Team USA's Journey to Gold

[McLovin 473]

 

(Team USA after Jaxon Walker scored the GWG in double overtime against Canada)

 

In a stunning Gold Medal game, Team USA beat Canada 2-1 in double overtime off a beautiful one timer from Jaxon Walker, a cross-ice feed from Nate Wright. To say it simply though, the USA's adventure has been a long and hard fought one, and I think it's deserving of a media spot here considering all the factors that went into this team winning Gold. Without further ado, let's get into the nitty gritty. 

 

Humble Beginnings:

Simply put, everybody had high expectations of Team USA going into the S70 World Junior Cup. They had just come off a surprise comeback from being worst to Bronze medalists in the season prior, and were coming into S70 with a much improved roster. Familiar faces like Bud Knight, Nate Wright & Jaxon Walker were making returns once more, while newer faces such as Stone Wolski and Thomas Landry II were making their World Juniors debuts. I've gone over how each individual player could (and did) contribute to success of the team, but here we'll more talk about the team itself and how it preformed during the round robin and medal round. Initially, Team USA was often ranked towards the middle of the pack, with not many people believing this team could shake the inconsistency that put a damper on their previous run, while others were expecting this to be the year. A lot of problems were cited towards offense once again, mostly being the lack of a deep center core compared to the winger and defensive help they boasted. Because of this, many believed this would be repeats of previous one-and-done appearances, or falling just short of the ultimate prize. The last time Team USA won a Gold on the international stage was the S68 World Cup, and even further back to S66 for the World Juniors, so it was certainly safe to say that Americans were waiting on another dream team to come around and bring home something worth putting in the papers. With that, let's get into how the tournament started for the Americans.

 

Round Robin:

In the first two games, Team USA split the contests with Team nWo, taking the first game by a score of 6-4, and dropping the second by a score of 6-1. GM @McLovin determined that the team was okay going into the next set against Europe and kept the lines identical. This ended up being the right call as Team USA took both games against Europe by a score of 6-5 and 5-2 in each of the respective games. From this point, the Americans were looking like a strong candidate for a Gold medal appearance. They had two of the three top scorers in the tournament up to this point, goal tending and defense were at an elite level against strong competition. Unfortunately though, round robin didn't end there and things got a little worse. Game 12 against Asia would prove to be a convincing win, improving their record to 4-1-0, but things went downhill fast. In the next two games, Canada would take the USA to school, beating them 4-1 & 4-3 in both contests. For the first time in the tournament, the USA did not have potent offense carry them to a win, or a strong defense hold the line for them to the buzzer. It was a culture shock for the locker room, and as fate would have it, it didn't end there. This would again prove problematic as in the final game the USA would play in round robin as it had them fall to Asia 4-3. Though the offense gave them a chance, (and then some) ironically defense proved to be the downside of the team in the second half of the round robin and put the USA at a sub par 4-4-0 record. Thankfully though, luck would favor them again as the focus switched over to the medal round.

 

Medal Round: 

Because of their third place finish, Team USA got a bye on the Quarter Finals and rested up while nWo and Asia beat each other up. Later that week, the Semis had Team USA going up against the second place Europeans, while nWo, after beating Asia in the quarters, faced the first place Canada in the other contest. It would seem that the rest helped the boys recoup, as they went on to beat the Europeans 2-0 in a convincing fashion, guaranteeing an appearance in the Gold Medal game. One final test remained though, that being the Canadians. They just came off an absolute snipe show against World, beating them in a 12 goal game, 7-5. With the defensive inconsistencies, and the fact that Canada swept the Americans in the entire tournament thus far, it was safe to say that Team USA had one last major challenge ahead of them before the prize became theirs. The final game against Canada began the day after, and boy were the Americans put to the test early. The first period resulted in a 1-0 lead for Canada, with an absolute cannon from Erik Killinger off an assist by Daldo on the power play being the only marker. The second period wouldn't fare much better as 7 minutes after a goal from Jaxon Walker to tie the game, Canada again struck on the power play, marking it a 2-1 game going into the third. GM McLovin came down from the press box into the locker room, and gave a speech that ignited something in the souls of the American players. (He had also just watched Miracle before this so that might've contributed a bit.) For the first half of the period, teams traded shots and hits, holding their breath and waiting to see which side would make the final daring move. As fortune would have it, the Americans moved first, and an incredible effort by Bud Knight off a beautiful cross ice pass from Gary Tarantino had the game tied up with 8 minutes left. This game was going into overtime. Funny enough, the first overtime frame was rather underwhelming, minus two power plays from Canada off two separate hooking calls from Thomas Landry II. Luck shined brightly in the second overtime frame however, as Jaxon Walker, who previously put Team USA on the board in the second period, ripped one home in clutch fashion to win his team Gold. The dream was finally realized. These players who might have been waiting their entire junior careers, or had just joined the squad a few weeks back, could now finally call themselves champions. Many players lost their eligibility to participate in further World Junior Cup tournaments after this, so for them this was their last chance to take home Gold. For all of them though, this is something they can carry with them for the rest of their careers. Being a Gold medalist before your VHL career even starts is a helluva way to begin said career, and a lot of players don't get that chance. GM McLovin announced shortly after the game that this would be his final World Junior Cup tournament in a press release after being quoted saying the following:

 

"This squad was not a group of common men, they went out there and did what no one expected them to, for that I'm proud of every single guy in that locker room, they've earned this. As for me, I have a team I have to help run in Helsinki with my good friend @Jubo07 waiting for me across the ocean, and I know this team will be in good hands no matter what I decided to do. To the fans, live in the moment, you've been waiting for this. For my players, hopefully this will not be the last time I see you playing. And to everyone, HEADS HIGH, STAND TALL, FLY STRAIGHT, USA, ALL THE WAY!"

 

Conclusion:

In case you couldn't tell, I'm drawing a lot of comparisons to the Miracle on Ice, because in a lot of ways, this is our own little Miracle on Ice. No one expected us to beat the juggernauts of the East, and expected us to get our teeth kicked in by the team that whooped us in years past, but not this time. In all seriousness though, this team was a lot of fun to GM. The interaction in the locker room and on the game results pages were amazing, and I can't wait to work with a few of these guys going down the stretch, since a lot of them are Helsinki prospects.  To the boys, well done, cherish this victory, put it in your signature, have a night out! Just don't do anything illegal since you're all still kids technically! This in a lot of ways was a hype post for the boys, and a farewell to USA Hockey and the World Juniors, as I pass the torch onto the GM that'll make the next Miracle on Ice. Good luck gents!

 

 

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1,509 words, claiming for the next three weeks

[Banackock 8,160]

@McLovin HOW DID YOU CELEBRATE

 

[McLovin 473]

2 minutes ago, Banackock said:

@McLovin HOW DID YOU CELEBRATE

 

 

BREWSKIS AND POOR LIFE CHOICES BABY

[Banackock 8,160]

Just now, McLovin said:

 

BREWSKIS AND POOR LIFE CHOICES BABY