League Standouts Named to U.S. Junior Team Preliminary Roster

ALBANY, N.Y. – Yale forward Kenny Agostino and Cornell forward Brian Ferlin are among a group of 29 players invited to the 2012 U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster, which was announced Monday by USA Hockey on NHL Network's broadcast of Cisco NHL Live.

The team's pre-tournament camp is scheduled for Dec. 17-23 in Camrose, Alberta. The final roster of 22 for the IIHF World Junior Championship is expected to be announced December 22 on the eve of the squad's final tune-up game.

Cornell goaltender Andy Iles has also been tabbed as the United States' emergency goalie for the tournament after serving as a member of the bronze medal-winning squad in 2011. He will not attend either the camp or the tournament unless an injury is suffered by Jack Campbell or John Gibson.

Agostino, a sophomore, was extremely impressive at the National Junior Evaluation Camp in August, leading the Americans with 10 points, including three goals, in six games. The Flanders, New Jersey native has continued his impressive play this season, notching 10 points, including four goals, in 10 games for the Bulldogs.

A draft selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Agostino enjoyed a strong freshman campaign with 11 goals and 25 points in 31 games.

Ferlin and Iles both had strong performances in USA Hockey's National Junior Evaluation Camp in August, then delivered standout performances for the Big Red in the early portion of the 2011-12 season. Cornell, which moved up to 16th in the USCHO.com poll Monday, stands in first place in ECAC Hockey with a 7-3-1 overall record and 6-1-1 mark in league play.

The 6-foot-2, 201-pound Ferlin is the first Jacksonville, Fla. native to ever be selected in the NHL Entry Draft, having been scooped up by the Boston Bruins in the fourth round of June's draft. He was named the November Rookie of the Month for both ECAC Hockey and the Hockey Commissioners Association after leading the nation in rookie scoring with an average of 1.22 points per game through November.

Ferlin had five goals and six assists for 11 points, all during a seven-game point streak that included a five-game Cornell winning streak. He was named ECAC Hockey's Rookie of the Week consecutively on Nov. 8 and Nov. 15, currently sitting in second place in league scoring with five goals and six assists for 11 points through eight games.

Iles has been lights-out over the past several weeks with five shutouts over the Big Red's last six games. He is the first Cornell goalie with five shutouts in the first 11 games of a season since Ken Dryden in 1967-68. All five of Iles' shutouts have come on home ice, giving him an active scoreless streak of 310 minutes, 58 seconds at Lynah Rink.