Catching up a bit

Minnesota State incoming freshman Zach Stepan made the first round of cuts at the U.S. Junior National Team Evaluation Camp, which runs through Saturday in Lake Placid, N.Y. The forward scored a goal in a game against Finland on Monday and assisted on a goal against Finland today (Thursday).

The camp began with 44 U.S. players, and the roster was whittled down to 31 on Tuesday. The team, which will compete in the World Junior Tournament Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Sweden, will have a roster of 23 players.

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Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald confirmed the names of the referees for the NCHC and the WCHA for this season. While there will be some crossover, the NCHC will be taking eight referees from the WCHA. Here are the refs, according to Schlossman:

WCHA 
Chris Perreault
Jared Moen
Brad Albers
Justin Brown
Peter Friesema
Marco Hunt
Brett Klosowski
Butch Mousseaux
Kevin Hall (from CCHA)
Kevin Langseth (from CCHA)
Keith Surgott (from CCHA)
Mark Wilkins (from CCHA)
Rodney Tocco (from CCHA)
Tommy Albindia (from CHL/USHL)
Bobby Lukkason (from USHL)
Brady Johnson (from USHL)
Mike Elam (from USHL)
Derek Shepherd (part-time/going to NCHC)
Brad Shepherd (part-time/going to NCHC)

NCHC
C.J. Beaurline (from WCHA)
Scott Bokal (from WCHA)
Tom Sterns (from WCHA)
Todd Anderson (from WCHA)
Derek Shepherd (from WCHA)
Brad Shepherd (from WCHA)
Tim Walsh (from WCHA)
Brian Thul (from WCHA)
Andy Thiessen (from AHL/ECHL)
Joe Sullivan (from AHL/ECHL)
Nick Krebsbach (from AHL/ECHL)
Steve Patafie (from AHL)
Dan Dreger (from CHL)
Brian Aaron (from CCHA)

It also sounds like the NCHC is strongly considering using shootouts to break ties after overtime and get rid of goal judges. I'll be curious to see if the WCHA considers one

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Michigan Tech announced on Wednesday that Jujhar Khaira is forgoing his final three years of eligibility to sign with the Edmonton Oilers. Khaira had 25 points (6-19) as a freshman to rank third on the team in scoring. Khaira was a third-round draft pick of the Oilers in 2012.