In Goal for Team USA...

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 Booberry Gets the Nod at Goalie for WJC 

 

It’s tough for a new goalie to make a World Juniors Championship roster. It’s tougher if that squad is the United States, which tends to attract a lot of talent. And to be a starter on the squad? That’s relatively unheard of.

 

But Minnesota-born Xavier Booberry put in a lot of work in his early VHLM stint with one distinct goal in mind: to make the U.S. WJC roster. And not only did he do so, but team leadership decided to give him the starting nod in the team’s opening games, letting the relatively green goalie play behind rising VHL stars like Hard Markinson and Aldwin Craig.

 

Booberry doesn’t believe the moment will get to him, though. On the contrary, he seems locked in ahead of his WJC experience.

 

“Seeing the talent on this team, I think it gives me even more confidence. I know I have great players to have my back,” Booberry said. “I don’t plan on making many mistakes, but even if I do, I know it’s not the end of the world. And that frees me up to play my game.”

 

The young goalie didn’t play terribly in the U.S.’s two pre-tournament games, giving up 2 goals to Team Asia and 3 goals to Team Europe. The U.S. squad ended up losing both games by one goal, however, providing the U.S. coaching staff some motivational tools heading into the tournament itself.

 

“We’ve talked, and I know what they expect,” Booberry added. “I plan to be representing Team USA for years to come on the international stage, and I’m excited to start it off on the right foot.”