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Team USA men see off dogged Denmark in Olympic ice hockey / Photo: JULIEN DE ROSA - AFP
Team USA men see off dogged Denmark in Olympic ice hockey
The USA men's ice hockey team had to fight before overcoming Denmark 6-3 on Saturday as they kept their bid for a first Olympic gold since 1980 on track.
The Americans, who are able to line up stars from the National Hockey League at an Olympics for the first time since 2014, recorded a second win of the tournament after beating Latvia 5-1 in the opening game.
Denmark fought valiantly, though, opening the scoring through Nick Olesen before Matt Boldy brought the Americans level.
Team USA survived a scare when they went 2-1 down to the Danes in the first period when Nicholas B. Jensen scored from centre ice.
But Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators fired a shot into the net past Denmark goalie Mads Sogaard to equalise early in the second period at the Santagiulia Arena in Milan.
From there on, Team USA began to settle into the game and Jack Eichel, who had provided the assist for Tkachuk earlier, produced a wrist shot that evaded Sogaard.
Less than a minute later, Noah Hanifin got on an Olympic scoreboard for the first time to make it 4-2 before Phillip Bruggisser pulled a goal back for the Danes.
The Americans turned the screw in the third quarter as Auston Matthews recuperated a loose puck and set up Jake Guentzel, who blasted past Sogaard.
Jack Hughes showed the Americans' class when he scored off the pad of Denmark backup goalie Frederik Dickow after rounding a Danish defender and skating behind the net before firing his shot.
The USA have a short turnaround as they face Germany in their next Group C game on Sunday.
X.Baker--SMC
