Despite a somewhat uncoordinated start, Team USA managed to beat Switzerland 3-1 in the opening game of the 2010 Olympic Men’s Hockey Tournament in Vancouver.
Courtesy of Vancouver2010.com
Coming out of the gate looking like an amalgamation of misfit players from varying systems shaken up and thrown out on the ice didn’t hurt the United States Men’s Hockey team very much. In fact, throughout the accumulation of missed passes and botched plays, Team USA looked rather promising.
Much of the game saw the toned down Blue, White and Red jerseys dominating the Swiss zone, cycling poorly but still mostly controlling the pace. Throw in some spot on goaltending by Ryan Miller and I daresay this wasn’t an easy game for the Swiss. I’m actually excited to see what this team looks like after a few days of practice and overall teambuilding.
Courtesy of Vancouver2010.com
Anaheim Duck Bobby Ryan got the scoring started for the Yanks with a nice unassisted blast past Anaheim teammate and opposing netminder Jonas Hiller with merely a minute and a second left in the opening frame. It had to have been absolutely crushing for Team Switzerland to allow that goal so close to the end of the period, knowing that they were playing well but would have to start behind. They obviously had a lot of work cut out for them in the second.
But simply five minutes in, St. Louis Blues forward David Backes marched into the Swiss zone, driving the net and using his body to protect the puck as he schooled Hiller and buried his shot. 2-0 USA and a crushing defensive defeat for the Swiss. Not to be outdone, Tampa Bay Lightning Ryan Malone quickly finished a power play bomb on net from Nashville Predator Ryan Suter not even three minutes later.
This one two punch proved to be too much for the Swiss, who did manage to net a lone power play goal from Kloten Flyer Roman Wick in the dwindling minutes of the third period.
While the Swiss did manage to hang in there for most of the game, they were shut down by the U.S. and manged only 15 shots in the game (USA had 24).
Hopefully Team USA only looks better after this because, with stacked teams like Russia, Sweden, and even Canada, the competition is going to be stiff as hell.
A complete schedule of the Men’s Hockey Competition.
What did you think of Team USA’s play? Who are you rooting for?
Related posts:
- Olympic Recap – Day 1
- Team USA defeats Switzerland
- Olympic Recap – Day 3
- Olympic Recap – Gold
- Olympic Rosters – Part 3 *Updated*
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