ST. PAUL — Roughly a dozen Team USA players were called into the “Mixed Zone” on Friday night at Grand Casino Arena, prepared to answer questions from the media following a gutting quarterfinal loss against Finland in overtime. After each World Junior Championship game, players from each team shed their hockey equipment and put on their workout clothes, then put their game jerseys back on over them. It’s a customary practice to help the media identify the players they wish to speak with after games in scrum-style interviews. Certainly, American players braced themselves for questions about a stunning quarterfinal loss, but the reality soon set in that it would likely be...
