US hope team chemistry helps men's ice hockey squad snap gold-medal drought at Milano-Cortina

Jan 2 : The general ‌manager of the U.S. Olympic men’s ice hockey team is counting on the chemistry his squad showed in reaching the 4 Nations Face-Off final to provide the missing ingredient for ending the team’s decades-long gold medal drought at next month’s Milano-Cortina Olympics.

The 25-player lineup announced on Friday, which includes two sets of brothers and two returnees from the 2022 Beijing Games, boasts a familiar cast of strong goaltending, a solid defensive core and high-powered forwards who are expected to deliver balanced scoring.

 General Manager Bill Guerin, speaking on a conference call after the roster announcement, said it was the chemistry displayed by the Americans who competed at the ‌4 Nations Face-Off last February, where the U.S. lost to rival Canada in overtime, that convinced ‌him to keep nearly all of the team together.

"I like the way we played," he said. "Everybody played together, everybody played the right way, adhered to the game plan. But the biggest thing for me was the chemistry, and I think the chemistry allowed the guys to play the way that they did.

"The willingness to accept their role, the willingness to do things that maybe on their NHL team they are not asked to do - take a little bit less ice time, play a different role. All of those things went into it, but the chemistry, I think, ‍was one of the biggest things."

GOLD MEDAL DROUGHT

With NHL players back in the Olympic mix for the first time since 2014, expectations are sky-high for a U.S. program seeking its first hockey gold since the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. Team USA have not made an Olympic podium since the 2010 Vancouver Games where they lost to Canada in the gold-medal game.

Connor Hellebuyck, who has