Americans rout Russia, earning bye to semifinals
U.S. player Presley Norby, right, congratulates Alex Woken on her second-period goal against Russia. Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
Melissa Samoskevich didn’t describe her goals.
The individual effort didn’t matter to the native of Sandy Hook, Conn. Sure she had three goals and the hat trick was nice. But the team scored seven. And the team is what matters most.
Humility aside, she did earn Player of the Game honors, pacing the United States to an offensive breakout win over Russia, 7-1, in front of 1,061 at HarborCenter on Thursday night.
“All three goals, it doesn’t really matter,” she said. “We had seven as a team. My three goals contributed, but at the end of the game it was the seven goals that counted.”
It was the boost the Americans needed to win Group A and earn a bye into Sunday’s semifinals along with Canada, who defeated the Czech Republic, also by a 7-1 margin.
Samoskevich gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead in the first period. Russia came out with a strong first shift in the second, notching a goal 33 seconds into the period.
But the American offense finally broke through. Smooth and strong, the offense not only generated chances but finished opportunities.
“I think what we’re doing is thinking less and playing more,” U.S. coach Joel Johnson said. “That’s the hard part of a two-week tournament is to try and cover all the things you want to teach and yet not over teach because at some point they just have to play.
“I think this was our best game as far as that’s concerned. They were still playing within our structure and our systems, but they were playing free and fast and that’s what we want.”
It was an impressive game from Samoskevich, who notched her third goal in the third period. A defenseman by trade who is committed to Quinnipiac, she moved to forward for this tournament. Team first, after all. And Thursday it started clicking.
“She’s versatile and … when she gets good chances, she can score,” Johnson said. “The first couple of games she was missing the net a little bit. Of course when you do that, you’re not going to bury your chances. I think she’s had a great tournament.”
The U.S. will play at 7 p.m. Sunday facing the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between Czech Republic and Sweden.
Canada will play the 3:30 semifinal on Sunday against the winner of Friday’s other quarterfinal between Russia and Finland.
That puts the U.S. and Canada on a crash course for Monday’s gold medal game, already announced as a sellout by HarborCenter.
But players aren’t getting ahead of themselves. Micah Hart understands the importance of the daily grind. The Canadian captain was part of last year’s gold-medal winning team and has been a key influence for her teammates.
“Just take it step by step,” Hart said. “You can’t look ahead. You can’t look back. You just have to be in the moment all the time. It’s just focusing on the little things. Focusing on those details and those habits we want to be good at.”
Hart, a native of British Columbia who committed to play at Cornell next season, finished with two points and has provided the emotional road map for her team.
“She’s our energy,” Canada coach Cassie Turner said. “She’s that person when we need a jump she’s there to encourage people but when we also need to calm down, she’s there for that, too. She’s one of those players who had a good pulse of the entire group and they follow, which as a coach that’s all you want.”
Hart provided all that as six players scored. Sarah Potomack, a Minnesota commit, scored twice and finished with four points. Elizabeth Giguere had a three-point night with a goal and two assists, giving her five points in the tournament.
Also adding goals were Kristin O’Neill, Sarah-Eve Coutu-Godbout and Lindsay Agnew.
Group B came down to tiebreakers after Finland, Sweden and Switzerland all finished with two wins. Goal differential was the deciding factor as Switzerland was eliminated from medal contention and moved into the relegation round with Japan. The teams begin a best-of-three series at noon Friday.
email: amoritz@buffnews.com
