American Hockey's Unwelcome Reality Check The United States' ice hockey team is accustomed to treating their opponents like speed bumps on the road to greatness, but Saturday's 4 2 loss to Latvia was a stark reminder that even the mighty can fall – and hard.
Sandis Vilmanis' two empty net goals in the final minutes of play were the icing on an already bitter cake for the Americans.
The manner in which they were beaten was particularly galling, as Latvia's 2 1 lead in the third period was built on a single Deniss Smirnovs goal.