Mann, USA Hold Off Canada

Goalie Strauss Mann made 17 of his 35 saves in the third period and Team USA clamped down defensively to hold on for a 4-2 win over rival Canada in the preliminary round of the Olympic men's hockey tournament in Beijing.

Mann did not wilt after giving up an early lead to Canada by allowing Mat Robinson's shot to slip through the five-hole just 1:24 into the game.
"Obviously the first one went in, don't really know how. I just got back to my game and trusted my preparation. There's a lot of things that go wrong as a goalie and if you focus on those, you're bound to let more happen. But if you just focus on the present moment and keep competing, a lot of good things will happen," Mann said.
Captain Andy Miele responded just 70 seconds later. Miele lifted a beautiful backhander past Canada goalie Edward Pasquale for a goal that sparked Team USA. The Americans began to dominate play throughout the period, culminating with a Ben Meyers goal to give USA a 2-1 lead with 1:16 left.

"To put a stop to their momentum right away, that was awesome," Miele said post-game.
"I love the way our team responded. I'm so proud of this group, I love it. We took a beating, but we kept on going forward, kept on coming back at them and we got the outcome we were looking for."
USA continued to play fast and fearless against Canada, which was coming off a 5-1 win over Germany, to open the second period. The USA forecheck produced a 3-1 lead when Nick Shore dished a centering pass from behind the net to Brendan Brisson. The Vegas Golden Knights first-rounder and University of Michigan standout buried a backhanded shot to put USA in the driver's seat.
"He's a special player," coach David Quinn said of Brisson after the game.
"I just like the direction his game is going, I really do."

A power play gone awry appeared to swing momentum back in Canada's favor.
USA was awarded the first man-advantage of the game at 7:20 remaining in the second period when Eric Staal was penalized for elbowing Kraken prospect Matty Beniers, who finished the game ranked second on his team in ice time. Beniers made a bad pinch from the blue line to try to keep the puck in the offensive zone and the decision proved costly, springing a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush that resulted in a Corban Knight goal set up by Daniel Winnik to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Canada pressed to tie it, especially on a power play in the waning minutes of the period, but Mann and the USA defense stood tall to preserve the lead.
"I'm glad the guys trusted me to play my role and stop the puck and they really did a good job of taking the back side away. And when you can trust your D to do that, it's pretty easy to play goalie," Mann said.
Pressure continued to mount from the Canadian attack in the final frame. Despite being outshot 17-5 in the third period, USA and Mann shut the door. Kenny Agostino added an insurance goal about six minutes in to provide his team some breathing room. Miele assisted on the play.
"We've got a bunch of guys that compete, they don't back down… We weren't intimidated at all (in the China opener), and we certainly weren't tonight," Quinn said.
Team USA will attempt to secure the top spot in Group A with a win over Germany Sunday to wrap up preliminary round play. Puck drop is set for 5:10 a.m. P.T.