13 grads help U.S. to bronze at World Juniors

Thirteen former North American Hockey League (NAHL) players helped lift the U.S. National Junior Team to a bronze medal at the at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship with a 4-2 win over Sweden on Wednesday afternoon in Buffalo, N.Y.

Among the NAHL graduates on Team USA was defenseman John Ramage, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin who won a Robertson Cup championship with the St. Louis Bandits in 2007-08.

The other alumni all played in the NAHL as members of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program: forwards Ryan Bourque, Chris Brown, Jerry D'Amigo, Emerson Etem, Jeremy Morin, Kyle Palmieri, Drew Shore and Jason Zucker; defensemen Justin Faulk, Derek Forbort and Jon Merrill; and goaltender Jack Campbell.

Team USA finished the tournament with a 4-1-0-1 record and earned consecutive medals for the first time in tournament history, having won the gold medal last year in Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (10 former NAHL players competed on that team). This year's bronze medal marked the seventh medal in U.S. National Junior Team history and the fourth in the last eight years.

For more information on the World Junior Championship, visit BuffaloWorldJuniors.com.