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Sled hockey: Team USA rarin' to go
By Dennis Romboy
Deseret News staff writer
WEST VALLEY CITY — Not one to be a braggart, Pat Sapp must have a little Joe Namath in him somewhere.
The 48-year-old backup goalie for the U.S. Paralympic sled hockey team predicted a victory — at least not a loss — in the gold-medal game Friday night.
"We're not going to lose," said after beating Estonia 6-1 on Thursday. "That's a guarantee."
That's a bold prediction for a member of a team that has never won anything in international competition. And it was made before Team USA knew sure it would face Team Norway, the defending Paralympic champion.
But with the way the United States has steamrolled through the tournament, maybe it doesn't matter. The Americans have good reason to go into the final with a bit of swagger after years of not only losing but being humiliated in the process.
"We're a brand new team, and they didn't expect us to come out and dominate," said forward Matt Coppens. "I think our endurance and training has been able to bring us this far. We have the edge we didn't expect. We played our game and took what we learned in practice out on the ice."
Coach Rick Middleton, a former NHL all-star, gave the Americans a much-needed system that centers on defense creating offense.
The team responded at both ends of the rink. It outscored the opposition 22-3 in five round-robin games. Only Norway provided much of challenge, falling just 2-1 in a hard-checking match Monday.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Team USA, which has a silver medal regardless of the outcome, has stunned even themselves. Whatever the score, the result will be the Americans' best finish in international competition.
"I could never imagine in my wildest dreams that we would be in the position that we are in. Again, it's hard work. It's going to bed at 10 at night and being on the ice at 5 a.m. It's sleeping out of our trucks just so that we can play hockey and get better," Sapp said.
Norway earned a trip to the title game with 2-0 win over Japan on Thursday. Sweden and Canada, which tied 1-1 in the preliminary round, were scheduled to play for the bronze medal Friday afternoon.
U.S. goalie Manuel Guerra Jr., who will start tonight, wouldn't be as brash as his teammate but said "we are confident in our ability."
"It's going to be a tough, hard-hitting, scrappy game," he said. "They have the experience. We have the raw talent. That's what it's going to come down to."
Goaltending and defense will be key. Both teams have high-scoring players — Sylvester Flis for the United States, Helge Bjoernstad for Norway — with the ability to create their own shots. The team that gets on the board first will control the game.
Norway's Tommy Rovelstad, a defenseman with five goals, expects a low-scoring match. Neutralizing Flis and speedy forward Joe Howard will be a chore.
"We have to fight. Just fight, fight, fight. They are a faster team than we are," he said.
Rovelstad doesn't think Norway's experience will count for much. "It's a new game," he said.
And he had a prediction of sorts himself. He said he expects to sleep in Friday, relax and "come kick their a--."
Team USA will have the home-ice advantage for its first-ever championship game.
"It should be an incredible experience," said veteran Kip St. Germaine. "Hopefully the fans bring the roof off this place, and we'll give them something to cheer about."
E-MAIL: romboy@desnews.com
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March 15, 2002
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