Hey, Belarus ain't no joke. The United States nearly dropped their second game in as many nights, struggling to a 5-2 win over the surprising Belarussians. Chris Chelios, Pat LaFontaine, Brian Leetch, Brett Hull, and Adam Deadmarsh had the goals for Team USA. Two guys you never heard of scored for Belarus.

It was another rather uninspired effort for the star-spangled squad. Belarus was clearly the better of the two clubs at even- strength. The difference in the game was special teams. The US went 4-for-7 on the power play and managed to kill off all six Belarus man-advantages.

The Americans looked lost from the start. Belarus created a scoring chance off the game's opening faceoff and carried the play for the first few minutes of the contest. But then Belarus shot itself in the foot by taking a penalty for too many men. A holding penalty not long after would give the Americans a two-man advantage for 34 seconds.

Noticing that his team was sluggish and not wanting to let the golden opportunity slip away, coach Ron Wilson used his timeout and gave his lads a stern talkin' to. It was sort of like when Andy had his man-to-man chats with Opie. The Americans responded by cashing in on the five-on-three, with Chris Chelios hammering a slap shot from the point past Belarus netminder Andrei Mezin.

Then, as unbelievable as it sounds, Belarus took another penalty for too many men before they could even finish killing off the time left on the first one. You don't see that every day. Patty LaFontaine made the five-on-three work thanks to a nutty bounce. Laffy was set up at the bottom of the left wing circle and tried to pass through the crease to Mike Modano at the right post, but the puck struck the skate of a Belarus defender and skipped between Mezin's pads for the 2-0 lead.

Just when it seemed like the game might become a blowout, Belarus once again took control at even-strength. They appeared to catch the Americans off guard with their size and speed. Then with just under two minutes left in the period, the Belarussians scored off the rush when Viktor Karachun crashed the net and popped a rebound past Mike Richter to make the score 2-1. The goal, which was Belarus' first of the tournament, was stunning. The United States was in for a game.

The second period was more of the same. Belarus played the Americans on even terms at full strength, but yielded another power-play goal. The goal was a result of a bad decision by the killers and some great hustle by Brett Hull. Instead of just shooting the puck up ice, Belarus tried to skate it out. Hull caught up to the puck-carrier just outside the Belarus zone and stripped him of the pill. He immediately dropped it off to John LeClair, creating a three-on-two the other way. As Dougie Weight occupied one defender by driving to the cage on the left side, LeClair barged down the right ring and cut into the middle to create space for Brian Leetch. The Ranger blueliner picked up LeClair's drop pass near the dot in the right wing circle and beat Mezin to the far post with a quick wrister.

The United States would leave the middle frame leading 3-1, but not without a few anxious moments. Belarus nearly scored twice on power plays of their own. The first chance came when a bouncing puck hopped over a fallen Richter and took a ride on the red line before Modano swept it to safety. Then later in the period a Belarus shot beat Richter but drew iron. Man, those Belarus guys always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop...

Any thoughts the US had about coasting to victory were dashed just 27 seconds into the third period when Belarus scored to make it 3-2. Belarus worked a 3-on 3 rush to perfection. Andrei Skabelka backed the defense off with speed and then criss-crossed with Dmitri Pankov, who beat Richter from the high slot with a wrist shot glove side. It was a sweet play.

The US was rattled. Belarus almost drew even a few moments later on the power play. Jamie Langenbrunner was off for tripping when Anaheim's Ruslan Salei blasted a slap shot from the left point. The puck squeezed through Richter's five-hole and barely trickled wide of the short-side post. Three inches to the right and this game may have ended differently.

Belarus then squandered whatever chance it had by giving the Americans two straight power plays. They killed the first but couldn't rub out the second. Hull did the honors, drilling a one-timer from the top of the right wing circle between Mezin's pads at 13:45 to make the score 4-2. Weight set it up by walking off the right wing boards and making a nifty backhand pass to Hull. It was a great pass. Short, crisp, and on a table. So in a lot of ways, it was a lot like celery...

You gotta give the wild and crazy guys from Belarus credit, though, they didn't give up. They almost got their third goal of the contest a few seconds after Hull scored on yet another well orchestrated three-man rush. Andrei Kovalev stormed the net and had Richter at his mercy on the rebound, but chipped it on his backhand high off the right post.

The US finally put the game away at 18:14 with its first even- strength goal of the game. It was a beauty. Billy Guerin had the puck along the left wing boards at center ice and spotted Roenick slipping behind the defense. Guerin threaded the needle with a hard cross-ice pass. Roenick made an incredible play to knock the pass down and bust in alone. As he got to the net, a Belarus defender put a hook into him and slowed him down. With his timing screwed up, and with Mezin already down on his hands and knees, Roenick elected not to shoot and instead dropped a pass back to Adam Deadmarsh trailing the play. Deadmarsh was coming with a ton of speed and made easy work of the befuddled Mezin, pulling the puck to his backhand and depositing it into the open net. It's not often that you see drop passes on breakaways. It was a great play by Roenick. Of course, if the pass didn't work, then it would have been a really dumb play. Genius walks a fine line.

Team USA got lucky with this one. If not for the early five-on- threes, Belarus could have easily pulled off the upset. The Americans just continued to look sleepy. They're not skating, they're not hitting, and they're not shooting. And when they do, the majority of shots are finding the boards. It's like they think it's an All-Star game or something. They're hesitating and trying to make the perfect play instead of bearing down and getting the puck on net. They should have tore Mezin up. He's strictly bush league. He's got quick reflexes, but he plays way too deep in his net. This one should have been over early. That's not to take anything away from Belarus. They played with a tremendous amount of heart and battled the whole way. It's just that if Team USA is firing on all cylinders, this should have been a laugher.

Richter again made some big saves, but he still doesn't seem that comfortable between the pipes. He gave up a number of dangerous rebounds. Rebounds that would have been lethal against the likes of Canada or Russia.

Impressive Performances

BELARUS

Um, let's just give the whole team credit. Because I really couldn't keep track of who was who.

UNITED STATES

Jeremy Roenick: Aside from the spectacular play on Deadmarsh's goal, Roenick racked up another devastating check. It came in the first period and was very similar to the hit he had on Michael Nylander in the Swedish game. Some poor Belrussian was carrying the puck down the right wing boards in the US zone when he tried to circle back up the wall. Just as he turned, Roenick crushed him with a clean check. The Belarus dude never saw it coming. And Roenick was flying. Aw, that was great, that was fun...

No one else really deserves mentioning...

Lines

Belarus: Okay, if you care what the Belarus lines were you might be taking this Olympic Fever stuff a little too seriously.

United States: Wilson switched up the lines from the first game. He also had Jamie Langenbrunner at his disposal, as the Dallas winger arrived fresh from the States and was ready to go. Bryan Berard and Keith Carney dressed, but rarely saw the ice. Carney took one shift with Kevin Hatcher. Berard may not have touched the ice at all.

OFFENSE (lw-c-rw)

Tkachuk - Modano - Amonte
LeClair - Weight - Hull
Deadmarsh - Roenick - Guerin
Langenbrunner - Otto - LaFontaine

DEFENSE

Suter - Chelios
Leetch - D. Hatcher
Schneider - K. Hatcher

POWER PLAY

LeClair - Weight - Hull - Leetch - K. Hatcher
Tkachuk - LaFontaine - Modano - Suter - Chelios

SHORT-HANDED

Deadmarsh - Roenick - Leetch - D. Hatcher
Hull - Weight - Suter - Chelios
LaFontaine - Otto

The best line of the night for the Americans was the trio of Roenick, Guerin, and Deadmarsh. They were the only ones to generate any speed at all or sustain any pressure down low. They absolutely dominated early in the second period. It was their work that drew the penalty that led to the goal by Leetch.

Overall, however, Wilson should really consider mixing up his lines. There's no real point to playing LaFontaine on a fourth line with Otto and Langenbrunner. Otto should be anchoring a strict checking line. Wilson would be wise to put Tkachuk and Guerin on Otto's wings and turn the threesome loose. This club desperately needs a physical presence and that trio could provide it. They would also match up nicely against Eric Lindros and Team Canada. As it is now, Otto is just being wasted.

Langenbrunner could then be moved up to play with Modano and Amonte in an effort to try and spark some of that Dallas Star magic. LaFontaine would take up root with Roenick and Deadmarsh. LeClair, Weight, and Hull would stay together. See how that works? That there is a winning combination. That's what that is. Some patriotic American out there should really inform Ron Wilson. I'd do it myself, but my heart lies with Sweden... and my liver lies in a pool of cheap wine, so I'm going to sleep.

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