Turin – They stepped onto the ice Wednesday with Olympic chills but 20 minutes later, they were in full-on nap mode.
One day after a squad of strangers arrived in a foreign land, Team USA suddenly ran dry on adrenaline and lapsed into a jet-lag trance. They stopped hitting, then stopped buzzing. The Latvians just needed a chance. The Americans just needed a latte.
By the time it stirred, Team USA trailed by a goal to a pesky pack with two NHL players on the roster – one from Colorado, one fresh from substance-abuse rehab. Only Jordan Leopold’s sneaky goal in the third period salvaged a 3-3 tie for the Americans – 23 NHL players who hope to find their legs today against Kazakhstan.
“We jump off a plane … get one practice together,” said U.S. defenseman John-Michael Liles, who plays for the Avalanche. “It was tough trying to get to sleep on the plane. But that’s not the cause. We’ve just got to play better.”
Beneath a crowd laced with Latvian fans, flags, drums and bugles, the Americans sparkled early, using a 16-shot barrage and two goals to remind former NHL goalie Arturs Irbe what his life in the league used to be like.
Then, said Liles, “We cut off a little.”
As the clock ticked toward 10 p.m., the Americans wilted, losing sprints to loose pucks and giving the Latvians space to dazzle. Backed by a potent defensive core – including current Avalanche Karlis Skrastins and former Colorado defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh – Latvia pelted goalie John Grahame with 12 shots in the second period, none of them cheap.
The Denver-born Grahame was forced to use every pad he packed, stabbing pucks with his glove, splaying his legs to make blocker saves on the left and right, diving onto his stomach to smother still more chances.
But two goals squeezed through, 40 seconds apart. One came on a two-on-one rush. The other came on a power play after a dish from Ozolinsh, who just ended a six-week stint in the NHL’s substance-abuse program.
The Latvians owned the lead and the crowd. A group of European-leaguers dominated Mike Modano, Chris Chelios, Bill Guerin and a roster deep in household names. The Latvian goal scorers were Aleksandrs Nizivijs, Atvars Tribuncovs and Herberts Vasiljevs.
Latvia?
“That country certainly doesn’t roll off of your tongue,” Modano said. “But they did play a mistake-free game.”
After tying the game in the third, the Americans regained their strut, spitting 19 shots at Irbe. “It was very hard to survive,” Irbe said of his late-game work.
But all the U.S. effort failed to scrape up a winning goal.
With an older generation fading and fresh faces on the way for 2010, the Americans aren’t expected to medal in Turin. Talented, sure. But not at all dominant.
“The naysayers had their way tonight,” U.S. forward Mike Knuble said. “They can point their fingers and say, ‘I told you so.”‘
Staff writer Bill Briggs can be reached at 303-820-1720 or bbriggs@denverpost.com.
