Several members of the Norwegian men's national team and coach Stale Solbakken grabbed a sudden opportunity to watch Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday morning CET.
"This would hardly have been possible without a player on the team who has a name that sounds better than that of the material manager", said national team coach Stale Solbakken to nrk.no when asked how the visit came about.
In addition to Solbakken, Erling Braut Haaland, Sander Berge, Jorgen Strand Larsen, and Leo Skiri Ostigaard made the journey from Greensboro, where the Norwegian national team is based, to the state capital, Raleigh, where the match was played.
The ice hockey arena in North Carolina has room for 18,700 spectators and is marketed as "the noisiest house in the NHL".
"I know Thoresen senior and junior (Petter, Norwegian national team manager, and Patrick, sports manager) and texted with them on the way here. Then I got tactical input on what I should look for. But I don't think it helped", said Solbakken, laughing.
"The atmosphere was the best thing for me, it was insane", he added.
The Norwegians are scheduled to train in Greensboro until early next week, when they head to Foxborough, Massachusetts, for the opening match against Iraq on Wednesday night.
National team coach Stale Solbakken has previously stated that the players have "freedom with responsibilities" during their stay in the USA.