Team USA has two Chicago Blackhawks players, Alex Vlasic and Frank Nazar, on the roster as they attempt to win a Gold Medal. Group play is still ongoing as the United States faced Germany on Saturday.
Team USA earned a 6-3 victory over Germany to improve its record to 3-1-0-1. With the group that they have and the way they've been playing, they will have a chance to do some damage in the medal rounds.
Alex Vlasic didn't collect any points in this game, but his role is to defend. That's what he did in this win. In 15:19 of ice time, Vlasic was a +1 with one shot on goal. His ability to impact a game on the defensive side of the puck was on display.
Germany deserves credit for scoring three goals despite being outshot 44-21, but the United States' offense was too much for them to handle in the end. Frank Nazar was a part of that.
Nazar ended up making it 2-0 Team USA after Tage Thompson put them up just under two minutes into the match. Before the first period was over, Drew O'Connor made it 3-0 in favor of Team USA.
The goal that Nazar scored is exactly what you want to see from him. Cutter Gauthier centered one, and it went into the net as Nazar redirected it with his leg. Nazar's speed and hockey IQ are going to allow him to make tons of plays throughout his hockey career at all levels.
In the middle frame, things went south for Team USA. Germany scored three straight goals in the second period to tie it up. Going into the third, knotted up at three, the Americans needed a push to win.
A big lead (5-1) has already been blown by Team USA in this tournament, but they found a way to win that game in overtime. This time around, they had a final frame to take care of their business. Unlike the NHL, regulation wins earn you more points (3) than overtime wins (2).
In the third, Connor Garland and Logan Cooley each scored to give Team USA a multi-goal lead back. Frank Nazar assisted on a Clayton Keller empty-netter to seal the 6-3 victory.
Now, Nazar has three goals and three assists for six points in five games played for Team USA. That is him continuing the great run he had toward the end of the NHL regular season. If he keeps up this level of contribution, they will have a chance.
Next up for Team USA is a Group Play matchup against Kazakhstan. This can be seen locally on Sunday at 9:20 AM CT.
