Team USA elevated its game when it mattered most in a thrilling, at times wide-open and wild affair, defeating perennial rival Russia, 4-2.
An all-around team effort by the youthful group with an average age of 24.3 years, catapulted the U.S. to the top of the Group B standings at the IIHF World Championship, now with a perfect 3-0 record. It marks the best start by a U.S. squad at the annual championship since 1997.
Simply put, coach and players alike admitted that this was a “fun” one to be part of and win.
“It was lots of fun – they’re a big strong team with a lot of skill and star power; guys you grow up watching in the NHL,” said defenseman Torey Krug, who scored with a blistering shot on a 5-on-3 power play in the second period. “It was an important game for us.”
“I can’t say enough about the players and this was a lot of fun, it really was,” said U.S. coach Todd Richards, who is at the helm of his first national team. “This is the excitement about becoming a team and playing in big games, playing in big moments and representing your country.”
A packed house at the CEZ Arena, with Russian chants reverberating loudly throughout the contest, added to the international atmosphere.
“It was far more fun than I thought it could be,” said U.S. goaltender Jack Campbell, who stopped 15-of-17 shots in his men’s world championship debut.
"It was a fast game with a lot of great players so it's just an honor to be out there and get the win with these guys."
Adding to the impressiveness of Monday afternoon’s effort and the team’s 3-0 start, 11 players on Team USA are making their men’s world championship debut. It wasn’t difficult for them to quickly get caught up in and relish the longstanding rivalry with Russia.
While much of the first period was a wide-open track meet, a period that included odd-man rushes for both teams, the U.S. clamped down as the game progressed. All-world superstars Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk were held to a combined two shots on goal.
“Just not giving them a lot time and space,” said defenseman and alternate captain Justin Faulk about the team’s strategy to contain the two stars. “You have to limit their opportunities by having a tight gap, being in their kitchen all night and hopefully they don’t get too many shots off. And when they did Jack (Campbell) was there to stop them.”
“They’re very dangerous and watching their pre-scout going through the clips, it makes you a little nervous trying to prepare for this team,” Richard said. “Real credit to our players. Once they got into our zone, we tried to take away their time and space. At times we were able to do that and other times you just can’t. When that happened credit to our goaltender for making some big saves.”
Trevor Lewis, Torey Krug and Mark Arcobello scored in the first, second, and third periods respectively, and Brock Nelson added an empty netter with :08 on the clock to secure the win.
Arcobello – who tallied a point with four different NHL teams this season – scored a timely goal – it proved to be the game-winner -- with just under eight minutes to play in the contest.
The drama was heightened late in the third period when Russian forward Sergei Plotnikov scored with 3:41 remaining to put his team within one, but a hustling, hard-working U.S. team finished strong and earned the victory.
“When they scored that second goal there pretty late [it] makes us tighten up a little and puts more pressure on us to get the job done,” said Faulk, who logged a team leading 25:48 of ice time. “Fortunately, we were able to do that."
Team USA has a well-deserved day off on Tuesday, most likely spending it taking in some culture and history or perhaps even hitting the links. It’s back to the Ostrava ice on Wednesday in preparation for Belarus on Thursday.
“Big wins [for us against] Finland, Norway and Russia today,” Richards said of the team’s 3-0 start. “One thing you learn playing this game is there are some big moments and good wins and this is one of them.
“It’s nice that we have a couple days off before our next game and we can enjoy this a little bit. We have some tough games coming up and our focus has to be to use this game, get better and get ready for the next one.”
“It’s a team just coming together – we have a great group of guys and we expect to win every game,” Krug said. “It’s been a great start for us, especially beating a team like Russia.”
Date | Opponent | Time (Local/ET)/Result |
---|---|---|
April 28 | Austria (ex.) | W, 4-1 |
May 1 | Finland | W, 5-1 |
May 2 | Norway | W, 2-1 |
May 4 | Russia | W, 4-2 |
May 7 | Belarus | L, 2-5 |
May 8 | Denmark | W, 1-0 |
May 10 | Slovenia | W, 3-1 |
May 12 | Slovakia | W, 5-4 OT |
May 14 | Switzerland Quarterfinals |
W, 3-1 |
May 16 | Russia Semifinals |
L, 0-4 |
May 17 | Czech Republic Bronze Medal Game |
W, 3-0 |
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