Hockey | USA defeats Canada 4-2

(Beijing) Claude Julien was pleased with what he had seen, in the distance, of Team Canada’s performance in men’s hockey. What he witnessed, more closely, enchanted him much less.

Strauss Mann blocked 35 shots and USA capitalized on a shaky goalie performance and a 20-minute streak where Canada was amorphous to claim a 4-2 win in a preliminary group game A, Saturday at the Beijing Olympics.

Julien was behind the bench after joining the team on Thursday. The 61-year-old broke a rib and suffered a punctured lung in a sledding accident in which he hit a tree during the Canadiens’ training camp in Switzerland.

Julien was initially unable to travel to China, but then received permission. Sitting in the stands, he watched Canada beat Germany 5-1 on Thursday.

In this match, Canada had imposed themselves physically, but they were unable to reproduce this performance against a fast, talented, young American formation which had a lot to prove.

“It hasn’t been our best [performance] admitted Julien, whose team took an early lead in the match before conceding the equalizer less than two minutes later.

“We lost a bit of our momentum in this second half of the first [période]. We entered the second period trying to find our style, but it took us another half period. That’s where we took a lot of the damage. »

Andy Miele led the winners’ offense with a goal and an assist. Ben Meyers, Brendan Brisson and Kenny Agostino scored the other goals for the United States (2-0), which defeated China 8-0 in their opener and are in command position in Group A. The States United will face Germany on Sunday.

Mat Robinson and Corban Knight replied for Canada (1-1), and goaltender Edward Pasquale stopped 23 shots.

“I fought with the puck for most of the night,” said Pasquale, the reigning Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) goaltender of the year.

Julien kept his intentions secret when asked if Matt Tomkins, who took on the role of backup to Pasquale on Saturday, or Devon Levi, a star in the NCAA who still hasn’t dressed. since the start of the tournament, would start Sunday’s game against China.

In addition, Julien made sure that Pasquale was not the only player on his team to take criticism.

“We have to look at this defeat collectively and avoid pointing [quiconque] on point. For 20 minutes I found that [les Américains] had really dominated us. It’s not Eddie’s fault. It comes down to the rest of the group. »

The two countries met for the first time at the Olympic Games in men’s hockey since the 2014 semi-final in Sochi. Canada had triumphed 1-0 before winning the gold medal.

On Saturday, the Canadian team took the lead after just 84 seconds thanks to Robinson’s goal. However, Miele tied the score with a backhand shot into the top of the net from the short side on the first-ever USA shot, 70 seconds after Canada’s goal.

The Americans broke the tie with 1:16 left in the first period when Sean Farrell, a draft pick of the Canadiens who had three goals and two assists against China, faked a shot before passing the puck to Meyers , who did not miss his chance.

An error by Pasquale allowed Brisson to make it 3-1 at 2:37 of the second period but Canada came within a goal of the Americans when Knight hit the target shorthanded at 14:13 of the middle period.

Agostino restored the United States to a two-goal lead at 6:13 of the third period.

“We were taken by surprise at different times,” said Canadian forward Josh Ho-Sang.

“They scored and we looked surprised. Then they scored again. I don’t think there’s a single player who can say he couldn’t have done better. »

The NHL’s decision to pull out of the Olympic tournament due to COVID-19 concerns has opened the door for a younger generation of players.

The first three picks of the last NHL draft were in action on Saturday. Defender Owen Power (1^erBuffalo Sabers) and forward Mason McTavish (3^andAnaheim Ducks) wore the colors of Canada while forward Matty Beniers (2^andSeattle Kraken) represented the United States.