US STUNS SWITZERLAND

It was convincing but hardly a blowout, and proof that a team composed mostly of players from European hockey leagues is more than a challenge for a group of elite N.H.L. players and that Team USA is a real contender for an Olympic medal. The United States had its hands full for much of the men’s tournament opener Tuesday but finally emerged a 3-1 winner over Switzerland, a team usually ranked as the sixth best in Europe. “The first 10 minutes, they came hard and we had to gut-check,” said David Backes of the St. Louis Blues, who scored the second American goal on a brilliant rush while playing most of the game with a bloody nose. “These guys aren’t going to roll over for anyone.” United States Coach Ron Wilson added: “It was a good start. Some of the younger players seemed a little tight and nervous.” The first 27 minutes were evenly matched, and the Americans led by 2-0 only because of great individual-effort goals from Bobby Ryan of Anaheim and Backes. Ryan scored unassisted with 1 minute 1 second left in the first period after cleverly outdueling the Swiss defenseman Thierry Paterlini from his knees for a loose puck along the boards. The puck bounced off a group of players in front and fell to Ryan in the high slot. He snapped a shot over the right shoulder of goalie Jonas Hiller, an Anaheim teammate of Ryan’s, to put the Americans in front. Backes scored in the second period, also unassisted, on a Bobby Orr-like rink-length dash. Picking up a rebound near his net, Backes accelerated down the left-wing boards and went right around defenseman Yannick Weber, beating Hiller as he cut across the goal mouth. Weber is not a player in the Swiss National League A, as 17 of his Olympic teammates are. He is a Montreal Canadien, one of three N.H.L. players on the Swiss team. Ralph Krueger, the Swiss coach, said he was pleased with his team’s playing “eye to eye” with the Americans. The players from the Swiss league were strong, led by forwards Julien Sprunger of Fribourg-Gotteron and Ivo Ruthemann of S.C. Bern. (NY Times)