US aim to make an impact

THE United States are minnows in hockey but their relatively unknown qualities could pose a threat to Malaysia in the Junior Hockey World Cup on June 7-21 in Johor Baru.
Malaysia, coached by K. Rajan, will face the US on June 10 in their third Group C match at the Taman Daya Stadium.The other teams in the group are England, whom the hosts will face first on June 7, South Korea (June 8) and Spain (June 12).On paper, Malaysia should win but the US are determined to make an impression on their debut in the Junior World Cup.
They qualified after a bronze medal performance at the Junior Pan-American Cup in February.The US Under-21 squad include nine players from their senior side. Jonathan Ginolfi and Jed Cunningham are the most experienced having over 50 caps between them at the senior level. Kevin Segeren was also named Best Goalkeeper at the Junior Pan-Am Cup.
"We have a very committed group of athletes who are training very hard to be ready to embrace the challenges ahead," US head coach Nick Conway told www.fihockey.org.
"Everyone is looking forward to the Junior World Cup which will undoubtedly provide us with a huge building block opportunity in the development of our players as we move forward.
"We have set clear performance targets which we feel if we perform effectively, we can achieve regardless of the opposition that we face.
"Conway said his charges are eager to make an impression on the tournament."Competing in quality tournaments is the foundation for success at the international level.
""We are not about being happy to make the numbers but we are committed to holding ourselves accountable for strong competitive performances during the tournament." he added.
The squad: Kevin Segeren, Amrit Ahluwalia, Kevin Barber, Alex von Bieberstein, Jed Cunningham, Ajai Dhadwal, Jonathan Ginolfi, Will Holt, Manny Martinez, Viren Padhiar, Derk Pelle, Sebastian Scheurer, Colin Scally, Ryan Sundeen, Tyler Sundeen, Nick Szoke, Liam Walsh, Andrew Zayac.