GANGNEUNG, South Korea (AP) — Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk were dominating the NHL before Ryan Donato, Troy Terry and Jordan Greenway even started playing organized hockey.
"I think I dreamed about playing against those guys one day," Donato said.
Dream becomes reality Saturday when Donato, Terry, Greenway and the United States face Kovalchuk, Datsyuk and the Russians in a much-anticipated game that could determine who wins the group and advances directly the Olympic quarterfinals. With three players in their early 20s leading the way, the Americans are young and inexperienced but say they aren't intimidated by the team of Russian athletes that blew out the same Slovenia team the Americans lost to in overtime.