NORTH SYDNEY, Nova Scotia - Much has been made about the undeniable chemistry within the U.S. Men’s National Under-17 Team. Its cohesiveness is one of the big reasons why Team USA has won its first two games of the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge by a combined score of 19-2. Such efficient teamwork is no accident, however, as many of the skaters for the U.S. have history playing with, and even against, each other in their home states.

“I think everyone on the team has played together before, one way or the other,” said Luke Kirwan (Dewitt, N.Y.). “That experience with each other at camps, tournaments, or even competing against each other let us pick up on intricacies coming into this year.”

One teammate that Kirwan knows well is Jordan Greenway (Potsdam, N.Y.), who he played with and against for years growing up in adjacent towns.

“We live right next to each other and played together forever growing up,” said Greenway, who netted three goals in a 14-1 victory over Germany on Monday. “I was excited to play with him and so many other guys I knew as great players and represent our country together.”

Representing their country together is nothing new for Greenway and Kirwan, though, as they skated together in many of USA Hockey’s National Player Development camps throughout their careers. Those camps are where the New York neighbors first encountered Jeremy Bracco (Freeport, N.Y.).

“I knew Jeremy as the player with really quick feet and he always wore a full face shield,” said Greenway, a Boston University commit. “Even that brief exposure makes it easier to be able to talk to them and fit together to have better chemistry now.”

But the New York connections don’t stop there. Bracco, who played with Kirwan on select teams over his summers in Freeport, grew up skating with Charles McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y.).

“Charlie and I have played together for about 13 years,” said Bracco, a future Harvard Crimson. “We actually played against Greenway and Kirwan together and had a friendly rivalry.”

Has that rivalry made it difficult to bond with those opponents? Not according to Kirwan.

“It’s not difficult to play together now because even though we were opponents before, we played with each other throughout the summer too,” he said.

Kirwan, who scored three goals and added two assists of his own against Germany, said he thinks the U.S. has a distinct advantage over other countries in the tournament whose teams do not skate with each other year-round.

“Coming into the year in August, I realized just how much everyone knew about everyone else on the team,” the 230-pound forward said. “I played with most of the guys from the midwest and east coast before we arrived in Ann Arbor.”

Team USA has since put its synchronization on display all year, and the 14-1 rout of Germany is just the latest indication of the powerful potential this team has.

“In a game like that, it’s a game to get chemistry going,” said McAvoy. “It’s important to stay mentally strong and getting everyone’s confidence up.”

Bracco agreed.

“Tonight we really got to play within our system and work on things we don’t usually get to do,” the shifty winger said. “It helps us gain poise moving forward in this tournament.”

Despite the multiple individual connections that are evident throughout the team, Kirwan stressed that the team remains focused on the success of the whole.

“Personally it’s great that the individuals are contributing to help our team win,” he said. “But this whole situation is something we can feed off of as a group and it let’s us do the things that make the team successful.

(Cover photo courtesy of Derek Leung/Hockey Canada Images)