For the first time in the 28-year history of the United States National Team Development Program, the U.S. returned from the World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland with a gold medal. The World Junior tournament pits the top 10 hockey programs that feature players under 20 years old.
Wisconsin freshman forward Jeff Likens and defensemen Ryan Suter and Jake Dowell competed in the tournament for the United States, while Wisconsin Head Coach Mike Eaves coached the junior team. Former Badger assistant coach John Hynes was also on the bench alongside Eaves.
\This is a group with tremendous will,"" Eaves said. ""To go along with that will, they also have tremendous skill. When you have that kind of combination, you're going to be a contender every time you step on the ice. Sometimes, when the going gets tough, the skill doesn't matter.""
Team USA won the gold by going 6-0-0 in the tournament, beating Canada 4-3 in the championship game. Canada won the silver medal for the third consecutive year.
""What this does is substantiate the USA Hockey National Team Development Program,"" Eaves said. ""It's not the perfect program, but, obviously, it's doing some very good things. We still need to learn from other countries, but we have something good going. Let's run with it.\
