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Any thought that Jake Dowell, Jeff Likens and Ryan Suter would take some time off before going back to work with the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team vanished Wednesday afternoon.
Roughly 15 hours after returning to Madison from Helsinki, Finland, where they helped Team USA to a historic gold medal in the World Junior Championships Monday, the three were taking part in every facet of UW practice.
Badgers coach Mike Eaves, who guided the Americans to their first gold in the 28-year-old WJC, was there, too.
"I'm so excited to play hockey," said Dowell, a freshman center. "There's nothing like a boost like that to just want to keep playing. I have more passion for the game now than I've ever had."
Team USA rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat Canada 4-3 for the gold and finish the prestigious under-20 tournament 6-0. Dowell was a fourth-line defensive specialist and penalty killer. Likens and Suter saw extensive playing time even strength and were paired together on the...