BIG-TIME COVERAGE

Several players fulfilled television rightsholder interviews following practice as the networks gear up for tomorrow night’s highly anticipated rematch.  Team USA forward, Dylan Larkin, also joined Matt Barrie on ESPN’s SportsCenter for an interview previewing tomorrow night’s championship game. Team USA has the Boston Bruins locker room and following practice it was jam packed with the news media covering the event, making it difficult for players to even get to their stalls.

SPECIAL VISIT FROM COACH PARKER

Head coach Mike Sullivan brought a special guest to his media availability this afternoon – legendary Boston University men’s ice hockey coach, Jack Parker – who coached Sullivan at BU from 1986-90. Parker, a college hockey icon and member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, coached the Terriers for 40 seasons and led them to three national championships, 11 conference titles and 21 Beanpot Tournament crowns.

FUN AT THE PIZZA PARLOR

At lunchtime today, Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, with their parents Keith and Chantal, journeyed to Santarpio’s Pizza in East Boston to shoot a segment for ESPN that will air in advance of Thursday’s championship game. The four sat at the bar and were guided through a fun conversation with ESPN producers while enjoying lunch. Santarpio’s is an old staple for the Tkachuk family, particularly Keith, who shared it was a place he has been to more than 50 times, including growing up as a kid. Santarpio’s was established in 1903 as a bakery by Frank Santarpio and began selling pizza in 1933. It is primarily known for its Boston-style pizza.

IT'S ALL ABOUT USA-CANADA 

The U.S. National Sled Team is in greater Boston getting set to face Canada tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Saugus, Mass., at Kasabuski Rink as part of the Reeve Hockey Classic. The game will be streamed live on USAHockeyTV.com. The teams will also battle Thursday at 1:30 p.m. and will attend the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game later that night. The U.S. has won gold at the last four Paralympic Winter Games, an unprecedented feat.

HOMEWARD BOUND

After an emotional, hard fought 3-1 victory over arch-rival Canada at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday night that raised Team USA’s record at the 4 Nations Face-Off to 2-0-0-0 (6 pts.) and clinched a spot in Thursday’s championship game, the team boarded two buses at midnight local time for the drive to the team charter looking to beat the incoming inclement weather out of Montreal. Despite some delays, including time to de-ice the plane, Team USA’s charter was off to Boston where the remainder of the 4 Nations Face-Off will be held at TD Garden, home of the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins.  

Team USA touched down in Boston at approximately 3:30 a.m. ET, cleared customs, and were off to the team hotel.  It was a slow drive as inclement weather hit the Boston area as well on Saturday and into Sunday, but Team USA’s buses finally pulled up to the team hotel just before 5:00 a.m. ET.

Sunday was a day off the ice for the players and most used the time to catch up on sleep, relax around the hotel and enjoy some of their favorite restaurants in the Boston area. Head Coach Mike Sullivan and five players – Jack Hughes, Adam Fox, Jaccob Slavin, Vincent Trochek and Kyle Connor – made their way to TD Garden at 4 p.m. ET for a visit with the media covering the 4 Nations Face-Off in Boston.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME CLINCHED

Jake Guentzel found the back of the net twice as the U.S. Men’s National Team scored three unanswered goals in a 3-1 victory over Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off at the Bell Centre. With the win, Team USA clinched a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game on Thursday (Feb. 20). For the full recap, click here.  

Team USA will face Sweden in its final round-robin game on Monday (Feb. 17) at TD Garden in Boston. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on TNT.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

While there are not many hotels across the globe that have a flower shop, Team USA’s headquarters does include one, and as you might imagine, it came in handy for players and staff with significant others in town. The hotel also had a fun display in the lobby with various forms of chocolate for sale to celebrate, including one choice in the shape of a high heel shoe.

AUTOGRAPHS

This afternoon at the team hotel, Team USA operations manager Brij Singh organized a team signing with jerseys, sticks and one hat that players signed for each other. Vincent Trocheck’s seven-year-old son Leo Trocheck came with his dad to the signing and counted the number of items, one-by-one, out loud. When he was finished, the total was 99 items in all.

LEGENDS OF THE GAME GATHER

Team USA captain Auston Matthews participated in the opening ceremony of the 4 Nations Face-Off at Bell Centre tonight and received a ceremonial national team banner from U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Richter, who starred in goal on Team USA’s 1996 World Cup of Hockey Team. The other three teams also had their captains on hand as well in addition to a retired hockey legend from their country, with Canada including Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux; Finland featuring Alexansder Barkov and Teemu Selanne; and Sweden celebrating Victor Hedman and Daniel Alfredsson.

A FEW THINGS TO KNOW

U.S. forward Jack Hughes will be revealing Team USA’s goal song for the 4 Nations Face-Off tomorrow on X. Look for it before noon ET … Connor Hellebuyck will get the call in net for Team USA against Finland. He’s a two-time Vezina Trophy winner from the Winnipeg Jets. The Commerce, Mich., native is 34-7-2 (2.06, .925) so far this season. He has represented the U.S. in three IIHF Men’s World Championships and also played for Team North America in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey … Team USA’s locker room music today came from the playlist of Chris “Frosty” Scoppetto, one of the three equipment managers part of the U.S. staff and a veteran in supporting U.S. teams on the international stage. Among the songs resonating throughout the locker room and nearby hallways were “Just Breathe” by Pearl Jam, “I Will Buy You a New Life” by Everclear, “Interstate Love Song” by Stone Temple Pilots, “All Over You” by Live, and “Peaches” by The Presidents Of The United States Of America … After enjoying dinner at some of the great restaurants around the city of Montreal, a number of U.S. players gathered at the team hotel to watch the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off between Canada and Sweden.

FROM THE HEAD COACH

A couple of nuggets from U.S. Head Coach Mike Sullivan at his press conference today after practice.

On Matt Boldy … “He has a quiet confidence, but knows he belongs.”

On Auston Matthews … “He carries himself with such humility.”

It was lights, cameras, action and more today at Bell Centre as Team USA had its second practice in advance of the 4 Nations Face-Off.  Today’s practice incorporated special teams work for the first time. And speaking of special, Guy Gaudreau – father of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau --  also put on his skates and joined the team on the ice for the 55-minute practice session.

At the outset of its practice, Team USA took its team photo. At the request of the players, the picture, which was masterfully crafted by long-time photographer Andre Ringuette, included Guy Gaudreau. Following the team picture, Ringuette snapped a number of group photos, among them captains, coaches and the combinations of players and staff from different NHL teams and colleges. U.S. general manager Bill Guerin had ventured off in the stands prior to the completion of the group shots, but raced back to ensure he was in the Boston College photo.

MEDIA DAY

An extensive media day that incorporated the many television rights holders from across the world -- as well as the significant presence of non-television media covering the tournament – took place following practice.

U.S. head coach Mike Sullivan and general manager Bill Guerin answered questions in a 25-minute press conference style format immediately after practice ended to start the festivities.

Over the course of the next 60-plus minutes, all 23 players were involved in interviews in a variety of fashions. The NHL had eight “pods” set up and each player sat for a session to answer questions from media. In addition, many of the players visited with the various television rights holders, including ESPN and TNT in the U.S. 

Guy Gaudreau also shared exclusive thoughts with Stephen Whyno from the Associated Press and Dan Rosen from NHL.com.

The players and staff of Team USA arrived in Montreal from across the country yesterday, with the first on the ground coming in early afternoon and concluding with Jake Sanderson’s 1 a.m. arrival. Sanderson replaced Quinn Hughes, who was unable to participate. The players gathered in the Team USA meeting room to watch the Super Bowl with allegiances siding with the Philadelphia Eagles, largely in support of Johnny Gaudreau, who was a lifelong Eagles fan.

A DINNER LIKE NO OTHER

It was a dinner to remember for the U.S. Men’s National Team tonight with U.S. general manager Bill Guerin surprising the players and staff with four special guests who shared inspiring messages for the group. The luminaries included captain Mike Eruzione and Rob McLanahan from the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team; Mike Modano, arguably the best American player of all-time; and Guy Gaudreau, father of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. All four offered words to the group reflecting the great opportunity to represent the country.