Former Clarkson University all-star Craig Conroy will skate with Team USA when the World Cup of Hockey 2004 begins play next week.
The World Cup of Hockey will open with round-robin play within the two four-team European and North American divisions from August 30 to September 5. Every team will qualify for the single-elimination playoffs, beginning with the Quarterfinals September 6-8 (two games each from the European and North American divisions).
A native of Potsdam, NY, Conroy, who played for the Golden Knights from 1990-94, helped to lead the Calgary Flames to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals this past spring. Over the summer, the former Clarkson captain agreed to terms on a four-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings.
The U.S. is the defending champion of the World Cup of Hockey, having defeated Canada, 5-2, in the third game of a best-of-three final series in 1996, which was the last time the event took place. The World Cup of Hockey 2004 will be held August 30-September 14 across North America and Europe.
Team USA competes in the North American Pool along with Canada, Russia and Slovakia. Preliminary round games for these teams will be held in Toronto and Quebec, Canada and St.Paul, Minn. European Pool teams will consist of the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Sweden. Preliminary round games for these teams will be held in each of the respective countries.
Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio hosts Team USA's training camp in preparation for the World Cup of Hockey 2004 from August 20-30. Tickets for Team USA's pre-tournament games at Nationwide Arena vs. Canada (Monday, August 23) and Russia (Friday, August 27) are on sale now at Ticketmaster ticket centers, by phone at (614) 431-3600 or online at www.BlueJackets.com.
World Cup of Hockey 2004
August 30-September 14, 2004
|
North American Pool |
European Pool |
|
Canada |
Czech Republic |
|
Russia |
Finland |
|
Slovakia |
Germany |
|
United States |
Sweden |
|
Team USA Schedule |
|
|
DATE |
MATCH-UP |
SITE |
|
Mon., Aug. 23 |
USA vs. Canada (exhib.) |
Columbus, OH |
|
Fri., Aug. 27 |
USA vs. Russia (exhib.) |
Columbus, OH |
|
Tues., Aug. 31 |
|
Montreal, QUE |
|
Thurs., Sept. 2 |
|
St. Paul, MN |
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Fri., Sept. 3 |
|
St. Paul, MN |
|
Tues., Sept. 7 |
|
St. Paul, MN |
|
Wed., Sept. 8 |
Quarterfinal |
Toronto, ONT |
|
Fri., Sept. 10 |
|
St. Paul, MN |
|
Sat., Sept. 11 |
Semifinal |
Toronto, ONT |
|
Tues., Sept. 14 |
Championship |
Toronto, ONT |
BRISTOL, Conn. -- ESPN and ESPN2's first-ever coverage of the World Cup of Hockey will also mark the first time the network has presented live telecasts of a world tournament from six different countries. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Broadband will combine to exclusively offer all 19 games of the international event, featuring competition between eight nations on two continents from August 30 to September 14.
The networks' 15 telecasts will include the three Team USA round-robin match-ups, all on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET: against Canada (Tuesday, Aug. 31), Russia (Thursday, Sept. 2) and Slovakia (Friday, Sept. 3). ESPN2 will also televise both semifinal games and the championship.
