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Olympics Blog

Ducks’ Bobby Ryan scores only goal; U.S. 1, Switzerland 0 after first period

By Helene Elliott
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Good and physical first period in the first Olympic hockey game played on NHL-size ice, which is 15 feet narrower than international rinks.

Good hitting, a few good saves and a nice play by Ducks winger Bobby Ryan on the only goal of the period. Ryan took a hit along the left-wing boards but got back into the play and was in perfect position when the Swiss couldn’t control the puck and it came to him in the high slot. He beat Ducks teammate Jonas Hiller with a rising wrist shot to the glove side at 18:59 of the period.

The U.S. out-shot Switzerland, 8-5, and both Hiller and U.S. starter Ryan Miller had opportunities to get into the game by stopping some close-in chances.

Ryan’s linemates were St. Louis’ David Backes -- who took a hit to keep the puck alive earlier on the sequence that led to Ryan’s goal -- and Ryan Callahan of the New York Rangers.

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More later at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott in Vancouver

Olympics Blog
Helene Elliott

Helene Elliott was with the Los Angeles Times’ Sports department from 1989 to 2024, first as a staff writer and then, starting in 2006, as a columnist. She became the first female journalist to be honored with a plaque in the Hall of Fame of a major professional sport as the 2005 winner of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Elmer Ferguson Award, awarded to writers “who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.” A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she has covered 18 Olympics.

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