Milan (Italy) (AFP) – Canada hammered France 10-2 in an awesome show of power on Sunday while the United States smashed Germany 5-1 as the powerhouse nations ended the Olympic men’s ice hockey preliminary round with 100 percent records. The Canadians — the most successful team in Olympic history — lost to Sweden in the quarter-finals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games as Finland won gold. National Hockey League stars have returned to the Winter Olympics at the Milan-Cortina Games for the first time since 2014.
Jon Cooper’s star-studded Canada squad have been in ominous form, running away with Group A to win their three games by a combined scoreline of 20-3. Top spot in the group and a place in the quarter-finals were already secured before Canada took on France in Milan. Team Canada superstar Connor McDavid became the outright top scorer in Italy with nine points after recording a goal and two assists against hapless France, who finished bottom of Group A with three defeats from three. There were nine different scorers for Canada before Macklin Celebrini netted his second goal and his team’s 10th to complete the rout.
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“We are still trying to get better,” the Edmonton Oilers centre McDavid told TNT Sports. “It is a short tournament and we are still trying to get better every day. We now have couple of days to prepare and get ready to go for the real stuff.” It was a milestone match for captain Sidney Crosby, whose one goal and two assists took him to 16 career Olympic points, surpassing Jarome Iginla for the most by a Canadian at Winter Olympics featuring NHL players.
Canada are favourites for the gold but the Americans are desperate for their first win since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid. The United States wrapped up their preliminary round campaign with a comfortable win over Germany and an aggregate scoreline of 16-5 over their three matches. Zach Werenski broke the deadlock at the end of the first period and Auston Matthews scored twice as the United States topped Group C. The world’s top players are able to compete in Italy after the elite North American league agreed to a mid-season shutdown and issues of ice quality and rink size were resolved.
© 2024 AFP
