‘94 WINTER OLYMPICS / LILLEHAMMER : ANALYSIS : U.S. Hockey Team Shoots for Olympic Intensity
Hitting the right emotional pitch today will be as important for the U.S. hockey team as hitting the open man on the power play or hitting the upper corner of the net.
Admittedly tense in their first two Olympic appearances, the U.S. players showed little offensive creativity and had to scramble for a 4-4 tie with France and a 3-3 draw with Slovakia. Giving in to anxiety today against Canada, a well-rounded team that’s well on its way to the medal round with a 2-0 record and four points, could turn the Games from a joy ride into a steep climb.
“We talked about this being the biggest hockey moment of their lives,” Coach Tim Taylor said. “We want them to play with intensity and to raise their games to an Olympic level. You can’t do that if you’re uptight and jittery and nervous with the puck, so we’re trying to calm them down. I think they’re calm and relaxed in practice, but once the game starts they get a little uptight.
“We’re dealing with strong opponents . . . who have good defensive game plans, and this team succeeded all year because it dominated offensively. It gets to the point where they’re almost trying too hard.”
The United States could lose today and still finish in the top four in Group B and qualify for the medal round. A victory over Italy, which gave up 11 goals in losing its first two games, and two more losses by France would launch the United States into cross-over play, but a tie or a victory today would make the final preliminary-round games less urgent.
“I don’t think we’re in bad shape,” defenseman Matt Martin said. “We’ve got two points, and if we beat Canada, we’d be tied with them. . . . We’re confident about this game, and I imagine they’re confident, too. It’s going to be a good game.”
The teams met 11 times in pre-Olympic play. The United States had an 8-2-1 edge, but Canada has revamped its roster in the last few weeks, adding offense-oriented defensemen Brad Werenka from Edmonton, Mark Astley from Switzerland and Brad Schlegel from Calgary. In the Olympics, Canada holds an 8-2-2 edge and has won three in a row since a 2-1 loss in 1960.
“The U.S., Sweden, Slovakia and us, it’s so close as to who’s going to advance,” said Canada goaltender Corey Hirsch, a New York Ranger draft pick voted the American Hockey League’s best goalie last season. “We want to get as big a lead as possible in our group because Slovakia has two ties and the U.S. has two ties. A win would put us in a real tough position for anyone to knock us out of the medal round.”
Canada will try to slow the speedy U.S. forwards. If its defensive blanket goads the Americans into frustration and the penalty box, so much the better.
“Usually a couple of minutes in each game has been their downfall,” Canadian Coach Tom Renney said.
“They have a very quick team and a great transition game. Anybody who would want to have success against them would try to slow them down. We played a patient, poised game against France (a 3-1 victory), with a very patient forecheck and good discipline. If we play that way, I’d suggest we have a very good chance of success against them. If we get into a run-and-gun game, we could be in for a tough one.”
Taylor wants his players to gun more and run less, especially on the power play. The United States had a tournament-high 27 minutes 45 seconds of power-play time in its first two games but scored only once.
“We need more action in front of the net,” Taylor said. “The power play is still a concern.”
The scoring potential of Canadian winger Paul Kariya, the Mighty Ducks’ first pick in last June’s draft, also concerns U.S. players. Kariya, center Petr Nedved and right wing Chris Kontos have combined for eight points, although Kariya has no goals. That isn’t likely to last.
“His talent is unlimited,” said U.S. goalie Garth Snow, who played with Kariya at the University of Maine last season . “If I were a goalie going in and had never seen him, I might be dumbfounded or awe-struck. You really don’t shut a player like that down. You just try to be more aware of him when he’s out there.”
Awareness of their situation will be crucial to the Americans’ success today.
“We don’t even think about losing this game,” Snow said. “If you think negatively, that’s how you’re going to perform.
“We need to get back to basics, get pucks to the net and get some rebounds. You’re not going to get too many pretty goals. There’s going to be garbage goals, rebounds, goals off someone’s leg. You’ve got to muck it up a little and get some ugly goals, and we know we can do that.”
