The Olympic hockey tournament almost had a top-notch international incident to go along with what has become a surprisingly top-notch U.S. men’s hockey team.
Moments after the United States wiped out Belarus 8-1 before 8,599 roaring fans Monday at the E Center to set up a quarterfinal match against Germany, the lowest-ranked team from the other pool, U.S. coach Herb Brooks was told that German coach Hans Zach wanted to face the United States.
“Did he say that in print?” Brooks wanted to know. He was told that, yes, Zach had said it.
“Maybe that’s why they lost the Second World War,” Brooks said. “There, I’ve drawn a line in the sand. You can take it and write that.”
Actually, what Zach said was, “It would be better for us to be fourth and play the top team [from the other pool] in the quarterfinals.”
He didn’t specifically say he wanted the United States. He just wanted the top seed from the other pool. Turns out, after going 0-3 against the Czech Republic, Canada and Sweden, Zach will get the top team from the other pool in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, and it is specifically the United States–a team that is showing patience, maturity and an opportunism reminiscent of the old Russian Red Army teams.
The Yanks gave up a goal 20 seconds into the contest. After that it was no contest. The Americans dominated everything except goaltender Andrei Mezin in the first period, which they trailed 1-0.
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The plucky Belarus goalie faced 15 shots in the first period, almost all of them great chances, and stopped them all in head-shaking fashion.
“If he’s not standing tall, the game’s over in six minutes,” said U.S. goalie Tom Barrasso, who had to make only 12 saves.
Indeed, the Belarus goalie was downright A-mezin, stopping Chris Drury with his stick while prone along the goal line, robbing Brett Hull alone in front, beating John LeClair on a redirection and stoning Doug Weight at the right post.
Finally the U.S. team got loose, specifically the new line of Hull, LeClair and Mike Modano. They did it in the first minute of the second period when Hull planted himself at the top of the right circle and took a pass from Modano off the left-wing boards the way they did it when the former Dallas teammates won the 1999 Stanley Cup.
“We’re like an old married couple,” Modano said.
Hull was just relieved to get something, anything, past Mezin and get his team rolling.
“It was a little scary,” Hull said of Mezin’s magic. “But in a situation like that, if you get one, it would come.
“I can’t repeat what I was saying [after the goal], but it was about my 15th shot and there was still 40 minutes to play.”
That line produced all the Yanks would need, as LeClair scored twice in less than five minutes to bring his Olympics-leading goal total to five.
The third period was a carpet bombing as the Americans scored five times, getting two each from Scott Young and Bill Guerin and a short-hander from Adam Deadmarsh.
On Guerin’s first goal, the Boston winger and Blackhawks captain Tony Amonte were at center ice with no defenders between them. Amonte slipped Guerin the puck, sending him in on a breakaway.
It has been just that type of unselfish approach that has landed the Americans in the top spot in their pool. It gives them the huge advantage of playing a qualifier, Germany, in the crossover quarterfinal game instead of the defending champion Czech Republic, rival Canada or a cranking Swedish team.
This is everything they smugly believed they could do in 1998 in Nagano but never had a sniff of before getting dumped in the quarterfinals. Now they go into the medal round leading their pool in goals for, goals against and goals nearly achieved.
“We feel we can beat anybody in this town,” Jeremy Roenick said. “We can’t quit until we’ve won six games.”
And they’ll get some help Wednesday. Left wing Keith Tkachuk, who bruised his left thigh near the end of Saturday night’s 2-2 tie with Russia, missed Monday’s game but is expected to play against Germany.