On the evening of the 10th, the men's ice hockey group stage of the Beijing Winter Olympics continued at the National Gymnasium. China's team ushered in the first match of the group stage on the second day of the tournament, against two Winter Olympic gold medalists the United States. This is the first time that the Chinese men's team has appeared in the main winter Olympic games since the Chinese Ice Association joined the International Ice Federation in 1963. In the end, the hosts played a good game and lost 8-0.
According to the format, the 12 teams participating in the men's ice competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics were divided into three groups, and the Chinese team was in group A with the United States, Canada and Germany, which were all ranked in the top five in the world. Each group starts with a single round robin, with the three teams that finish first and the second team with the best results advancing directly to the quarter-finals. The other eight teams will cross-play based on the results of the group stage, resulting in the remaining four top 8 places.
Although the United States is an ice hockey power, because the first-line players all play in the North American Hockey Professional League (NHL), they have been unable to participate due to "schedule" conflicts for many times, and the results of the American men's team in the Winter Olympics are not ideal. At the last Winter Olympics, due to the absence of NHL players, the American men's ice team missed the top 4. In this tournament, NHL players were absent again, with 60% of the U.S. players from the NCAA (American University Sports Association) and the rest from the Continental Hockey League (KHL), which is second only to the NHL, as well as the professional leagues of the United States and Sweden.
However, for the Chinese men's ice team, ranked 32nd in the world and holding the host 'wild card' to enter the main event of the Winter Olympics, the American team is still a far stronger opponent than itself. In this game, defending well and making the most of the opportunities to play more and play less will be the key to scoring goals at home. Before the game, head coach Zanetta repeatedly stressed to the players: "We are not going to participate in the performance, but to win the respect of the hockey world, whether it is technical tactics or physical, we must be in the best condition." Captain Ye Jinguang said that in the face of strong opponents, everyone must pay 100% of their efforts, "let the world remember that we have come." ”
The match began at 21:10 and the two sides began a fierce confrontation. The Chinese team spent most of its time on the defensive, while using counter-attacks to find offensive opportunities, and also created several threatening shots. Although he was scored by his opponent in the middle of the first quarter, the Chinese team's data for the whole quarter was not much different from that of the opponent. At the end of the first quarter, the hosts trailed only 0-1.
However, as the physical fitness of the main players of the Chinese team declined, the American team gradually occupied an overwhelming advantage in the scene. In the second quarter, the U.S. team scored another three points, rewriting the score to 4-0, and the effective number of shots on goal was far ahead of 16-6. In the third quarter, the U.S. team scored four more goals to win 8-0. Throughout the game, the U.S. team's effective shots on goal were 55 to 29 far ahead.