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Coach says Miller will see some playing time

Spartan goalie is only college player on U.S. National team

April 18, 2001

U.S. National Team head coach Lou Vairo is quite blunt in his assessment of Ryan Miller.

“He’s coming in as our No. 3 goalie,” Vairo said. “But if there are injuries or something like that, he’ll get a chance.”

Miller, the record-breaking MSU sophomore goaltender, is the only non-NHL player on the national team that Vairo leads to the World Championship in Germany beginning April 28.

Vairo has named the team’s first 16 players, but still has to add seven more before the U.S. departs for Germany on April 23.

Though Miller is staring up the depth chart at NHL goalies like the New York Islanders’ Rick DiPietro and the Phoenix Coyotes’ Robert Esche, Vairo said he has confidence in the abilities of the 20-year-old from East Lansing.

“I’ve known Ryan for a long time and I just knew he was going to be top-shelf,” Vairo said. “You could just tell that he was talented enough and motivated enough to make it.

“We wouldn’t pick a third goalie just to have him sit around. We think we can win games with him.”

North Dakota goaltender Karl Goehring filled a similar role as the No. 3 goalie for last year’s U.S. National Team that finished fifth in the World Championship in Russia.

Goehring, who out-dueled Miller in the Sioux’s 2-0 Frozen Four victory over MSU on April 5, only dressed for one game in last year’s World Championship and never got to play because that particular game was too close to take a risk.

But Vairo hopes he can give Miller some ice time this year.

“I’ll probably dress him for one game and my plan is to get him in that game,” Vairo said. “But even if he doesn’t play, he’ll gain a lot of confidence from this experience. He’s going to be around pros and have NHL-ers shooting pucks at him in practice.

“It can’t do anything but help him.”

Miller said he’s not worried about getting ice time.

“I don’t know about playing time, I will probably just be a back-up, but I will be ready to go in and have fun if I get a chance,” Miller said. “I am excited about the opportunity to skate with the big boys. The practices alone are enough for me.

“It’ll be a great chance to see the world and how I stack up to the pros.”

MSU assistant coach Tom Newton said USA Hockey’s selection of college players like Miller and Goehring is “a great move.”

“It develops another potential player for them down the road in the U.S. talent pool,” Newton said. “Whether Miller gets game experience or not is not a big issue with me. Just being there with those players is a great opportunity for him.”

Miller and the rest of the national team open play with an exhibition against Switzerland on April 25 before preliminary round games against Ukraine (April 28), Latvia (April 30) and Sweden (May 2).

The tournament runs from April 28 to May 13 in Hanover, Cologne and Nuremburg, Germany.

But before he travels across the Atlantic, Miller will be the guest of honor at Friday’s Hobey Baker Award Banquet in St. Paul, Minn.

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