Unthinkable
01-02-2004, 11:56 AM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/hockey/nhl/01/01/world.juniors.ap/index.html
Zach attack
Parise starring for Team USA in quest for first World Juniors title
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- North Dakota's Zach Parise says winning a title as a member of Team USA at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Finland might be bigger than capturing an NCAA Division I title with the Fighting Sioux.
He might be in the perfect position to find out.
UND has one of the top-ranked teams in the nation. And Team USA is 4-0 and has secured a spot in Saturday's semifinals at the junior championships in Hameenlinna.
Parise is one of three Sioux players on Team USA. He, Drew Stafford and Brady Murray all are forwards. Parise scored two goals and added an assist in Team USA's 4-1 victory over Russia in pool play Wednesday.
The United States has never won the junior title. It posted its best finish in 1997, losing to Canada in the finals.
The tournament will be held in Grand Forks and Thief River Falls, Minn., next year, and Parise said a Team USA title this year could help elevate the tournament's profile.
"It's such a hard tournament to win," he said. "There are so many elite players. [But] if you ask somebody in the United States, they don't know what it is."
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Zach attack
Parise starring for Team USA in quest for first World Juniors title
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- North Dakota's Zach Parise says winning a title as a member of Team USA at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Finland might be bigger than capturing an NCAA Division I title with the Fighting Sioux.
He might be in the perfect position to find out.
UND has one of the top-ranked teams in the nation. And Team USA is 4-0 and has secured a spot in Saturday's semifinals at the junior championships in Hameenlinna.
Parise is one of three Sioux players on Team USA. He, Drew Stafford and Brady Murray all are forwards. Parise scored two goals and added an assist in Team USA's 4-1 victory over Russia in pool play Wednesday.
The United States has never won the junior title. It posted its best finish in 1997, losing to Canada in the finals.
The tournament will be held in Grand Forks and Thief River Falls, Minn., next year, and Parise said a Team USA title this year could help elevate the tournament's profile.
"It's such a hard tournament to win," he said. "There are so many elite players. [But] if you ask somebody in the United States, they don't know what it is."
.
.
.