"We have a couple of games under our belt. What are the holes in our game? How can we fix them? Special teams are always a big thing, no matter what. You always spend a bunch of time on that."
"It is always tough. You work your entire life to be here. You want to be on the ice so bad, but it is one of those things where everybody here is so excited to be here and be part of it. All you have to do is keep yourself ready and prepared. You want to do your job, whatever that is, whether it is being a voice, working hard in practice, or being the best eye in the stands. You just want to enjoy it and be grateful for it."
"It is a short tournament, and you're coming together with the systems and trying to put everything into play. I think it is rounding into form. From watching, the guys were sharp in the last few games. Defensively, the guys have been sharp. I feel really confident in our defensive game."
"When there is a hit made like that, it gets you on your toes a little bit. I ended up on a shift with him. We got tangled up, and I obviously knew it was the same guy. I think it was more about him understanding that there would be an answer. We are going to stick up for our teammates. I didn't know it was necessarily going to be a fight, but it turned into that pretty quickly. We ended up on the ice in a wrestling match or melee, and it was chaos. Once I got out of the pile and he ended up on the bottom, I wanted to make sure I didn't take it too far, thinking about the more important hockey coming up. I think they got the message that we are g"
Team Canada enters a knockout rematch with Czechia with a semifinal berth on the line. Coaching emphasis is on identifying weaknesses and fixing them, with special teams a major priority. Players report growing cohesion as systems settle and defensive play sharpens. Non-playing veterans emphasize readiness, supporting roles in practice, and contributing leadership off the ice. Physical incidents have prompted commitment to protect teammates while avoiding unnecessary escalation. The team aims to balance disciplined physicality with execution of systems to advance in the tournament's short, high-stakes format.
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