Two Minnesotans on under-18 U.S. team going to world championships

A slightly edited release from USA Hockey:

The 22-player roster for the U.S. national under-18 team has been named. It will compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Men's Under-18 Championship April 13-23 in Minsk and Bobruisk, Belarus.

Five players return from the U.S. team that captured the gold medal at the 2009 IIHF World men's under-18 championship in Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn. They are:

* goalie Jack Campbell of Port Huron, Mich. He was named to the media all-star team at last year's event

* defensemen Adam Clendening of Niagara Falls, N.Y.

* defenseman Jon Merrill of Brighton, Mich.

* forward Matthew Nieto of Long Beach, Calif.

Campbell and Zucker were part of the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship in Regina and Saskatoon, Sask., in January.

The only Minnesotans on the team are defenseman Justin Faulk of South St. Paul, and Derek Forbort of Duluth. Faulk is a UMD recruit, Forbort is headed for North Dakota.

Twenty of the 22 players on Team USA's roster come from USA Hockey's National Team Development Program based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Connor Brickley plays for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL, while Austin Watson skates for the Ontario Hockey League's Peterborough Petes.

Other teams in the tournament are Belarus, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland … Team USA will play two pre-tournament games against Belarus and Slovakia in Bobruisk and Soligorsk, Belarus.

Team USA 2010 IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship Schedule
April 13-23 • Minsk & Bobruisk, Belarus