Stafford boosts Team USA
BERN, Switzerland — The United States broke open a close game with four goals in the third period, beating Austria, 6-1, on Monday to reach the second round of the hockey world championships.
Dustin Brown had a goal and two assists, and Patrick O’Sullivan and Jason Blake each added a goal and an assist for the Americans. The Sabres’ Drew Stafford, West Seneca’s Lee Stempniak and defenseman Matt Niskanen also scored goals.
Stafford scored when he tapped in a loose puck in the crease when Nick Foligno’s shot was saved.
Robert Esche, who plays for St. Petersburg in Russia, had 25 saves for his second win of the tournament. The United States outshot Austria, 38-26, and shut down Sabres star Thomas Vanek, who was held without a point for the second straight game.
U. S. coach Ron Wilson challenged his team when it led, 2-1, after two periods.
“I think they responded somewhat to my challenge,” Wilson said. “We could have put it away fairly early had we scored on some of our wide-open chances. We were a little bit casual.”
The United States beat Latvia, 4-2, on Saturday and is assured of reaching the second round, which features two groups of six teams beginning play Thursday. The U. S. finishes Group C play against Sweden on Wednesday.
“We are obviously going to need that killer instinct when we play the Swedes,” Wilson said. “They are a very good team, a puck possession team, and play a little different from what we’ve seen so far.”
Sweden was stunned by Latvia later Monday, losing, 3-2, in a shootout. It was the first time in 12 meetings that Latvia had defeated Sweden.
In Zurich, the Czech Republic scored three times in the first 13 minutes to beat Norway, 5-2, and reach the second round from Group D. Finland then shook off a sluggish start to beat Denmark, 5-1, and reach the second round.
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