. The defending gold medalists of the prestigious International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship begin preparations to defend its title on Friday at 9:30am.

Following two days of practices, which are open to the public and media, the U.S. plays Rensselaer on Sunday afternoon at 4pm at the Field House. The team then heads to Rochester to continue its preparations. Tickets to the game are available.

Below is the schedule for the U.S. Junior National Team while in Troy:
Friday, Dec. 17: Practice from 9:30am to 11am
Friday, Dec. 17: Practice from 5pm to 6pm
Saturday, Dec. 18: Practice from 9:30am to 11am
Saturday, Dec. 18: Practice from 5pm to 6pm
Sunday, Dec. 19: Game vs. RPI at 4pm

Among the 29 players invited to the camp is former Rensselaer standout Jerry D'Amigo, who played in 35 games, tallying 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 points for the Engineers last year. He was third on the team in points, second in assists and fourth in goals. Nationally, the Binghamton, N.Y., native ranked fifth in rookie points and sixth in points per game by a rookie (0.97). He was the 2010 ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and a Freshman All-America by Inside College Hockey.com.

D'Amigo missed four games while playing in the 2010 World Junior Championships, where he led the team to gold by scoring 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists), which ranked second only to Derek Stepan in the tournament and on the team. He was first on the U.S. in goals and third in assists.

D'Amigo signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the summer and currently plays for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Also included on the preliminary roster, which consists of mainly players with collegiate ties, are seven other returning players from the gold medal-winning team and 11 members of the gold medal-winning 2010 U.S. National Under-18 Team. There are 18 first or second-round National Hockey League (NHL) Draft picks, including nine first-rounders. Six players are NHL draft eligible in 2011. Keith Allain, head coach at nationally-ranked Yale, is the head coach.

The U.S. camp runs until December 23, when the team is finalized with 22 players. The World Junior Championship takes place from December 26 to January 5 in Buffalo and Niagara, N.Y.

Sunday's exhibition game will be broadcast live on WRPI, 91.5 FM, and on the Internet at www.wrpi.org. A live webcast can be viewed at www.rpiathletics.com/webcasts and live statistics can be found at www.rpiathletics.com/livestats. Tickets information is available by calling 518-276-6262.