Team USA practiced for the second consecutive day in Havirov, a day before their first pre-tournament game. U.S staff will be keeping a watchful eye in the game as the difficult decision of finalizing a 23-player roster nears.

Goaltenders have had an opportunity to break in their new red, white and blue pads. Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.), Isaiah Saville (Anchorage, Alaska) and Dustin Wolf (Gilroy, Calif.) will continue to work with U.S. assistant coach David Lassonde (Durham, N.H./Dartmouth College) throughout the tournament.

ON A MISSION

Three members of the preliminary U.S. National Junior Team skated together with Chicago Mission at the Chipotle USA Hockey Youth Nationals in 2016: Jack Drury (Winnetka, Ill.), Jacob Pivonka (Naperville, Ill.) and Spencer Stastney (Mequon, Wis.). Pivonka and Stastney are teammates at the University of Notre Dame, while Drury plays with Harvard University.

BIG BLUE LINERS

The three tallest players currently on the preliminary U.S. National Junior Team roster, all defensemen, measure to 6 feet 4 inches: K’Andre Miller (Minnetonka, Minn.), Alec Regula (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Mattias Samuelsson (Voorhees, N.J.). Miller’s University of Wisconsin teammate Cole Caufield (Stevens Point, Wis.) comes in at 5 feet 7 inches. The team’s average height is currently 6 feet even.