Hi Folks,

Here's a press release from USA Hockey.

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USA Hockey Experiences Unprecedented Success In International Competition During 2003-04 Season

Record Medal Haul Includes Eight First-Place Finishes And Five Second-Place Finishes In Last 17 Events

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- During the 2003-04 season teams representing USA Hockey in 17 different international events finished in first place a total of eight times, second place five times, third place twice, and fourth place twice to cap an unprecedented overall year of success in the history of USA Hockey. The record medal haul includes top-three finishes in each of the International Ice Hockey Federation's five annual A-Pool World Championships: Men's, Women's, Junior (Under-20), Under-18, and In-Line Hockey.

"As an entire organization we are thrilled with our performances in international competition over the past year, and feel that the state of hockey in America is as strong as it has ever been thanks to the efforts of so many involved in our sport," said USA Hockey President Ron DeGregorio (Salem, N.H.).

"We take great pride in these significant accomplishments but also accept the challenge of striving for similar success in the future with the support of our volunteer leadership, staff members, sponsors and, of course, our coaches and athletes," said USA Hockey Executive Director Doug Palazzari (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

"USA Hockey is reaping the benefits of the hard work and talents of individuals associated with all of our programs, from the Youth Council to the National Team Development Program to our management for teams in World Championships," said USA Hockey Vice President & International Council Chairman Tony Rossi (Chicago, Ill.).

"We can primarily attribute this remarkable season to USA Hockey's dedication to being successful at all levels of the sport, and not simply emphasizing one area," said USA Hockey Senior Director, International Administration Art Berglund (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

Most recently, the U.S. Men's National Team defeated Slovakia, 1-0, today in a game that ended with a shootout to win the bronze medal at the 2004 International Ice Hockey Federation Men's World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic. The team earned a 5-3-1 overall record, including another shootout victory during a Quarterfinal Round upset over host Czech Republic. It marked the first time since 1996, and the 16th time since the tournament began in 1920, that the U.S. has captured a medal at the A-Pool level.

Last month the U.S. Women's National Team earned its eighth consecutive silver medal at the IIHF Women's World Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The team owned a perfect 4-0-0 record heading into the gold-medal game versus rival Canada, where the U.S. fell, 2-0. During the Preliminary Round the U.S. handed Canada its first-ever loss in the history of the tournament, blemishing its perfect 37-0-0 record with a 3-1 loss.

The U.S. National Under-18 Team added to USA Hockey's medal count by earning the silver medal in April at the 2004 IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Minsk, Belarus in its third consecutive medal-game appearance at the event. The United States won gold in 2002 and finished fourth last year.

The U.S. National Sled Hockey team also captured silver last month in Sweden at the 2004 International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey World Championship, suffering its only loss to Norway, 2-1, in the gold-medal game. The team was assembled and organized by U.S. Paralympics.

In February the U.S. National Under-18 Team absorbed two shootout losses to finish fourth at the Five Nations Cup in Finland, and the U.S. National Under-17 Team overcame older opponents by sweeping three Under-18 national teams in Slovakia at the Four Nations Cup.

Over the December holidays three U.S. teams took part in international competition. The U.S. National Junior Team earned the first-ever gold medal in the 28-year history of the IIHF World Junior Championship. The U.S. defeated Canada, 4-3, in a momentous gold-medal game en route to turning in a perfect 6-0-0 record in Helsinki and Hameenlinna, Finland.

Composed of top players from U.S. Junior A Tier I and Tier II leagues, the USA Hockey Junior Select Team finished second at the Viking Cup 2004, held bi-annually in Camrose, Alberta. Team USA's only loss in six games came to Finland in the finals. The U.S. National Under-17 Team also turned in a solid performance while finishing fourth at the 2004 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in St. John's, Newfoundland after falling, 3-2, to Team Quebec in the third-place game.

In November the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams finished first and second, respectively, at Four Nations Tournaments. The Under-17 Team posted a 3-0-0 record to win the title in Russia, while the Under-18 Team registered a 2-1-0 record as the runner-up in Switzerland. The two squads are products of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.

In November two U.S. Select Teams earned championships at their respective fall tournaments. The U.S. Women's Select Team defeated Canada, 2-1, in a shootout victory to secure the title at the 2003 Four Nations Cup in Skovde, Sweden, and finished the tournament with a 4-0-0 record. The U.S. Men's National Selects finished undefeated and claimed first place at the 2003 Deutschland Cup in Hannover, Germany with a 1-0 blanking of Switzerland in the final contest.

During two events in Slovakia this past August, the U.S. Under-18 Select Team captured the championship at the Junior World Cup, while the U.S. Under-17 Select Team won first place at the Five Nations Tournament. The teams were assembled and organized by the USA Hockey Youth Council following the summer's Select Festivals. Also that month the U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team fashioned an undefeated 2-0-1 record against Canada to win its first Summer Series (exhibition), regularly held between the two countries.

Last July the USA Hockey InLine National Team secured the bronze medal at the 2003 IIHF In-Line Hockey World Championship in Germany. With an 11-6 win over the Czech Republic, the U.S. took home its first medal since skating to silver two years earlier.

Team/Event/Dates/Location/Record/Finish
USA Hockey InLine National Team/IIHF In-Line World Champ./July 12-19/ Nuremburg, Germany/5-1-0/Third

U.S. Under-18 Select Team/Junior World Cup/Aug. 11-16/Piestany, Slovakia/ 5-0-0/First

U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team/Summer Series vs. Canada (exhib.)/ Aug. 20-23/Pierrefonds, Quebec/2-0-1/First

U.S. Under-17 Select Team/Five Nations Cup/Aug. 20-24/Prievidza, Slovakia/ 3-0-1/First

U.S. Women's Select Team/Four Nations Cup/Nov. 5-9/Skövde, Sweden/ 4-0-0/First

U.S. Men's National Selects/Deutschland Cup/Nov. 7-9/Hannover, Germany/ 3-0-0/First

U.S. National Under-17 Team/Four Nations Cup/Nov. 7-9/Magnitogorsk, Russia/ 3-0-0/First

U.S. National Under-18 Team/Four Nations Cup/Nov. 7-9/Huttwil, Switzerland/ 2-1-0/Second

USA Hockey Junior Select Team/Viking Cup/Dec. 28 - Jan. 4/Camrose, Alberta/ 5-1-0/Second

U.S. National Under-17 Team/U-17 World Hockey Challenge/Dec. 28 - Jan. 4/ St. John's, Nfld./4-3-0/Fourth

U.S. National Junior Team/IIHF World Junior Champ./Dec. 26 - Jan. 5/Helsinki, Finland/6-0-0/First

U.S. National Under-18 Team/Five Nations Tournament/Feb. 4-7/Pori, Finland/ 1-3-0/Fourth

U.S. National Under-17 Team/Four Nations Tournament/Feb. 5-7/Piestany, Slovakia/3-0-0/First

U.S. Women's National Team/IIHF Women's World Champ./March 29 - April 6/ Halifax, Nova Scotia/4-1-0/Second

U.S. National Under-18 Team/IIHF Under-18 World Champ./April 8-18 Minsk, Belarus/5-1-0/Second

U.S. National Sled Hockey Team/IPC Sledge Hockey World Champ./April 17-24/ Ornsoldsvik, Sweden/4-1-0/Second

U.S. Men's National Team/IIHF Men's World Champ./April 24 - May 9/Prague, Czech Republic/5-3-1/Third

For more information, please contact:
USA Hockey Media Relations, (719) 576-8724
Chuck Menke, ext. 171 or Caitlin Lazaro, ext. 172
or visit www.usahockey.com

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Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central