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Tournament Feature - After Opening Win, U.S. Focuses on Germany

By Brian Smith, 12/29/13, 7:30PM EST

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The 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is a grueling event, with teams competing in seven contests over a span of only eight days. The U.S. Men’s National Under-17 Team experienced just how demanding the schedule can be when it squared off against the Russian team less than 24 hours after its last game, a 6-2 victory over Canada's Team Quebec.

“After last night's game, we went to hotel and made sure to rest up and made sure our legs were recovered for today,” said Brendan Warren (Carleton, Mich.). “We were excited and ready to go and began focusing on the Russia game almost immediately after the Quebec win.”

A win over some of Quebec's best U17 players assembled on one team, although mentally and physically draining, may have given the U.S. a welcome confidence boost entering the Russia contest.

“Confidence is everything,” said Christian Fischer (Wayne, Ill.) “If we have confidence, we’ll make plays and put the puck in the net. A lot of the times that can be the difference between winning and losing tournaments like this - confidence.”

While excitement can often turn into nervous energy that can be detrimental to a team’s success, goaltender Michael Lackey (Washington, D.C.) took it in stride, emphasizing that confidence is crucial in big games.

“It’s a big honor to play against Russia and it’s humbling,” Lackey said, who was also in net when Team USA defeated Russia at the 2013 Under-17 Four Nations Tournament in Slovakia. “They’re a skilled team, but I think we've come out very strong both times and we’ve gotten the win.”

Noah Hanifin (Norwood, Mass.), serving as captain of Team USA during the tournament, acknowledged the significance of today’s game.

“Whenever you play Russia its more than just a hockey game,” the Boston College commit said. “There’s a lot of nerves before the game, but you really just want to help the team win no matter what. We did that and it sends a message to the other teams in the tournament.”

Similar to last night, Team USA will have little time to savor the victory as it readies for Germany tomorrow in another afternoon tilt. Such short turnover makes it necessary to stay focused only on the next task.

“We play seven games in eight days, so we take each game and figure out what we need to improve upon,” said Hanifin. “Off the ice, we need to make sure to get enough rest, take care of our bodies, recover and stay focused on game ahead of us if we want to be successful.”

Warren agreed, subscribing to the adage that the next game is always the most important with conviction.

“We treat every game the same, so we’ll enjoy this win but prepare for tomorrow’s game just as hard,” the Michigan commit said. “We’ll be ready to go tomorrow and then take full advantage of a day off on Wednesday. But for now, it's one day at a time.”

(Cover photo by Bob MacEachern)

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