By Philip O’Connor
HT Picture
STOCKHOLM, – Group USA needed to dig deep to beat a well-organised Finnish crew within the quarter-finals of the Worldwide Ice Hockey Federation World Championship on Thursday however they ultimately cruised to a 5-2 win that took them into the final 4 and provides them one other shot on the gold-medal sport.
With a few of their greatest gamers historically selecting to skip the annual event after a protracted NHL season, the People have struggled to realize the outcomes their expertise pool may deserve, however coach Ryan Warsofsky stated he was pleased with how his group saved discovering methods to get the job accomplished.
“I think we’ve won in a lot of different ways, you know… tonight, we kind of fell behind, we were letting it kind of spiral out of control with some shifts we got it back on the rails a little bit,” he instructed reporters.
“Our leadership group with Garland, Thompson, Brady Skjei, Werenski, obviously Keller, really helped our young guys, and kind of got them back on the rails, so we’re a confident group.”
The People head into Saturday’s semi-finals figuring out that they haven’t gained gold on the worlds since 1933, with their final silver medal coming in 1950, and 7 bronze medals since is a poor return for a nation of their stature within the sport.
“I think all these guys love their country and to have that logo, that crest, on their chest, you have a lot to play for. That should give you a lot of juice,” Warsofsky stated.
Requested if he had a choice for who his facet would meet within the semis, the coach stated: “No. Every team this time of year at this tournament is really good, so it’s not going to really matter.”
The road-up for Saturday’s semi-finals shall be determined afterward Thursday, with the ultimate on Sunday in Stockholm.