USA Update; Danger calls out team

[FlyersGM]

With two games of the World Cup of Hockey completed, Team USA, under the General Managing of Jack Danger and Gavin Gear and Head Coaching Ron Wilson sit with a record of one win and one loss.

After game two, General Manager Jack Danger sat with reporters for questions.

Q: Where is Gavin Gear?

"He is currently going over game plans with Ron Wilson for tomorrow’s big game against Slovakia, he should be available for comment soon."

Q: Who has been making line decisions?

"Gavin, Ron and myself sit down before every game and decide the lines, we don't make a final decision until right before game time."

Q: How do you feel about your win over the heavily favored Canada East?

"We were very pleased with the way our team played and performed. It was a strong indication of what this team is capable of and what we are trying to accomplish."

Q: Your team seemed to come back down to Earth against Russia today, do you think we saw the real USA today?

"No not at all, the guys got a little cocky after the win yesterday. Obviously they didn't watch Russia after our game because they are playing great and we simply didn't prepare the same way we did against Canada (east)."

Q: Will there be an significant line changes?

"There will be a few tweaks, however, we have not made final decisions and will not reveal any of our line plans to the general public."

"We have a huge game tomorrow, the outcome of that game will reveal the character and commit of this team. If we do not win, I know for a fact Gavin and I will be sorely disappointed. We are keeping the line up the same for the most part because we believe in these guys and what they can do. However, if they do not perform well, there will be a big changes for our quarterfinal game. The guys who have been healthy scratches or haven't been playing much will be put in there because obviously our top guns didn't get the job done."

"Thank you for your questions, I am going to go prepare for tomorrow’s game. Gavin should be available for comment soon."

[Commissioner]

Don't worry, you're playing the human punching bag Slovakian national team next. You'll be sure to beat us by at least 5-6 goals. Enjoy!

Nathan Kopsack
The Slovakian Bantam Team GM

[ex-BluesGM]

Following USA Co-GM jack Danger’s press conference regarding the United States’ game 2 loss to Russia, Co-GM Gavin Gear took the podium to answer some questions:

Q: What has been your main roll in the US team thus far?

Gear: Well as jack indicated we do everything together with our head coach Ron Wilson. The coach trains the team and has the best feel for his players abilities on any given night. Jack and I make our suggestions known and do have a lot to do with who’s active and whose not for any given night. Jack is a bit of a special teams expert so I let him handle most of that.

Q: After meeting with your head coach are there any eminent changes for today’s game.

Gear: Well I can’t comment too much, as Jack indicated we will not release lines or defensive pairings prior to game time. Anyone can change our mind in the warm up. Our team is stacked with talent and even those players who don’t make the active rosters certainly deserve their due. I’ll throw you guys a bone though. We expect that Mikey (Dunham) will be backing up Garth (Snow- starting goalie) tonight instead of Rick (DePietro.) Overall we’re happy with our team.

Q: Is there any one place that you feel the US lacks compared to the other tourney teams?

Gear: Overall, no. Our team has a lot of offensive potential. I’d like to see a little more defense and leadership get into action though.

Q: How big of an impact on US Hockey will tonight’s game carry?

Gear: That’s hard to say. It would be a great disappointment for our squad not to come out of this tournament showing the world that the USA can play hockey at the highest level. But when you look at the squads in this cup tournament you can sincerely say that no team should be embarrassed to lose to anyone at this level.