Source: Xinhua Net
Beijing, February 10 (Xinhua) -- In the Men's Ice Hockey Group A match of the Beijing Winter Olympics on the 10th, the Chinese men's team made its debut in the history of the team, but it had no choice but to have a huge disparity in strength, and finally lost to the world's strongest team, the United States, 0:8.
In the latest world rankings, the Chinese team ranks 32nd, and there is a significant gap with the 4th ranked American team.
After the start of the first quarter, the United States launched a fierce attack on the Chinese team goal, and the Chinese team goalkeeper Jeremy Smith resisted highly, blocking the opponent's 10 effective shots in the first half of the quarter. In the 11th minute of the game, the U.S. team finally found an opportunity, and forward Brendan Brisson took advantage of a chance to play more than one shot. In the second half of the first quarter, the Chinese team significantly stepped up its attack and obtained several threatening shooting opportunities, but the American goalkeeper Comso played steadily, and the Chinese team failed to score in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the American team, which adapted to the defensive rhythm of the Chinese team, attacked more sharply, and the number of effective shots increased significantly. In this quarter, the U.S. team was scored by Noah Kaitz, Brian O'Neal and Sean Farrell to extend the lead to four goals.
In the final quarter, the Chinese team, whose lineup depth was not as deep as the opponent, was physically tested, and the American team played more and more with ease, and finally scored 4 goals in a single quarter, ending the game with an 8-goal advantage.
Chinese team member Ying Rudi said after the game that the score between the two sides did not open in the first quarter, and the opponent strengthened the attack in the second quarter, and the Chinese team did not fully prepare for this, which was also an important reason for the final big score loss. Ying Rudi said: "In ice hockey, mentality is still more important. Not only in the Winter Olympic games, but also in any field, mentality is an important point. (Participating in the Winter Olympics) is the dream of everyone who plays ice hockey in China, we happen to be at this time (to participate in the Winter Olympics), I feel very honored, very lucky, when I was playing since I was a child, I did not know that I could host the Winter Olympics in Beijing, so I cherish this opportunity. ”
The Canadian team in the same group as China has former NHL (North American Professional Hockey League) star Eric Starr, 2021 NHL draft leader Irving Powell and other good players, facing Pyeongchang Winter Olympics runner-up Germany, Canada dominated the whole game, and finally won 5:1.
In the other two matches played that day, the traditional strong Sweden team was pulled twice by Latvia with a three-goal lead, and finally won 3-2 in a thrilling way. World number two Finland beat Slovakia with a 6-2 margin.