Behind 24 saves from Drew Commesso (Boston University) and goals from Steven Kampfer (Michigan), Matt Knies (Minnesota), and Nathan Smith (Minnesota State), the United States beat Germany 3-2 Sunday to close out preliminary round play in the 2022 Winter Olympics and earn the top seed in the tournament headed into the playoff round.
The U.S. will meet the winner of the Slovakia-Germany game on Wednesday, Feb. 16 in the quarterfinal round at 12:10 p.m.
“I thought that was our best game of the tournament,” said Team USA coach David Quinn in a statement. “We played with speed, skill and tenacity against a very good German team.”
Nick Abruzzese (Harvard) added two assists in the win for the Americans, who outshot Germany 32-26.
Kampfer was named the U.S. player of the game.
Smith (Hudson, Fla.) is the first Florida native to score a goal in the Olympic Winter Games, and just second player from Florida to play in an Olympic game.
