Travis Noe: Hat-trick in the final? Best moment of my hockey carrier

Did you have some problems with the goalies in your first practice on Friday?
Yes, their equipment didn’t arrive from our flight at time, so they missed the start of the practice. But it wasn’t a big issue, it just came a little late and they joined us later.

What did you focus on in the last few days before the start of the tournament?
We just more than anything need to get used to the surface, new rink, adjust to the time change. We don’t do anything crazy to prepare for the first game. We need to get used to each other, play together a little bit.

How long has your team been preparing together?
Just the last week. We had a big tryout camp in Colorado, practiced one week and then we came here. All the guys play troughout the year of course, but together we are only one week.

And how did your team change after last year?
We made some changes, we lost four or five players from last year’s team. But we brought some new guys that I think can fill their spots just fine. A lot of the key players from last year’s gold medal team are back. So the core of the team is the same, we have just some different players.

You personally are here at the IIHF for the third time, you weren’t in Pardubice three years ago. Did you hear from your teammates about the atmosphere here?
Yes. I’ve heard this was maybe the best championship they’ve played at. My first two years were both in Germany. The first year was great but we didn’t get a good result, last year we won but because of the floods in Dresden it wasn’t a good atmosphere to win in. I’ve heard great things about Czech so far, the rink looks amazing, the facility looks amazing. So I’m excited to see if we get some fans, we play the Czechs in the group. I’m really excited for the atmosphere.

You managed to score a hat-trick in the final game last year. Has it been the best game in your life so far?
Yes, absolutely. I don’t know if I‘ll ever have a game like that again. For sure, that was the best moment of my hockey carrier, all came together for me. It was an amazing moment for me and what’s important, it helped my team to win a gold medal. It was an awesome game.

Which teams you think will be your toughest opponents here?
I think Czechs gonna have a really good team. I’ve played against some of the guys during the season in France, in the elite league, and I know they have some really talented players. I’m sure that on the home tournament they want to come out and win. Sweden is always a good opponent, they play really good style, and Finland has a lot of new guys and good team. So I think Finland, Sweden and Czech Republic are gonna be three tough teams.