Team USA head coach Phil Housley was expected to cut one forward and two defenders today to finalize his roster for the IIHF World Junior Championships in Russia, which begin on Dec. 26. However, the American coach has opted to stall on his final cuts in the wake of a 5-1 loss to Finland in the team's final pre-tournament exhibition.
A full-strength squad was deployed for the game in Finland after Team USA beat Sweden two days earlier with six of their best players scratched. Today's lineup was expected to be very similarly to the one that will open the World Junior Championships against Germany on Dec. 27.
The disappointing result against Finland has raised major questions regarding the roster.
The team looked out of sync offensively, failing to sustain pressure in the enemy zone due to numerous errant passes. A number of quality chances off the rush were not enough to overcome the Fins.
Though the Americans produced the better chances early on, with two of the best the coming short-handed from Mario Lucia and Blake Pietila, Finland struck first on a slapper from Robert Leino.
The Americans got li ...
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Article written by Chris Blanchard
Team USA Delays Final Cuts After Loss to Finland in Final World Junior Warm-Up
December 22nd, 2012 by Chris Blanchard Leave a reply »
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