It might not have ended up looking pretty, but the USA put another exhibition feather in its exhibition cap by surviving a late onslaught to claim victory over Esa Lindell and his Finnish teammates Tuesday night.
What began as a spirited if muted tilt soon grew almost boring when the USA found themselves up 3-0 early in the second period. Fortunately for Finland, the rash of penalties (four in a row) taken by Red, White and Blue #grinders like David Backes and Justin Abdelkader finally paid off, getting the Suomi jump-started with a beautiful Patrick Laine power play tally from the circles to make it 3-1.