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Photo by Rena Laverty
It’s time for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program to head across the pond for international action.
The Under-17 team heads off to Finland, while the Under-18 team will travel to Sweden for its respective Five Nations tournament.
The U17s are embarking on their final international action this season in Finland. The Five Nations features games against Sweden (Feb. 5), Finland (Feb. 6), Switzerland (Feb. 7) and Czechia (Feb. 9) in a round-robin event.
Photo by Rena Laverty
“We have to bond together and play for each other,” said U17 forward Casey Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.). “We get into trouble when everyone is on their own page. It’s simple — we need to play together and play for each other. It’s how the coaches want us to play and that is the key heading into this tournament.”
Five Nations is also an opportunity for the group to show how much their game has grown since arriving in Plymouth back in late August, as the U17s will play against their own age group.
“Our team has been through a lot of adversity together but each day we have grown together as a team,” said U17 forward Jamie Glance (Stratham, N.H.). “We have gotten close as a team and that has helped out.
“We try to put our losses behind and focus on the future. We get back to work the next week and get into preparation for the week ahead. Do our best [to right] what was wrong as a team and fix it in the next games.”
Playing in the USHL has helped equip this team heading into international play, Mutryn said.
“It helps a lot,” he said. “It’s not easy, especially in the USHL. We have learned that this year. It’s a grind. It prepares us for competition with your own age and makes you feel more well-equipped to play teams your own age. Even though it’s still tough, it helps.”
The U17s finished fourth in their first international showing — the U17 World Challenge back in early November. The squad then won the Vierumäki Cup in Finland in December, taking down the host nation in a shootout in the championship game.
The U17s learned plenty about themselves by winning an international event and will take some lessons with them into Five Nations.
That first tournament win was special for Glance.
“It was a really fun tournament,” he said. “Our team was well prepared for it. We went undefeated and that helped our confidence. We took it game-by-game which is what we needed to do. We stayed dialed in and played our best there.
“The last game against Finland, we didn’t play as well as we wanted to, but we stepped up when we needed to. We wanted it slightly more and I feel like our whole team came together and knew what we needed to do and executed really well.”
Mutryn remembers the resilience it took to win that final game against Finland.
“We had to battle back from being down a goal and then came back to win in a shootout. It was extremely special to win with this group of guys. It’s something I’ll remember forever,” he said.
Photo by Vierumäki
Meanwhile, the U18s head to Sweden to play in their own version of Five Nations. It marks the second international event of the season for the U18s, who placed third in their first event in early November.
The team will play four games in four days, facing Sweden (Feb. 5), Finland (Feb. 6), Switzerland (Feb. 7) and Czechia (Feb. 8).
The group understands the challenge that they face in this event and feels much better than earlier in the year, according to goaltender Harrison Boettiger (Wheat Ridge, Colo.).
“We obviously take it one game at a time and one opponent at a time,” he said. “It will give us the best chance to win. I’m excited to see how we play and what we can do as a team.
Photo by Michael Caples
“We are starting to find our footing, especially in the USHL. The college games have been huge for us in helping with our development, especially defensively.”
Playing in the college games has made a difference for this team, and it really helps slow the game down when they go back and play against their own age group.
“The play happens so much faster in college,” Boettiger said. “As a goalie, it makes reading the game way easier at [your] own birth level.”
Back at the Five Nations tournament in November, one game still stands out — a 6-5 loss to Finland and their lone loss of the tournament. Since then, the players have worked hard to bring their game to a new level.
“The one loss to Finland really sticks to us,” defenseman Garrett Lindberg (Moorehead, Minn.) said. “It’s a motivation for us [to get better]. We need to stay more disciplined and play the best we can in these games.”
While the competition will be different for both teams, the U18s and U17s both shared how special it is for them to wear the Team USA jersey, especially in international play.
“It means everything, going to battle with the guys on the team,” Mutryn said. “Everyone knows how special it is to represent your country and play for each other. We are very grateful to be able to do that.”
“It’s super special,” Lindberg said. “A lot of kids would love to represent our country, and we get to do this together. It’s something I’ll always remembe.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.