Men's World

HELSINKI, Finland - Quarterbacking the power play in the opening minutes of last night’s 3-0 win over Germany, Justin Faulk showed poise and patience with the puck at the center point, taking his time with a defender tightly on him, and managing to put a slaphsot on net.  Bobby Butler scooped up the rebound and scored, giving the U.S. a 1-0 lead, just 2:38 into the contest.

For the 21-year-old Faulk, the assist was his sixth point of the tournament, which is tied for most points among defensemen in the tournament.

“Our power play has been clicking and he’s been a big part of it,” said Phil Housley, assistant coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team. “I think the biggest thing that he does well is getting the puck to the net. In today’s game, guys are always in the shooting lane and he has a knack to change his angle and get it on net. As a result, we’re getting some rebound goals.”

“In general, he’s very sound defensively, he can skate and he makes a nice first pass out oaf the zone,” Housley added. “He’s been a pleasant surprise and he’s really elevated his game here.”

Both Faulk and Housley grew up playing hockey in South St. Paul. Minnesota. The 2013 IIHF World Championship marks the second time that Faulk is being coached by Housley. The first time was at the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y., where Housley was an assistant coach for Team USA.

“He’s the all-time leader in scoring among U.S. defensemen, and with all his international experience and the Olympics, it’s been great having him around,” said Faulk of Housley.

Housley is working for the second time as an assistant coach on the U.S. Men’s National Team and recently guided the U.S. to a gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia, as head coach. The 21-year NHL veteran is a seven-time member of the U.S. National Team and won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

The South St. Paul roots of one of the game’s legendary defensemen and an up-and-comer like Faulk date back a few years.

 “I don’t recall exactly when was the first time we met in Minnesota, but its great having him here working with the defense and getting to know him better,” said Faulk, who plays for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.

“I heard about him as a high school sophomore and then he went to the National Team Development Program as a junior,” Housely said. “We did scrimmage against them when I was coaching at Stillwater and I really noticed his skating and shooting.

“He’s really evolved and continues to develop,” said Housley, who played 1,257 games during his NHL career, second most among American born players. “He just has a knack for playing this game.”

The six-foot, 215-pound Faulk, who is skating on his second consecutive U.S. Men’s National Team, won medals with the U.S. National Junior (bronze) and U.S. National Under-18 (gold) Teams and was a member of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. At last year’s world championship in Helsinki, Faulk contributed four goals and four assists in eight games.

Faulk discussed continuing to help out offensively as the tournament enters its final week.

“I think even when it’s in the D zone, or offensive zone, being good in every area kind of helps out offensively,” Faulk said. “I’m not really worried about my offensive stats right now. I think if I just go out and play my game everything is going to work out fine.”

Faulk and Team USA take on Slovakia tomorrow afternoon to close out the preliminary round in Helsinki. With a victory, the United States will clinch the top seed in Group H for the quarterfinal round on Thursday.