USA beats pesky Swiss to advance to semis
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The longer it went, the tighter the Americans got.
They clanged shots off the post, then the crossbar. A wrist shot early in the game by Phil Kessel that looked like a bad omen hit both. Everything else the U.S. hockey team threw on net Wednesday, Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller smothered.
But Zach Parise put all that frustration aside, deflecting a wrist shot from Brian Rafalski early in the third period, then scored into an empty net late to seal a 2-0 quarterfinal win that sends the U.S. to the semifinals tomorrow against Finland, which defeated the Czech Republic, 2-0, in a late game.
"Relief and excitement, especially in a tight game like that when you are doing everything but score," said Parise, who didn't score on his first 13 shots of the tournament. "The goalie was great and we did a good job of sticking with it. We were pretty confident and said just keep putting pucks at him."
Ryan Miller made 19 saves to backstop the victory and move the Americans within two wins of its first men's hockey gold medal in 30 years.
For a while, though, there was a chance their stirring 5-3 win over Canada on Sunday might go for naught. U.S. general manager Brian Burke said he wasn't happy with his team's play through the preliminary round, and cautioned that the Americans had to improve quickly if they hoped to make a run.
He was right. Only the challenge came from the lightly regarded Swiss and not from tournament favorites Canada, Russia or defending Olympic champion Sweden.
The wait for production from the top scoring line ended just in time.
"I thought after the first two or three games I could play better. I knew I would," said Parise, who had no goals and three assists in the opening three games. "It's always nice to get rewarded. I just kept wanting to keep shooting."
In front of a full crowd that traded chants for each team, Hiller gave the Swiss a chance to pull off the upset by making 42 saves. He had stymied Parise several times earlier, but couldn't keep the Devils star down in the third period.
