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U.S. MEDALS A s questions and comments circulated throughout the hockey world like the Russian snow swirling outside Ufa Arena, all was quiet inside the T eam USA bus. Another disappointing one-goal loss left this American squad on the precipice of a second consecutive disappointing run at the IIHF World Junior Championships. As the 23 players sat in silence wondering what it would take to rally, Phil Housley stepped into the aisle to address his troops. A veteran of many such bus rides during his Hall of Fame career, Housley is no stranger to these make-or-break moments. And in the words that followed, he did more than simply brighten the mood of a dejected group. He injected confidence into a lineup that he believed was on the cusp of greatness. All they needed, he felt, was not an overhaul, but a gentle nudge. "Boys," Housley said in his Minnesota accent, "I'm so proud of the way you played out there. If we keep playing like that we're going to be OK." As he returned to his seat, smiles slowly returned. And just like that consecutive onegoal defeats at the hands of the Russians and Canadians were softened. And just like that T eam USA had a new life. It would turn out to be the last time the U.S. squad would taste defeat at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship. They easily survived their do-or-die match up with Slovakia, 9-3, to escape the preliminary round, and then dispatched the Czech Republic, 7-0, to set up a rematch against their North American rivals. This time around there would be no doubt as a pair of goals by defenseman Jake McCabe and Johnny Gaudreau powered the U.S. into the gold-medal game with a 5-1 victory. "During that losing streak we knew we were a good team and knew we were in both games," said forward Cole Bardreau. "The bounces didn't go our way, and that's unfortunate, but we knew we just needed to get better as the tournament went along." Bardreau then paid Housley and his coaching staff – Mark Osiecki, Grant Potulny, Dave Lassonde and Dan Muse – a compliment that rang throughout the U.S. lineup and is perhaps a hallmark for how to guide hockey teams from Mites to National Teams. "The guys love the coaching staff," Bardreau said. "They are confident in our play, which really helped. Even when we 1986 BRONZE 1992 BRONZE 1997 SILVER 2004 GOLD 2007 BRONZE 2010 GOLD 2011 BRONZE 2013 GOLD made a mistake they backed us up, and it helped guide us through the tournament and it elevated our games." Housley admitted later that he didn't make big changes after the two losses because that wasn't what was needed. "The pieces came together, and I think that's what you have to look at," he said. "Don't change something to change something but look for the positives on your team and make small adjustments not big ones. "There's always areas where you need to improve on your team but our biggest feedback as coaches was that we're playing good hockey." It's not that Housley didn't make changes on the fly. He split up the defensive pairing of Seth Jones and Mike Reilly for new partners. Jones joined McCabe, a shutdown defenseman who had suddenly discovered In a do-or-die preliminary round game against Slovakia, the U.S. National Junior Team dominated from the opening face off to win, 9-3, to stake a claim to a spot in the quarterfinals. After being silenced early in the tournament, Rocco Grimaldi scored a pair of big goals in the gold-medal game. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY Images on Ice USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM FEBRUARY. 2013 17