Olympic men's ice hockey: Team USA wins opener against China
On the strength of Sean Farrell's hat-trick, the U.S. delivers 8-0 victory
Ice Hockey
The U.S. men's ice hockey team opened their campaign at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 with an 8-0 victory over the team from the People's Republic of China. They'll face North American rival Canada next on Saturday (12 February)
Fu Jiang was called for interference on a goalkeeper at 9:26, setting up a U.S. powerplay. They capitalised and scored the opening goal of their Olympic campaign off the stick of Brendan Brisson just over a minute later.
"I feel like we've been getting a lot of shots, getting guys to the net, playing good defensively, and I was able to get a shot off on the powerplay that went in," Brisson said on U.S. broadcaster NBC. "We're just going to keep focusing on getting to net and playing good in our own zone."
Team USA started to pull away in the second period with three different players scoring. First, it was Noah Cates (25:32). Then, Brian O'Neill (31:13). And finally, Sean Farrell (38.07). The U.S. led China 4-0 heading into the final period.
"Those guys [Farrell and Ben Meyers] kind of won a puck battle down low, and they threw it up front and found my stick. Lucky enough I put it in," said Cates on NBC. "Great work by those guys down load and lucky enough to finish."
Farrell picked up where he left off as the third period opened and he scored his second goal of the game, putting his team up 5-0. Meyers and Matty Beniers added two more before Farrell earned a hat-trick with his third goal of the game. It was the first hat-trick at the Games for Team USA since Phil Kessel at Sochi 2014 and the 10th ever for the squad.
With NHL players opting out of these Games, the U.S. has sent a young team. It's an opportunity Cates is relishing.
"It means the world," he said. "The opportunity for some young guys to come and be a part of this is really special, and we're making the most of it for sure."
Team USA, men's ice hockey, schedule at Beijing 2022
Here is a look at the road ahead for Team USA.
Saturday, 12 February
12:10, local; 13:10, ET - USA v. Canada
Sunday, 13 February
21:10, local, 08:10, ET - USA v. Germany
Men's qualification play-offs are scheduled for 15 February, with 16 February featuring four quarterfinal matches. The semifinal games are set for 18 February. The bronze medal game is 19 February, and the gold medal will be decided on 20 February.