It was a decisive first period that propelled the USA past Switzerland Thursday afternoon quarterfinal, 7-2. Head Coach David Carle had his squad flying from the jump as the USA easily dominated the Swiss.
The USA generated a comfortable 4-1 lead in the first twenty minutes. Brandon Svobota (BU), James Hagens (BC), team captain Ryan Leonard (BC) and Danny Nelson (Notre Dame) led the American outburst.
DU’s Zeev Buium opened up the scoring in the second period. Two minutes later, James Hagens scored to take a 6-1 USA lead. A little more than a minute later, Leonard joined Hagens with his second goal of the game. The USA was dangerous in transition while Gabe Perreault (BC) collected three assists in building the six-goal margin.
Team USA coasted in a sloppy final period, content to nurse the big lead. The Swiss got a powerplay goal by Andro Kaderli off a USA trip penalty. Final score, 7-2.
The USA advances to the tournament semifinals on Saturday. Their opponent will be determined later today.
Surprise…Canada lost and is out!
Despite the fact that this was a quarterfinal game, it felt, oddly, almost like a trap game for the US. The Swiss, while pesky and spirited, didn’t have much of a chance, at least on paper. That said, in these one-and-done games, you never know. I was glad to see Team USA get the good start, build the big lead, and cruise on to the semis.
Big challenge tomorrow against the Czechs. I can only assume those guys are brimming with confidence after beating Canada again, spoiling their medal hopes, and doing it in front of a very loud, boisterous and pro-Team Canada crowd.
Speaking of Canada, while I’m not exactly crying in my beer that they lost, it’s hard not to feel somewhat badly for those players. I can only imagine how intense the pressure is for them to not only win a medal but win gold, especially when the tournament is in Canada. Still, those guys were their own worst enemy throughout the tournament and during the game last night, taking reckless and foolish penalties (last night it was two occasions of blatant knee-to-knee hits) and putting themselves in a precarious position to advance. That team lacked composure, leadership, and discipline, and it cost them.