USA Hockey

Nickname(s)	Team U.S.A., Ice Yanks
Association	USA Hockey
General Manager	Jim Johannson
Head coach	Joe Sacco
Assistants	Tim Army Phil Housley
Captain	Paul Stastny
Most games	Buzz Schneider (126)
Most points	Pat LaFontaine (140)
IIHF code	USA
Highest IIHF ranking	5 (first in 2003)
Lowest IIHF ranking	7 (first in 2006)
Team colours
First international
United States 29–0 Switzerland  (Antwerp, Belgium; April 23, 1920)
Biggest win
United States 31–1 Italy  (St. Moritz, Switzerland; February 1, 1948)
Biggest defeat
Sweden 17–2 United States  (Stockholm, Sweden; March 12, 1963)  Soviet Union 17–2 United States  (Stockholm, Sweden; March 15, 1969)
IIHF World Championships
Appearances	52 (first in 1930)
Best result	Gold: 2 – 1933 – 1960
Olympics
Appearances	20 (first in 1920)
Medals	Gold: 2 – 1960, 1980 Silver: 8 – 1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 1956, 1972, 2002, 2010 Bronze: 1 – 1936
International record (W–L–T)
449–415–80

The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its U18 and U17 development program in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The team is controlled by USA Hockey. Because of the United States' fourth-place performance in the 2009 World Championships, the team moved up one spot – passing the Czech Republic – to 5th in the IIHF World Rankings.^[1] The United States won silver medals at the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics and the gold medal at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. The team's most recent medal at the World Championships came with a bronze in 2004, and they won the tournament in 1933 and 1960 (from 1920 to 1968, the Olympic gold medallist was also crowned the world champion for that year). At the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the United States was unable to defend its title, losing to Finland in the semifinals. Most recently, the team finished 7th in the 2012 IIHF World Championship. Its current head coach is Ron Wilson. As of 2007, the United States has a total of 480,038 registered ice hockey players (0.20% of its population).^[2] The United States is a member of the so-called "Big Seven", the unofficial group of seven the strongest men's ice hockey nations, along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, and Sweden.^[3]

History [edit]

The American ice hockey team's greatest success was the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York when they defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union on the way to a gold medal. Though hockey is not a universally popular sport in the United States, the "Miracle" is often listed as one of the greatest achievements in the history of American sports. The United States also won the gold medal in the 1960 Games at Squaw Valley, California, defeating the Soviet Union, Canada, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden along the way. However, since this victory is not as well known as the 1980 win, it has come to be known as the "Forgotten Miracle".^[4][5]

U.S. hockey experienced a spike in talent in the 1980s and 1990s, with future National Hockey League (NHL) stars including Tony Amonte, Tom Barrasso, Chris Chelios, Brett Hull, Pat LaFontaine, John LeClair, Brian Leetch, Mike Modano, Mike Richter, Jeremy Roenick, Kevin Stevens, Keith Tkachuk, and Doug Weight. Although the United States finished no higher than fourth in any World or Olympic event from 1981 through 1994, the Americans did win the 1996 World Cup with a squad of NHL players. Six years later, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and NHL arranged to allow NHL players to participate in the Olympic Games, the United States earned a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics with a roster that included NHL stars Adam Deadmarsh, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Brian Rafalski. But by 2006, many of these NHL All-Stars had retired or lost their skill with age. Though the 2006 Olympic team finished a disappointing 8th, it was more of a transitional team, featuring young NHL players like Rick DiPietro, John-Michael Liles, and Jordan Leopold.

The 2010 U.S. Olympic team was composed of much younger and faster players than teams of previous years, including David Backes, Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson, Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski, Bobby Ryan, Paul Stastny, and Ryan Suter. The team also had a solid group of veterans that included top NHL goalie Ryan Miller top defenseman Brian Rafalski and U.S. Olympic Team Captain Jamie Langenbrunner. The U.S. team upset team Canada 5–3 in the round-robin phase of the tournament and went into the single elimination phase of the tournament as the number-one seeded team. After beating Finland 6–1 the United States advanced to the gold medal game, where they lost in overtime 3–2 to Canada to claim the silver medal. The gold medal game between Canada and the United States was watched by an estimated 27.6 million U.S. households. This was the most watched hockey game in America since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" game, including any Stanley Cup Final or NHL Winter Classic broadcast.^[6]

However, several months later at the IIHF World Championship, the U.S. team posted the worst record in its history by losing all three of its games in the preliminary round. The losses eliminated the United States from medal contention and dropped them below 12th place. Only three wins in the relegation round, including a shootout win over Italy, prevented the United States from being relegated to Division I and gave Team USA a chance to play for the IIHF World Championship in 2011.

2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships roster [edit]

Goalies
#	Player	Catches	Height	Weight	DOB	Team^	Birthplace
30	Ben Bishop	L	6' 7"	215 lbs.	Nov. 21, 1986	Tampa Bay Lightning	Denver, CO
35	John Gibson	L	6' 2"	201 lbs.	Jul. 14, 1993	Kitchener Rangers	Pittsburgh, PA
39	Cal Heeter	L	6' 4"	195 lbs.	Nov. 2, 1988	Adirondack Phantoms	St. Louis, MO

Defensemen
#	Player	Shoots	Height	Weight	DOB	Team^	Birthplace
2	Jeff Petry	R	6' 3"	200 lbs.	Dec. 9, 1987	Edmonton Oilers	Ann Arbor, MI
4	Jamie McBain	R	6' 2"	197 lbs.	Feb. 25, 1988	Carolina Hurricanes	Edina, MN
6	Erik Johnson	R	6' 4"	235 lbs.	Mar. 21, 1988	Colorado Avalanche	Bloomington, MN
8	Jacob Trouba	R	6' 3"	195 lbs.	Feb. 26, 1994	Winnipeg Jets	Rochester, MI
22	Matt Hunwick	L	5' 11"	190 lbs.	May 21, 1985	Colorado Avalanche	Warren, MI
25	Matt Carle	L	6' 0"	205 lbs.	Sep. 25, 1984	Tampa Bay Lightning	Anchorage, AK
27	Justin Faulk	R	6' 0"	215 lbs.	Mar. 20, 1992	Carolina Hurricanes	South St. Paul, MN
34	Chris Butler	R	6' 1"	203 lbs.	Oct. 27, 1986	Calgary Flames	St. Louis, MO

Forwards
#	Player	Shoots	Height	Weight	DOB	Team^	Birthplace
7	Danny Kristo	R	5' 11"	188 lbs.	Jun. 18, 1990	Hamilton Bulldogs	Eden Prairie, MN
11	Stephen Gionta	R	5' 7"	185 lbs.	Oct. 9, 1983	New Jersey Devils	Rochester, NY
12	Bobby Butler	R	6' 0"	185 lbs.	Apr. 26, 1987	Nashville Predators	Marlborough, MA
15	Craig Smith	R	6' 1"	197 lbs.	Sep. 5, 1989	Nashville Predators	Madison, WI
17	Aaron Palushaj	R	5' 11"	190 lbs.	Sep. 7, 1989	Colorado Avalanche	Livonia, MI
18	David Moss	R	6' 3"	200 lbs.	Dec. 28, 1981	Phoenix Coyotes	Livonia, MI
19	Tim Stapleton	R	5' 9"	180 lbs.	Jul. 19, 1982	HC Dinamo Minsk	La Grange, IL
20	Ryan Carter	L	6' 2"	200 lbs.	Sep. 3, 1983	New Jersey Devils	White Bear Lake, MN
21	Drew LeBlanc	L	6' 0"	195 lbs.	Jun. 29, 1989	Chicago Blackhawks	Duluth, MN
26	Paul Stastny	L	6' 0"	205 lbs	Dec. 27, 1985	Colorado Avalanche	Quebec City, QC
27	Nick Bjugstad	R	6' 6"	215 lbs.	Jul. 17, 1992	Florida Panthers	Minneapolis, MN
32	Alex Galchenyuk	L	6' 1"	198 lbs.	Feb. 12, 1994	Montreal Canadiens	Milwaukee, WI
44	Nate Thompson	L	6' 0"	206 lbs.	Oct. 5, 1984	Tampa Bay Lightning	Anchorage, AK
74	T. J. Oshie	R	5' 11"	194 lbs.	Dec. 23, 1986	St. Louis Blues	Mt. Vernon, WA

^ – Most recent team before the 2013 World Championship

2010 Olympic roster [edit]

The following is the American roster in the men's ice hockey tournament of the 2010 Winter Olympics.^[7] view

Defensemen Paul Martin and Mike Komisarek were initially selected, but due to injuries were replaced by Ryan Whitney and Tim Gleason.^[8]

Olympic record [edit]

• 1920 (Summer Olympics) – Silver medal winner
• 1924 – Silver medal winner
• 1928 – Did not participate
• 1932 – Silver medal winner
• 1936 – Bronze medal winner
• 1948 – Disqualified
• 1952 – Silver medal winner
• 1956 – Silver medal winner
• 1960 – Gold medal winner
• 1964 – Finished in 5th place
• 1968 – Finished in 6th place
• 1972 – Silver medal winner
• 1976 – Finished in 5th place
• 1980 – Gold medal winner
  Further information: Miracle on Ice
• 1984 – Finished in 7th place
• 1988 – Finished in 7th place
• 1992 – Finished in 4th place
• 1994 – Finished in 8th place
• 1998 – Finished in 6th place
• 2002 – Silver medal winner
• 2006 – Finished in 8th place
• 2010 – Silver medal winner

Canada Cup record [edit]

• 1976 – Finished in 5th place
• 1981 – Finished in 4th place, lost semi-final
• 1984 – Finished in 4th place, lost semi-final
• 1987 – Finished in 5th place
• 1991 – Finished in 2nd place, lost final

World Cup record [edit]

• 1996 – Won World Cup
• 2004 – Lost semi-final

World Championship record [edit]

See: Ice Hockey World Championships and List of IIHF World Championship medalists

Note: Between 1920 and 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.^[9]

Others [edit]

IIHF World Championship directorate awards [edit]

The IIHF has given awards for each year's championship tournament to the top goalie, defenseman, and forward (all since 1954), and most valuable player (since 2004). The following USA team members have won awards.

See also [edit]

• List of United States national hockey team rosters
• United States at the team sports international competitions

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: United States national ice hockey team

• USA Hockey official website
• AP Winter Games Beyond the Medal: US Hockey Team Pulls Off Upset
• AP Winter Games Video: US Stuns Canada 5–3 in Hockey