The United States of Hockey

After eight goals against Germany, it appears the U.S. didn’t save enough for Russia as it fell to the tournament hosts 2-1 in its second game at the World Junior Championship. The regulation loss puts the U.S. into a bit of a hole heading into a highly-anticipated match-up against Canada, though the U.S. medal hopes are alive even after this defeat.

For Team USA it was a game of missed opportunities and occasionally being its own worst enemy, but it wasn’t an all-out bad game. Inconsistency haunted the U.S. throughout the contest, unable to establish and sustain enough puck possession to outlast Russia. Two breakdowns led to Russian goals, while Andrey Makarov’s 41 saves and an improved Russian defense allowed just one for Team USA.

It was an inspired defensive effort from the Russians, with a lot of blocked shots and sticks in passing lanes, but the U.S. certainly helped them out a bit by trying to force passes and making things a little more complicated than they needed to be.

Unlike 2012, however, the U.S. were never really out of this game like last year’s team seemed to be particularly in losses to Finland and the Czech Republic. There just wasn’t enough against a quality opponent and it cost them three points.

Team USA now sits third in Group B with games against Canada and Slovakia remaining in the prelim round.

Coming up after the jump a look at Team USA’s stats, general thoughts on the game and some player notes, both good and bad.

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On Day 3 of the World Junior Championship, the U.S. National Junior Team’s roster has been finalized. USA Hockey has rostered Patrick Sieloff to be the seventh defenseman. That move comes at the expense of Matt Grzelcyk, who has been sent home.

The decision was delayed by an apparent medical issue, which has been fully cleared.

Sieloff brings some much-needed physicality to Team USA. A defensive defenseman, the Calgary Flames prospect has good enough puck skills to move the puck up ice and help support Team USA’s run-and-gun offense, but his steadiness on the back end is a big reason he’s here.

Just as strong a case could be made for Grzelcyk, who has terrific offensive capabilities and plays sound defensively. It appears with the success of Mike Reilly and Shayne Gostisbehere in similar roles early in the tournament, Grzelcyk’s skill set became expendable. It’s a tough call to make as Grzelcyk has the talent to be a part of this team, but USA Hockey needed some more physicality on the back end and that’s what Sieloff brings.

Coming up after the jump, a look at Team USA’s official lineup for today’s game against Russia, which begins at 9 a.m. ET and airs on NHL Network in the U.S., TSN in Canada and will stream live on NHL.com.

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As far as preliminary-round games go, they don’t get much bigger than this (at least until Sunday). The U.S. meets Russia in its second prelim tilt of the World Junior Championship Friday and the game has major seeding implications. You can watch the game live on NHL Network, as well as on NHL.com starting at 9 a.m. ET.

Both teams are coming off opening-game victories, with the U.S. beating Germany comfortably, while Russia had to sweat one out in overtime against Slovakia. The tournament hosts may have gotten a much-needed wake-up call against the stronger-than-expected Slovaks. Even Russian players were saying they were not ready for that game.

It should be a different story against the USA. Team Russia would love nothing more than to beat the Americans in front of an adoring crowd in Ufa, so the U.S. better be ready for a motivated opponent.

Whoever wins this game will be better positioned for a trip to the medal round and that trumps everything. With both still awaiting games with Canada, beating each other is a priority.

It should be an incredibly exciting, fast-paced game between these two great rivals.

Coming up after the jump, the latest on Team USA, an in-depth look at Russia, keys to the game and more.

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The first goal came 19 seconds into the game and at points it seemed like they’d never stop. The U.S. National Junior Team trounced Germany 8-0 in its opening game of the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship.

This was the start Team USA needed heading into the meat of its Group of Death opposition. Eight different players scored goals, while John Gibson and Jon Gillies split the shutout.

Sure, Germany was a weak opponent playing its second game in as many days, but the U.S. played a complete game. Every line was getting involved in the offense, the speed was overtly evident, the D limited quality chances and contributed offensively. Almost every detail went right.

You couldn’t pick out a player that had a “bad” game. Not everyone was great, but there didn’t look to be a single U.S. player that looked out of place or uncomfortable. This gives the U.S. a game to build off of as the tournament only gets tougher from here.

Coming up after the jump an in-depth look at what made the U.S. so successful, the stats and more.

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The U.S. lineup for today’s World Junior Championship-opening contest against Germany is now available. Here is who the U.S. will put together to start the game with some thoughts on each…

After the jump:

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Well, all the build up is finally over and the World Junior Championship has arrived. Team USA will meet Germany in its opening game at the World Juniors after a Day 1 bye. The Americans will look to set the tone for the rest of the tournament with this important early-tournament tilt. The game will air live on NHL Network, while also streaming live on NHL.com in the United States starting at 9 a.m. ET.

The first game of any tournament is important, but when you get a max of seven games that quick start is all the more meaningful. In the early stages of a tournament, it’s important for teams to gel quickly and get on the same page to establish some familiarity and consistency. There is only so much prep a team can do before games go live.

Playing in the incredibly tough Group B makes the Germany an almost-too-early must-win game. Wins will be tough to come by, so it is important to take advantage when playing a weaker opponent. Not only will the U.S. want to win, but win in regulation. With the IIHF on a three-point system, getting those three points would put the U.S. in an early tie with Canada for the top spot in the group and one point ahead of Russia before Friday’s match-up with the hosts.

It’s easy to look ahead to Friday’s big contest, but doing that against a German team that should be better than most expect them to be could be a costly mistake.

Coming up after the jump, the latest on Team USA, an in-depth look at Germany, some keys to the game and pertinent links.

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The U.S. National Junior Team will open WJC play on Day 2 of the tournament with Germany.

Before getting to the rest of the preview content today, I spent some time with the guys on The Pipeline Show as they previewed the World Juniors on Christmas Day.

Guy Flaming, Dean Millard and myself take a look at Team USA’s chances, which three players are the big keys for the U.S. and even cover my pick for the all-time best WJC player for the United States. It may surprise you.

You can hear the full audio of my chat with Dean and Guy right here. Catch other team previews here.

The U.S. National Junior Team will be playing as part of Group B at the World Junior Championship. There’s always one side of the tournament that is lopsided with top teams and this year it’s Group B.

The U.S. will have a tough road to the medal round as a result. With both host Russia and perennial powerhouse Canada in the group on top of a better-than-most-realize German team and always sneaky Slovakia, there’s no true easy game for the U.S.

When the puck drops Thursday between the U.S. and Germany, Team USA will have to set an early tone for the rest of the tournament. Friday brings a date with host Russia, before Sunday’s anticipated tilt with rival Canada. Team USA closes out group play with Slovakia on Monday, which, depending on how things go in the previous two games, could be do-or-die for the U.S.

As last year’s team became painfully aware, the margin for error is incredibly thin at the World Juniors. A mistake hear or there can really be the difference in medal round or staving off relegation. In a group this tough, that only intensifies.

Coming up after the jump a look at each of Team USA’s four Group B opponents.

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