BEIJING — Less then one minute into Thursday's game against China, Team USA got a glimpse of what it might face throughout the Olympics.
China's Zesen Zhang came in with an elbow raised to Team USA defenseman Brock Faber, sending him crashing into the boards. Faber, who plays for the Minnesota Gophers, went to the bench and needed a few minutes to shake off the hit.
That was the first of a series of hits delivered by China that sent a couple USA players on their keisters and slowing up some others. China was significantly overmatched, but was going to take it to a United States team loaded with 15 college players to see how they handled it.
