The United States Olympic Men’s Hockey Team will face the Swiss Olympic Team tomorrow afternoon, three days after upsetting the favored Canadian Team in the Group Round.  Team Switzerland defeated Team Belarus in the Qualification Round today 3-2, setting up the US-Swiss Quarterfinals matchup Wednesday, February 24^th at 12:00pm PST (3:00pm EST).

The victory over Canada earned the US a Bye to the Quarterfinal Round, while Canada went on to face Germany in a Qualifying Match for the right to play the 3^rd seeded Russian Men.  Team USA’s #1 seed out of Group Play afforded the team a chance to rest after their pitched battle vs Team Canada.  The Americans rested Monday & Tuesday, waiting for the outcome of Tuesday’s Switzerland-Belarus game to find out which team would be their Quarterfinals opponent.

Interestingly, Team USA and Team Switzerland have already played in this Olympic Tournament, as they both came out of Group A.  The US beat the Swiss 3-1 on Tuesday, February 16^th, the first game of the Men’s Hockey Tournament.  The United States had some unlikely heroes in a game that could have gone either way.  Bobby Ryan (Anaheim Ducks), David Backes (St Louis Blues), and Ryan Malone (Tampa Bay Lightning) scored for the United States against stand-out Swiss Goalie Jonas Hiller.

Hiller also plays for the Mighty Ducks, and the first goal of the game by NHL teammate Ryan broke an early back-and-forth between the teams.  Were it not for that crucial turning point, this tournament may have worked out very differently.  The American Team had not played together in a fully competitive atmosphere previous to their game versus the Swiss, and it was the team’s bruisers & muckers that were the difference-makers.

This time around, expect the United States to employ a similar strategy of pounding the Swiss into submission.  Team Switzerland was talented enough to give #1 seed Team USA a run for their money, also taking #6 seed Team Canada all the way to a shootout.  Canada won that game on the strength of goaltender Marty Brodeur’s one-on-one skills.  US goaltender Ryan Miller will have to be every inch the stopper that he was against the Canadians to defeat the sharp-shooting Swiss tomorrow.

As well as Team Switzerland played so far this tournament, Team USA is most definitely the superior squad.  American coach Ron Wilson (Toronto Maple Leafs) will not let the US play down to the Swiss, so don’t expect a let-down game after the big US victory over Canada.  Jonas Hiller will keep Switzerland in the game for a while, but eventually the US will wear down the Swiss with tight checking and relentless attack.  Expect the United States to win by two goals or more on their way to playing either Finland, Latvia or the Czech Republic in the Semifinals.

Meanwhile, Team Canada must finish beating Team Germany tonight (at this writing they have a 3-0 2^nd Period lead) before playing Russia in the Quarterfinals and then either Sweden, Slovakia or Norway in the Semifinals.  Behind new goalie Robert Luongo, I expect Team Canada to find their way to a rematch with Team USA in Sunday’s 2010 Winter Olympics Gold Medal game.

Articles similar to this:

• March 1, 2010 -- Team USA Silver Medalists put American Hockey back on the map (0)
  As much as they may not want to hear about it now, as m...
• February 27, 2010 -- In a perfect world, USA vs Canada is one for the Ages (0)
  I believe in the US win at Vancouver enough to pick the...
• February 22, 2010 -- US Hockey Team upsets host Canada, grabs #1 seed out of Group play (1)
  In a game that pitted two NHL All-Star Teams against ea...

Position: Center

Shoots: Left

Drafted: 2009 NHL Entry Draft, 3^rd Overall

Vital Stats: 5’ 11”, 190 lbs, born January 16^th, 1991

Matt Duchene was selected with the 3^rd Overall Pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft behind John Tavares (New York Islanders) and Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning).  Matty was initially expected to go 1^st or 2^nd, but the Islanders felt that Tavares was the better forward & the Lightning were in desperate need of Hedman’s defense.

Duchene has long been an Avalanche fan, and you can see him do a little fist-pump in this video from draft day (at 0:15) when Hedman was selected ahead of him by Tampa Bay, virtually assuring that Matt would go to Colorado.  His excitement at being drafted by a franchise that had just recorded its worst record since moving to Colorado gave the Avalanche faithful reason to believe that there were better days ahead.  Duchene’s immediate impact on the team reinforced that belief.

Coach Joe Sacco met Duchene at Lake Erie before being promoted from the Monsters to the Avalanche as Head Coach.  He thought enough of Matt that he invited him to join the revamped Colorado roster in the early stages of the 2009-2010 season.

On October 17^th, 2009 Duchene boosted his rapidly rising stature within the organization by logging his first NHL goal in a win over the rival Detroit Red Wings.  The Avalanche announced a day later that Matty would spend the remainder of the season with the team, forgoing a potential move back down to the minor league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters.

Matt logged his first two-goal game on November 30^th against the same Tampa Bay team that spurned him in the draft.  He has scored 20 Goals and logged 22 Assists in 61 games this season.  Duchene is tied with fellow rookie Chris Stewart at 42 Points on the season, good for 3^rd best on the Colorado roster.

Articles similar to this:

• October 11, 2010 -- 2010 Avalanche Week 1 Preview (3)
  After a rousing Overtime defeat of the Stanley Cup Cham...
• April 6, 2010 -- Avalanche clinch playoff birth with gutsy SO win in Vancouver (0)
  The Vancouver Canucks matched the Colorado Avalanche go...
• February 23, 2010 -- Ryan O’Reilly Avalanche Player Profile (0)
  It may have surprised Avalanche fans when 18-year-old R...