It was one of a few moments where the Americans’ strategy seemed questionable.
Down 5-3, the U.S. team got into a bit of a bind in the seventh end when Canada put three in the house, including one on the button, necessitating an extremely skillful shot from Peterson to squeeze out a point with the hammer. Instead, the best Peterson could do was knock two out, allowing Canada to take a 6-3 lead.
Canada cracked the door open for the U.S. to get all three back in the eighth end with a double takeout, but Peterson elected for the safer play to score two points, hoping for another opportunity in one of the final two ends. Though the Americans did tie it up, they never got the hammer back, which proved to be decisive.
The U.S. will play its final round-robin game on Wednesday night (morning in the U.S.) against Japan and will certainly need a victory to be in contention for entry into the medal round for the first time since 2002. Even then, they will likely need some help depending on how the final round-robin games and tiebreakers shake out.
-- Dan Wolken
BEIJING — Through three games, the U.S. men’s hockey team has used a combination of speed, youth and toughness to claim the No. 1 seed entering the quarterfinals and emerge as the surprise story of the tournament.
Of course, that means nothing anymore. A few bad bounces, and it could mark the end of the line for the Americans in Beijing.
Strauss Mann, who picked up the win in a 4-2 victory against Canada in group play, will start in net against Slovakia.
Slovakia is led by Juraj Slafkovsky, a potential top 10 NHL draft pick this summer. The 17-year-old is tied for the tournament lead in goals (four).
The U.S. will have to stop him without one of its top defenders. Jake Sanderson (undisclosed injury, day-to-day) isn’t dressed for the second consecutive day.
-- Chris Bumbaca
“I didn’t skate the way I wanted to skate and definitely not what I am capable of,” Chen said. “I need to just think about what went wrong and then move on into the long program.”
Performing to "Requiem for a Dream” and “Requiem for a Tower,” Chen's score of 64.11 on Tuesday was slightly lower than her short program score in the team event earlier this month, which was 65.20. She also fell in that program.
Chen, 22, went on to skate a redemptive long program as Team USA won silver in the team event.
The only returning Olympian of the three American women in the field, Chen placed 10th at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang. She's currently in 13th place entering Thursday's free skate in Beijing.
Skating to “Gypsy Dance II” from Don Quixote, Liu didn't attempt the notoriously difficult triple axel, which has helped distinguish her from her compatriots, but she turned in a clean, energetic performance in her short program, recording a score of 69.50 and moving into second place at the time.
“I am happy with what I did,” Liu said. “All of my training has been to get to the Olympics, and my dream has come true.”
Her father, Arthur Liu, was one of the more vocal critics of the recent decision to allow Russian teenager Kamila Valieva to compete despite a positive drug test in December.
"She tested positive for a banned drug. What’s not clear about it? She should be out," he said, according to the Associated Press. "That is as simple as that. What kind of message are they sending to millions of young boys and girls in sports — particularly figure skaters? That cheaters are allowed to compete in the Olympics, the holiest competition on the planet. It totally destroys the Olympic spirit."
Liu, 16, is not only the youngest member of the U.S. figure skating team, but also the youngest member of Team USA in Beijing, period. A two-time national champion, she was favored to win a third title in January but tested positive for COVID-19 in between the short program and long program, forcing her to withdraw.
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