LILLEHAMMER / ’94 WINTER OLYMPICS : Team USA Still Winless, but Not for Lack of Tying : Hockey: Marchant scores with 28 seconds to play for 3-3 draw with Canada. Medal-round berth looks more secure.

By taking a slash on the foot Thursday, Brian Rolston kept the U.S. Olympic hockey team from taking one on the chin.

Given a power play in the final minute when Canadian wing Fabian Joseph chopped Rolston’s leg, the United States rallied for its third consecutive tie of the Winter Games and continued sidestepping toward the medal round.

Goaltender Garth Snow was pulled for an extra skater with 47 seconds to go, and when Joseph was penalized five seconds later, the United States had a two-man advantage. Todd Marchant ripped a low wrist shot past Corey Hirsch with 28 seconds to play, producing a 3-3 draw that leaves the Americans undefeated--but also winless.

“You take one for the team. Anything for the team,” said Rolston, who scored the first two U.S. goals. “I was hurt. I don’t even want the doctor to look at my foot. But I can just suck it up and throw on my skates tomorrow. I made a sacrifice, but I think the whole team made a sacrifice tonight.”

Said Coach Tim Taylor: “I didn’t think I could get any grayer, but I did tonight.”

Watching opponents take two penalty shots against you will do that. The first was awarded to Petr Nedved at 12:09 of the second period when referee Bjorn Johansson ruled that Snow had thrown his stick at the puck to prevent Nedved from finishing off a three-on-two rush. Nedved slipped a backhander past Snow to tie the score, 2-2.

“I didn’t throw it, but my stick left my hand and it touched the puck, so that’s the call,” Snow said, shrugging.

Snow repelled the second penalty shot, awarded to Greg Johnson at 12:11 of the third period after he broke in on the net and was dragged down by Marchant. That prevented Canada from increasing its 3-2 lead. “I’ve never seen anything as bizarre as two penalty shots in one game,” Marchant said.

Bizarre? Consider that the United States has delayed its rallies later and later in each game. In Sunday’s tournament-opening tie with France, 6:02 remained, and Tuesday’s tie with Slovakia was forged with 4:01 to play.

“I guess there’s doubt if you can pull it out. You have to think to yourself, ‘Are we going to be able to do it again?’ ” U.S. captain Peter Laviolette said. “All you can do is ask every guy in the locker room to play as hard as he can until the final whistle is blown, and every guy here has done that.

“I’ve been on teams as young as this one that, if they were down a goal or two in the third period, packed it in. This team hasn’t done that.”

More of the bizarre? Consider that Snow made 29 saves, including a quick glove grab of Jean Yves Roy’s backhander off a two-on-one break with 2:02 to play, but he won’t start Saturday’s game against Sweden (2-0-1). Although Taylor said before the tournament that he would stay with a hot goalie, he now plans to go back to Game 1 goalie Mike Dunham, based on Dunham’s past success against Sweden.

Including its final two pre-Olympic contests, the United States has played five consecutive ties and hasn’t won since defeating Sweden, 3-0, on Feb. 4 at Rouen, France. Still, the Americans are reasonably sure of gaining a berth in the quarterfinals.

“I thought we played suspect the first two games and I think we played all right tonight,” Rolston said. “We still can play better and hopefully we’ll be playing better as the tournament goes on.”

They played well in stretches Thursday, killing four penalties in the first period and overcoming a 1-0 lead Canada had built on Dwayne Norris’ rising backhander at 4:46.

Rolston ignited the U.S. offense 66 seconds into the second period when he flicked a wrist shot past Hirsch from the right circle, and he gave the United States a 2-1 lead at 9:43 off a 20-footer from the left side of the slot during a five-on-three power play.

Nedved’s penalty shot brought Canada even, and Norris gave the Canadians a 3-2 edge at 1:16 of the third period with a 30-foot blast past Snow’s right arm. That held up until Marchant’s desperate effort.

“We’re disappointed because we feel we should have had a victory and because it came in the dying seconds,” Norris said after Canada (2-0-1) dropped into a tie with Sweden for the Group B lead. “It keeps us without a loss, but it keeps them without a win. Still, we get the one point, which is very important.”

Can the United States tie every game and get to the medal round? It’s conceivable, as long as Italy (0-3) continues to lose and France loses to Slovakia. But it’s hardly desirable--especially because a fourth-place finish would create a matchup against Finland (3-0), the Group A leader.

“We set goals for our team, the first of which was to get to the medal round,” Taylor said. “But we also want to do it in the best fashion so we get the best draw. I’m not sure we’re out of the woods yet. I think our team came to life a little bit today. I know the players feel a little better about themselves after today’s game.”

Said Marchant: “Whenever you come back and you tie them, you feel as though you won the game. When they come back and tie you, it’s different. Our spirits were really high in the locker room, because this proves we’re not going to quit, no matter what the score is.”

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In Thursday’s other games, Sweden clinched a medal-round berth with a 7-1 victory over France (0-2-1), and Slovakia (1-0-2) scored a 10-4 decision over Italy (0-3).