U.S. Defeats Russia to Remain Unbeaten as Match up with Canada Approaches
TORONTO — Clayton Keller and his dad were driving home from hockey practice in the St. Louis area seven years ago when they suddenly burst into cheers.
Father and son were listening on the radio to the broadcast of the 2010 world juniors gold medal game between the Americans and host Canadians from Saskatoon. And when John Carlson beat Canadian goalie Martin Jones to give the Americans a nail-biting 6-5 overtime victory to win the championship, the car became engulfed with the hooting and hollering courtesy of two of Team USA’s biggest fans.
“Me and my dad started celebrating in the car,” Keller, wearing a huge smile on his face, recalled Thursday.
It was at that precise moment, on Jan. 4, 2010, that young Clayton, just 11 at the time, set a goal for himself.
One day, he told himself, I’m going to represent my country against Canada at the world junior championship. Just like John Carlson did.
Now, that day has come.
