WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - No sense in throwing a party and leaving early.
Team USA has served notice that it intends to stick around in this Olympic tournament. It overcame an early one-goal deficit Monday against Belarus to register an 8-1 victory at the E Center.
The Americans hadn't scored such a lopsided Olympic victory since an 8-1 decision over West Germany in 1968.
"We feel we can beat any team in this town," U.S. winger Jeremy Roenick said.
John LeClair, Bill Guerin and Scott Young scored two goals apiece to set up a quarterfinal matchup against Germany at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the E Center. The winner advances; the loser is finished.
The Americans, the top seed from Group D, are 2-0-1 in the tournament and have scored 16 goals while giving up three. Germany, the fourth seed from Group C, was 0-2 going into its game agianst Sweden last night.
There were some tense moments early, as Belarus scored on its first shot, 20 seconds into the game. Dmitry Pankov beat Tom Barrasso with a slap shot from the left circle.
Barrasso, making his first Olympic start, faced only 12 shots all game. U.S. coach Herb Brooks has given each of his three goalies - the others are Mike Richter and Mike Dunham - a start. Richter is a good bet to be in goal tomorrow.
Barrasso's counterpart, Andrei Mezin, faced 48 shots and stopped all 15 the Americans threw his way in the first period.
That caused some concern in the American dressing room.
"There was nothing to be said that we all didn't know," Young said."But Billy (Guerin) got up and said, 'We gotta stick together. No pointing fingers at each other. We have to stay composed.' And he was right. We all knew the biggest thing was keeping our composure."
Some were more concerned than others.
"I was thinking back through the history of hockey, all the great times that an underestimated team with a great goalie has come up with a big win," U.S. winger Brett Hull said. "It was a little scary, but I think if you play the game long enough, you know if you get one, it'll come."
Hull got one 46 seconds into the second period, when he took a pass from Mike Modano and ripped a one-timer past Mezin. Brooks put Modano, Hull and LeClair together in the third period of the 2-2 tie against Russia on Saturday. It looks like a stroke of genius now. Hull and Modano used to play together with the Dallas Stars.
"He knows where to go, and I know where he's gonna be," Modano said.
LeClair scored the next two goals from his favorite spot - six inches in front of the goaltender - but the United States couldn't pull away. It led just 3-1 after two periods.
That changed quickly as the Americans finally found Mezin's weak spot - right between his pads. Team USA scored five goals in fewer 12 minutes in the third period. Its most lopsided victory ever was a 31-1 decision over Italy in the 1948 Games at St. Moritz, Switzerland.
It's a single-elimination tournament from here on in, and the Americans are feeling like this will be their best international showing since they won the 1996 World Cup.
"Right now, it's a similar feeling to the World Cup," Young said. "It's a lot of the same guys, and there's a lot of leadership in the locker room.
"The guys don't want to let up at all."
