U.S. hockey doesn’t look medal worthy
U.S. men’s hockey looks unworthy of gold, silver or bronze
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH
KOREA » Coach Tony Granato saw red. He stood on the bench, fuming as Russia sent its top scorers back on the ice for a power play late in an embarrassing loss for the U.S. hockey team.
“I didn’t like it,” Granato said.
But the question is: Do the Americans have the strength to earn anyone’s respect, much less a medal, in the Olympic tournament?
If the Winter Games are supposed to be all about bringing the world closer together through sports, this testy night was a reminder that nothing can fuel a rivalry like a little meddling in a presidential election. There is no debate: The hockey teams from Russia and the United States don’t particularly like each other.
“It was intense. It was intense right from the puck drop,” American defenseman Jonathon Blum said.
Russia hit the United States with two goals by Ilya Kovalchuk within 33 seconds on either side of the end of the second period, and bullied the United States from start
to finish in a 4-0 victory.
For every shout of “ROSS-I-YA!” that rattled the arena roof, there was a loud-and-proud chant of “U-S-A!”
But that was the only thing about the game that was even. It got chippy, with Jordan Greenway
and Nikolai Prokhorkin coming about as close to an old-time hockey fight as you’ll ever see on Olympic ice.
It was so lopsided I swear you could hear Vladimir Putin laughing from 4,000 miles away. I believe the Russian word for it is pronounced “unichtozheniye.” Annihilation.
Harvard star Ryan Donato has been the best player wearing a red, white and blue sweater, one of the few consistently dangerous scoring threats. Donato clanged the crossbar behind Russian goalie Vasily Koshechkin late in the first period. And that was about as much noise as the Americans made on offense.
“There is no bigger venue than the Olympics. And there’s no bigger rivalry than Russia-USA,” said Donato, who has scored half of the Americans’ four goals in the tournament.
Donato skates on a line with University of Denver star Troy Terry. They have been aggressive. But the U.S. attack has been too timid. What’s the answer?
“Getting in front of the net. Getting shots on it,” Donato said. “I think there were a lot of times (against Russia) where we had the shot, but decided not to take it and tried to make a backdoor pass. I think we’ve just got to get as many shots on net as we can.”
Before the Olympic tournament began, Granato insisted his team would not require a miracle to win the championship. After winning only one of three times in its group, the United States has been forced into the qualification round on Tuesday, which will require no fewer than three victories in its next four games to claim a medal of any color.
So I asked Granato if he still believes there’s no need for a miracle?
“Yes, I still feel that way,” replied Granato, itching to get another shot at Russia. “I’d like to play this team again sometime.”