The U.S. Men’s Olympic hockey team went 3-0 to grab first place in Group A, setting up their quarterfinal matchup against Slovakia.
The Americans face a tough test against the upstart Slovaks, who shut out 2018 silver medal-winning Germany Monday and have a nice balance of experience, depth and youth. The two teams will face each other Tuesday (11:10 p.m. EST, CNBC) to determine who moves on to the medal round.
The New England region has enjoyed a significant impact on the roster thus far. In net, Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.) and Strauss Mann (Greenwich, Conn.) have combined to give Team USA a formidable one-two punch, as the two bring contrasting styles, but have been effective in providing their squad with timely saves and strong situational play between the pipes. Forwards Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Matty Beniers (Hingham, Mass.) have leveraged their playing time into team-leading production in the former’s case, while Beniers has been an important two-way center and defacto top pivot head coach David Quinn (Cranston, R.I.) trusts to deploy in all situations.
Here is a quick breakdown of how we got here and what will be key to beating Slovakia to secure a medal opportunity.
