Turin – The young woman in the Red Wings sweat shirt rocketed from her plastic seat with Swiss glee when the goaltender wrapped his gut around the puck.
“I have family in Switzerland! Hey, what’s the Swiss goalie’s name?” Detroit native Gina Shermetaro asked someone in the crowd at Palasport Olimpico.
“David Aebischer, top goalie for the Colorado Avalanche,” she was told. “And it’s a little weird seeing a Wings fan scream for Abby.”
“What? I had no idea he played for the Avs!” Shermetaro said. “But that’s OK. Today, I’m just pulling for the Swiss!”
In Italy, it was 2:05 p.m. In the Rocky Mountains, it was 6:05 a.m. Before late-snoozing Coloradans finally kicked off the covers, five Avalanche players already had hustled through four hockey games.
At two arenas separated by a 20-minute cab ride, all 12 Olympic men’s teams clashed Sunday. That meant Avalanche players were skating – or, in one case, watching hockey in jeans – from noon to near midnight. Avs players dot eight squads in the Olympic field.
Beginning with Aebischer’s glove work and ending with Joe Sakic’s team speech, the Avs won three games, lost four and tied one. All in a day’s work.
2:10 p.m., Palasport Olimpico. 6:10 a.m., Denver.
The Swiss fans chanted “Ahbee, Ahbee.” But Aebischer still was haunted by Boos. Tino Boos, a German forward, who punched the puck past Aebischer to tie the game 2-2 with less than eight minutes to play. That’s how it ended.
Afterward, Aebischer was drenched in sweat and a little regret.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said.
A shower awaited. But no more hockey. Not even to catch his Avs buddies on television back in the athletes village. When Aebischer TV surfs the Games, he tunes in to curling or skeleton – “if you’re away from the rink, you try to watch something else.”
3:08 p.m., Torino Esposizioni. 7:08 a.m., Denver.
The ninth Russian goal had Karlis Skrastins seeing red from the Latvian bench. In the bleachers, Latvian fan Intars Dzenitis buried his head in his hands. His head was covered by a straw hat and fake, braided blond pigtails.
Skrastins and Dzenitis were watching their national team unravel after tying the Americans 3-3 to open the tournament. After losing 9-2 to Russia, it will take a 15-0 or 16-0 pasting of Kazakhstan on Tuesday for Latvia to advance.
“Against the Americans, it was just an easier game,” Skrastins said outside the locker room. “They had just arrived here. They were tired. Today, it was we who needed fresh legs and a fresh head. Our last game was 15 hours ago.”
4:25 p.m., Palasport Olimpico. 8:25 a.m., Denver.
Wearing an Avalanche helmet over his blue Kazakhstan sweater, goalie Vitaly Kolesnik stopped a shot by Avs rookie Marek Svatos, this week a sniper for Slovakia. Kolesnik’s team held a 1-0 lead.
Before the first faceoff, Kolesnik may have had a little revenge in mind. He won three games for the Avs this season before being assigned to Colorado’s minor- league team. His backup job is now filled by Peter Budaj, who tends the Slovakian nets. But with Budaj in street clothes as part of a goalie rotation, revenge would have to wait.
The upset would soon be gone, too, as Slovakia scored twice to win 2-1.
In the bleachers, Slovakian biathlete Matej Kazar sat in his team jacket next to Kazakhstan speedskater Babenko Dmitriy, who wore his country’s colors. Neither said one word, staring at the ice below.
6:45 p.m., Torino Esposizioni. 10:45 a.m., Denver.
John-Michael Liles, a rising Avalanche star, lost his edge and fell during Team USA’s two-man advantage, giving Sweden’s P.J. Axelsson an extremely short- handed breakaway chance. Liles was relieved when American goalie Rick Di- Pietro smacked down the shot.
In the bathroom, Craig Miller from Queens, N.Y., talked trash with a Swedish fan who shouted: “U.S. team is not so good!”
Miller’s retort cannot be printed.
“Hey, you’ve got to represent,” Miller said. “Especially, being from New York.”
8:21 p.m., Palasport Olimpico. 12:21 p.m., Denver.
Milan Hejduk scored the only goal of the day for an Avalanche player, putting the Czech Republic ahead 1-0 in the first period. The Czechs beat Italy 4-1.
11:40 p.m., Torino Esposizioni. 3:40 p.m., Denver.
Finn forward Antii Laaksonen beamed about his team’s 2-0 win over Canada. Finland has not lost at the Turin Games. Even better: No one from the Colorado contingent has done better.
Laaksonen watches snippets of the other men’s hockey games, but he must walk to an athletes lounge to tune in. He has no TV in his room.
As Laaksonen smiled, Canada’s Rob Blake shed his pads in the locker room. Just outside, Sakic talked with journalists in hushed tones. He carried the scar of Canada’s Olympic war – a long, red gash over his fractured left cheekbone. He will play the rest of the tournament in a protective shield.
It’s been ugly for Team Canada. Two losses. It had Sakic searching for answers and looking forward to a day without bustle.
“We know we have to regroup. We know we have to be better,” he said. “We’ve just got to get some rest tomorrow, recharge and come back.”
Staff writer Bill Briggs can be reached at 303-820-1720 or bbriggs@denverpost.com.
