BEIJING — Don’t look now, but the young United States hockey team might be fun to watch at the Olympics.
Sean Farrell had a hat trick and delivered one of the team’s two no-look assists as the Americans routed China 8-0 Thursday night in the host country’s Olympic men’s hockey debut.
Farrell delivered his behind-the-back pass from behind the net to Noah Cates and also scored the fourth, fifth and eighth U.S. goals. Andy Miele delivered another no-look assist on Brian O’Neill’s goal, Minnesota center Ben Meyers roofed a backhander, and Matty Beniers flashed the offensive ability that made him the second pick in the NHL draft with his goal.
Boston University goaltender Drew Commesso was not tested much but was sharp when he needed to be, making 29 saves for the shutout. The 19-year-old became the youngest U.S. goaltender to play at the Olympics.
After a slow start, the Americans’ young speed and skill were on display and eventually wore down their overmatched opponent and outshot them 55-29. Only U.S.-born goaltender Jeremy Smith kept it close the first half of the game for China, finishing with 47 stops.
There was little he could do on Brendan Brisson’s power-play goal that opened the scoring midway through the first period, or on Cates’ shot from in front in the second that made it 2-0. Skating in front of about 1,000 Chinese fans, the home team made up mostly of North American players who naturalized for the Games hung tough before the Americans broke through three times in the second and four more times in the third.
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Seven of the eight U.S. goals were scored by a player currently in college. The other was O’Neill, the lone returnee from the 2018 tournament in Pyeongchang when the U.S. was eliminated in the quarterfinals in a shootout loss to the Czech Republic.
Even without Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane and a generation of elite American talent, the expectations are higher this time around. Blowing out China reveals little about what the U.S. can do in the tournament, though it was a strong start.
The U.S. next faces archrival Canada, which beat defending silver medalist Germany 5-1 in its tournament opener. That showdown is set for Saturday afternoon in Beijing before the U.S. plays Germany on Sunday night in its final preliminary round game.
In other action Thursday, former NHL forwards Lucas Wallmark and Anton Lander scored to help Sweden beat Latvia 3-2, and Sakari Manninen recorded a hat trick on his 30th birthday in Finland’s 6-2 victory against Slovakia.
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