Preliminary Round Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 12
United States 5, Latvia 1
Saturday, Feb. 14
Latvia 4, Germany 3
United States 6, Denmark 3
Sunday, Feb. 15
Denmark 4, Latvia 2
United States 5, Germany 1
Knockout Schedule
Tuesday, Feb. 17 (Playoff Round)
(7) Sweden 5, (10) Latvia 1 (Latvia eliminated)
Wednesday, Feb. 18 (Quarterfinals)
(2) United States 2, (7) Sweden 1 (OT)
Friday, Feb. 20 (Semifinals)
(2) United States 6, (3) Slovakia 2
Sunday, Feb. 22
(2) United States 2, (1) Canada 1 (OT)
Tournament Updates
Sunday, Feb. 22
Werenski will forever be part of USA Hockey lore as his pass to Jack Hughes set up the winning goal as the United States won an instant classic against Canada by a 2-1 score in overtime.
The CBJ defenseman won a battle in the offensive zone, settled the puck and found Hughes streaking down the far side of the ice, with the New Jersey forward beating Jordan Binnington the winning goal 1:41 into overtime.
Werenski set a new CBJ best with six points at the tournament and saved the best for last with his primary assist in the 3-on-3 overtime. Werenski played 12:10 in the final and is the first CBJ player to earn gold with the United States.
Friday, Feb. 20
Werenski delivered a historic performance in the 6-2 win over Slovakia in a semifinal, notching three primary assists to become the first-ever active CBJ player to post three points in an Olympic game.
The Blue Jackets alternate captain upped his tournament point total to five (one goal, four assists), tying Rick Nash's record for most points by a Jackets player in a single Olympics.
It took just 4:19 for Werenski and the U.S. to get on the board, as the defenseman found longtime friend Dylan Larkin streaking up the middle of the ice for the opening tally. Werenski then assisted on a pair of goals by Jack Hughes in the second period, feeding him for a fantastic individual effort that made it 3-0 and then firing a shot off the back boards that came out to Hughes for another tally making the score 5-0.
Werenski finished plus-3 in the game while skating 13:27. Tage Thompson, Jack Eichel and Brady Thachuk also scored for the U.S., which outshot Slovakia 39-24.
Nash is the only active CBJ player to win a gold medal, doing so with Canada in 2010 when he had two goals and three assists in seven games.
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Capping a dramatic day of quarterfinals that featured three overtime games, Werenski and Team USA survived and marched on in its quest for a first gold since 1980, as Quinn Hughes' OT goal gave the Americans a 2-1 victory over Sweden.
After a second-period goal from Dylan Larkin, Sweden got a late equalizer with the goalie pulled from Mika Zibanejad, setting up a 3-on-3, winner-take-all overtime. Hughes was able to beat goalie Jacob Markstrom from the slot to keep the dreams of a U.S. gold medal alive.
Werenski had three shots on goal and skated 17:45, including a late look at a winner in regulation and a shift in overtime before Hughes' tally.
The U.S. will play Slovakia on Friday, while top-seeded Canada and fourth-seeded Finland both advanced in overtime as well and will battle in the other semifinal.
Tuesday, Feb. 17
Merzlikins earned the start in Latvia's elimination game vs. Sweden, but the CBJ netminder couldn't pull a rabbit out of his pads. Latvia was up to the challenge for stretches of the game, but Sweden used some fantastic passing plays and individual efforts to pull away to a 5-1 victory that ended the Latvians' tournament.
Making his second start of the Olympics, Merzlikins stopped 23 of 28 shots, including a spectacular glove save in the third on NHL star Elias Pettersson, but it wasn't enough as the Swedes got goals from Adrian Kempe, Gabriel Landeskog, Filip Forsberg, Mika Zibanejad and William Nylander.
Merzlikins made 51 saves on 60 shots against in his two games and will now return to Columbus for the second half of the season.
Sunday, Feb. 15
Werenski scored his first goal as an Olympian, putting the United States on the board on the way to a 5-1 victory over Germany to end pool play.
Werenski took a pass across the zone from Auston Matthews and fired to the far post to beat goalie Maximilian Franzreb with just nine seconds left in the first period to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. It was a key goal to get the Americans rolling, as Team USA added two goals in the second and two more in the third to clinch the win.
The CBJ defenseman skated 19:30, posting the goal with a plus-1 rating as well as a minor penalty. Through three games, he has a goal and an assist as well as a plus-4 rating in an average of 18:19 of ice time. Werenski is just the fourth CBJ player to score a goal at the Olympics while playing for the Blue Jackets, joining Radoslav Suchy (Slovakia, 2006), David Vyborby (Czech Republic, 2006) and Rick Nash (Canada, 2010).
The United States finished group play with a 3-0 record and earned a bye into the quarterfinals. As the No. 2 seed, Team USA will play the winner of Tuesday's playoff round game between seventh-seeded Sweden and 10th-seeded Latvia on Wednesday.
Latvia dropped its final group stage game by a 4-2 score to Denmark, nearly rallying from a 3-0 first-period deficit. For the second game in a row, Merzlikins served as the backup netminder to Arturs Silovs.
Saturday, Feb. 14
Werenski and the United States were pushed Saturday afternoon by Denmark but eventually took over, scoring three times in the second period and twice in the third to earn a 6-3 victory.
The CBJ defenseman finished plus-2 with four shots on goal in 18:12 of ice time, which placed third among U.S. defensemen. He originally was credited with an assist on Jake Guentzel's third-period goal, in which the Americans hemmed Denmark in its zone before Guentzel's shot from the left circle, but the official scoring eventually took the helper away.
Werenski is now plus-3 with an assist in the two contests for the 2-0 American squad.
Latvia downed Germany by a 4-3 score, with Merzlikins serving as the backup to Arturs Silovs.
Thursday, Feb. 12
Werenski and Team USA got off to a successful start, downing Merzlikins and Latvia by a 5-1 score.
It took just 5:29 for Werenski to earn his first point as he assisted on Brady Tkachuk's goal. Werenski moved the puck quickly up the ice to Matthew Tkachuk, who fed his brother for a shot past Merzlikins from the slot.
After the teams were knotted at one through a period, the United States pulled away with a trio of goals in the second period as the Americans had a 17-2 edge in shots on goal in that frame, peppering Merzlikins throughout.
Werenski finished with 17:15 of ice time, putting three shots on goal and drawing a penalty while finishing plus-1. He quarterbacked Team USA's No. 2 power-play unit as well.
Merzlikins made 28 saves on 32 shots against as Latvia was under siege for large parts of the game. Pittsburgh goalie Arturs Silovs played the third.
