U.S. men win, keep pace with Canada for top seed at Olympics
MILAN — Sitting on the bench as the United States surprisingly trailed Denmark in the Olympics, Jack Eichel and teammates Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk talked about wanting to make a difference.
That’s exactly what they did.
Eichel scored his own faceoff win a minute after setting up Brady Tkachuk’s goal in similar fashion, and the United States rode its top line to a 6-3 victory over Denmark on Saturday night, keeping pace with also-undefeated Canada for first place in the men’s hockey tournament.
“[We were] “You just have to stick with it, trust yourself,” Brady Tkachuk said. “That’s what shows the character in our room, is the trust and belief in each other that if we stick with it, we’ll like the outcome at the end of the day.”
The United States rebounded after goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman was beaten by a shot from 95 feet, just inside the center red line, after 11 minutes. Swayman won’t have to give himself too many hits for the mistake after some of his more talented teammates stepped up to return Nicholas B. Jensen’s long-range goal and another sweet one from Phillip Bruggisser with 2.6 seconds left in the second period.
“I’m really proud of this group for staying balanced,” Swayman said. “Confidence never left the group, and that’s an important trait at this stage of the tournament. The guys pulled together and we got there.”
Goals from Brady Tkachuk and Eichel – two-thirds from the top line with Brady’s brother Matthew – midway through the second period tied it up and gave the United States the lead. Defender Noah Hanifin added another when his shot went past Mads Sogaard and crossed the goal line a little later, providing some needed breathing room.
Jake Guentzel shot Sogaard with just over 12 minutes left, and Jack Hughes scored on a pass from Brock Nelson after Sogaard went out injured and was relieved by Frederik Dichow.
Captain Auston Matthews passed to Guentzel, and Zach Werenski – who accidentally sent the puck into his own net on Denmark’s first Nick Olesen goal – got the secondary pass for revenge.
“USA! USA!” Chants from the very red, white and blue crowd filled the arena during the opening faceoff and after all the goals against Denmark, who were heavy underdogs.
“We fought hard and tried everything we had,” Bruggisser said. “Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, but they’re an all-star team and we gave what we had.”
After beating Latvia 5-1 in their first match Thursday night thanks to two goals from Brock Nelson, the Americans have six points in the standings, the same as Canada, heading into the final day of the preliminary round.
The United States finishes the round robin against Germany, while Canada faces France with a score of 0-2-0. If they each win in regulation, first place in the knockout round of 16 would come down to goal differential.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
