Ryan Hartman just wrapped up his postgame media session on Thursday night when the World Junior Championship game headed to a shootout. And there was an audible cheer from who we assume were the Blackhawks’ American players when Team USA edged Teama Canada in the shootout.
Hartman knows that feeling. He was there in 2013, the last time the U.S. team claimed gold in the WJC and even now that moment was indescribable.
“It was awesome to see,” said Hartman following Friday morning’s optional skate. “I’m sure a lot of those guys are kind of feeling it today; it’s kind of that surreal feeling where it doesn’t really sink in for a few days but congratulations to them. It was an awesome tournament to watch and a fun final. I didn’t get to watch it, but the highlights were cool to watch.”
Well, Hartman did catch that shootout — “it was a little nerve-wracking for a lot of the U.S. guys,” he said — which Troy Terry won with his fifth-round shootout goal.
And it seemed everyone had a rooting “interest.”
“Yeah there were a few things going on there, a few bets and good fun in the locker room,” Hartman said. “It was nice to see the U.S. come out on top for sure.”
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Trevor van Riemsdyk was part of the viewing audience, too.
“Those games are always fun to watch when you have a room with a few [players] from each side,” he said. “Obviously a lot of guys played in that tournament, so they have fond memories. But it’s always nice to see Team USA come out on top.”
Coach Joel Quenneville also caught the end of that game. Terry’s performance in the title game, as well as his three shootout goals in the semifinal vs. Russia, conjured up thoughts of Jonathan Toews’ three-shootout goal outing in the 2007 championship and T.J. Oshie’s 4-of-6 shootout performance vs. Russia in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Quenneville also echoed the sentiments of many who felt a great game like that shouldn’t come down to a shootout.
“It’s a tough way to lose a tournament like that,” he said. “Certainly that [Terry] kid, he was the hero. But certainly you think of finding a better way to end a game like that, maybe playing like overtime until you get a ... whether it’s 5-on-5 or 4-on-4 might be a better way to end it.”