Ben Smith
Ben Smith
bit fit personnel practice trying week
We put in some things in practice this week that fit our personnel a little bit more than some things that I've been trying to force-feed to them recently.
believe best developing employ ice might point putting skills starting strategy tactics team together trying
We're getting our starting point here and trying to put together the team in a step-by-step manner. We're developing the tactics and strategy we might employ while working on our skills on the ice and putting together what I believe will be the best 20 players.
apple hard hold lead minutes played today tough trying
We are a first-half team. ... Trying to hold a lead for 55 minutes is tough to do. We played hard today and so did Apple Valley.
breathing demanding early gave olympic
We had those early Olympic jitters, and their goaltender got into a zone, which made it a demanding afternoon. (Dunn's goal) gave us some breathing room.
everyday faces front good job keeping looking people present stand
When I stand up in that (locker room) in front of 24 athletes, there aren't a lot of reassured faces looking up. They did a good job of keeping that out of their everyday psyche, but it's got to be present in people's minds. Even some of the people that you think were locks, they didn't think of it that way.
game miles plenty sleep
There's plenty of miles to go before we sleep. It's just another game in the books.
bit exercise figured last
We figured we'd get in one last bit of exercise before being cooped up for days.
ball impressed josh move powerful shake took tried
I'm impressed with our team's effort. Josh is a powerful scorer. We tried to move the ball around and shake them up and Josh took advantage.
came game moving played team time together
We came to play today. ... I think we came together as a team and played well. We just want to take it one game at a time and keep moving on.
arduous athletes best bringing chance final fire forward four gives group looking months objective tested together
We have had an arduous four months where we've been tested under fire and we're looking forward to bringing this group of 20 athletes together to make the final push. As Americans we all know what the objective is and this group of athletes gives us the best chance of accomplishing that goal.
behind great left players teams
Great players are left behind when teams are selected. This team is no different than any other team.
chance couple days glad
I am glad we had a couple of days after the semifinals. We had a chance to regroup.
canada hit nicely quite run shaping strong team
Obviously, Canada is the No. 1 team on our hit list. But our team is shaping up quite nicely for a strong run at the (gold) medal.
came camp case maybe might nobody thinking
Nobody came into our camp thinking they've got it made. That might not have been the case in 1998 and maybe even 2002.