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Will Flyers prospect stick with Team USA at World Junior Championship?

Michigan State's Brent Darnell, left, and Union College's Shayne Gostisbehere, right, fight for control of the puck during the second period of an East regional semifinal game in the NCAA college hockey tournament in Bridgeport, Conn., Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Michigan State's Brent Darnell, left, and Union College's Shayne Gostisbehere, right, fight for control of the puck during the second period of an East regional semifinal game in the NCAA college hockey tournament in Bridgeport, Conn., Friday, March 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)Read more

With the NHLPA and NHL planning to go to court over the legality of the current player lockout, diehard hockey fans need something to hold onto.

Many fans are flocking to the NHL minor league affiliates, but with the Adirondack Phantoms near the bottom the Eastern Conference with a record of 12-14-1-0, it's easy to lose hope as a hockey fan.

However, the upcoming 2013 World Juniors Championship is sure to provide another hockey outlet for fans frustrated with the lockout.

The World Junior Championships began the pre-competition games this weekend. Team USA played Sweden on Thursday in Helsinki in their first Group A exhibition game winning in an overtime shootout 3-2.

Flyers prospect Shayne Gostisbehere is still on the roster for the Americans. However, after today's 5-1 loss to Team Finland, the NHL and USA Hockey have announced that cuts will be made to the roster by Sunday at 3 a.m. EST:

"USA Hockey had planned on releasing three players to pare its roster for the 2013 World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia, to the required 23-man unit following the exhibition against Finland. It apparently needs more time.

According to USA Hockey, the final three cuts will now be announced on Sunday, at approximately 3 a.m. ET/10 a.m. Helsinki."

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Gostisbehere's fate with Team USA is yet to be determined. As the only Flyers affiliated player in this year's World Junior Championship, he survived the first cut during training camp in upstate New York. If he survives the three-man roster cut tomorrow he will head to Ufa with the rest of Team USA.

Team USA's first game will be on December 27th against Team Germany at 9 a.m. EST. All games will be broadcasted live on NHL Network with selected games streaming live on NHL.com