The IIHF World Championship began Friday morning and Drew O'Connor is off to a roaring start for Team USA.
Tuesday, O'Connor scored twice and added an assist for a three-point performance in a pre-tournament exhibition against Germany, earning player of the game honors for the U.S.
He didn't skip a beat once the games started to count, as he recorded three points yet again in a 4-1 U.S. victory over Finland on Friday at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.
O'Connor began the game centering Team USA's third line between Canadiens prospect Sean Farrell and Red Wings prospect Carter Mazur, but with the score tied at 1-1 in the third period, he was promoted to the first line with Sabres winger Alex Tuch and Rockford Icehogs forward Rocco Grimaldi.
The shakeup paid dividends. O'Connor broke the tie midway through the third period after sneaking his way into the slot and blowing a wrister by former Penguins goalie prospect Emil Larmi:
Just several minutes of game action later, O'Connor made an outstanding play in the defensive zone by snagging possession along the wall, skating the puck to the middle, then springing Grimaldi with a stretch pass that led to Tuch scoring for a 3-1 U.S. lead:
He wasn't done quite yet. U.S. head coach David Quinn trusted O'Connor to be out there late in the game while Finland had pulled Larmi for the extra attacker. The Penguins product subsequently picked up the primary assist on Tuch's empty-netter to seal the victory.
Beyond his goal and two assists, O'Connor finished the game with two shots on target, a 50% success rate on 14 faceoffs, and 16:49 of ice-time. His three points are tied for the most in the tournament at the conclusion of opening day.
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• Casey DeSmith got the start in goal for Team USA and earned player of the game for making 23 saves on 24 shots against. The only shot that got by him was a Teemu Hartikainen one-timer from the slot on the power play during the first period.
• Nick Bonino, who is captaining the U.S., did not record a point. He did, however, register two shots on goal and win 13 of 21 faceoffs while playing more than everyone other than Tuch.
• Team USA's next game is against Hungary on Sunday, 5:20 a.m. local time.
• Team Canada opened the tournament with a 6-0 drubbing of Latvia at Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia. P.O Joseph, who skated on a pairing with Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers, didn't nab any points, but led all Canadian skaters with 19:01 of ice-time. He was on the ice for three of Canada's goals, all of which were at even-strength.
• Alex Nylander was held without a point and put one shot on goal during 13 minutes of ice-time in Sweden's 1-0 win over Germany at Nokia Arena. He skated on a line with Red Wings youngster Lucas Raymond and Leo Carlsson, who is one of the top prospects in this year's draft class.
