It didn’t matter that it was a pre-tournament game with no points on the line because Team Europe now has a belief going into its World Cup of Hockey opener Saturday against the United States. “We tried so many times, but they’re just too good,” Nielsen said. Coach Ralph Krueger, a Canadian who serves as chairman of the Southampton Football Club, calls it “the magic of Team Europe,” the only one at the World Cup that won’t have an anthem played before its games. Anze Kopitar is the only NHL player from Slovenia and knows his national team couldn’t win a tournament like this. “Playing a good team in Team Sweden and beating them, it gives us confidence and it shows that we are not just here to show up and lose.”

Source: thestar September 16, 2016 21:11 UTC