MILAN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - United States women's ice hockey team coach John Wroblewski deflected the spotlight and handed it straight to his players after the United States surged to the brink of Olympic gold with a commanding 5-0 semi-final win over Sweden on Monday.
Wroblewski took charge months after the U.S. agonising defeat by Canada in the 2022 Games final in Beijing. Now on the verge of getting redemption for the Americans, the 44-year-old downplayed his role.
"This is an athlete base that dreams of gold," Wroblewski told reporters.
"I know my place in this whole thing is to be in service mode as much as I possibly can. That's to find out as much about our opponent as I can and melt it down so the players can go out and win the medal they deserve.
"I'm thinking about them. That's what gets me going. I get chills thinking about helping them."
Five different players found the net on Monday — Cayla Barnes, Taylor Heise, Abbey Murphy, Kendall Coyne and Hayley Scamurra — underscoring the depth and dominance that has defined the team's campaign in Milan.
Wroblewski said the hard work the team had put in had all been building to this point.
"Now that we're here, that's the bullseye," he said of winning the tournament. "It's a period by period, meeting by meeting, gradual process. There's a mandate amongst the players and staff for daily growth."
The United States will reach Thursday's final - against either Canada or Switzerland - with emotions running high.
Captain Hilary Knight, a four-time Olympic medallist, is one goal away from becoming the U.S. all-time Olympic scoring leader, currently tied at 14.
Knight did not score against Sweden, but her teammates insist the legacy she has built transcends any statistic.
"It's an honour to see how she goes about things on a day-to-day basis," Heise said of Knight. "She's a leader that doesn't always say the most, but her actions mean everything.
"Simply put, we are not here without her. She's amazing. She teaches us how to get better. She's a large reason why we're here."
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in MilanEditing by Christian Radnedge)
