Game One of the 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament may not have the same meaning as a medal round tilt would. But nonetheless, the United States will be looking to kick off their run at the gold in the correct way with a win over Switzerland this afternoon in Vancouver.
The tournament has been greatly hyped since August, when the team training camps were held. Expectations are especially high from a U.S. perspective. Team USA enters the tournament with a young and hopeful roster. The path to a gold medal is littered with threatening competition along the way, which is why America knows very well that they will have to overachieve this time around.
GM Brian Burke went with a young but skilled approach with this team. But like I stated in my Olympic Preview yesterday, the question is whether that skill is enough to overcome teams like Canada and Russia, who are stacked from top to bottom.
Now, obviously when you are going up against a team like Switzerland, you should have a rather easy time winning the game with a lineup full of NHL players. But at the same time, do not expect any of these countries to just roll over for the favored squads.
Switz ...
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Article written by Rangers Tribune
2010 Winter Olympics: U.S. Men’s Hockey Opens Play Against the Swiss
February 16th, 2010 by Rangers Tribune Leave a reply »
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