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Ben Meyers of USA celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal with teammates at the men’s ice hockey group A preliminary round match between Canada and USA during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at National Indoor Stadium on February 12, 2022 in Beijing, China.

America’s neighbors to the north just got an on-the-ice shakedown.

Team USA’s men’s ice hockey team just defeated Canada for the first time at a Winter Olympics in 12 years, winning 4-2 in the group game round of the tournament. The U.S. now leads the Group A competition, and will play Germany for the final match of that round on Sunday.`

The U.S. won gold medals at the 1960 and the 1980 Olympics, and silvers in 2002 and 2010. Canada won gold in 2010, 2014 and then took the bronze in 2018, while the U.S. only made it to seventh place that year.

This year’s men’s hockey team is made up of 15 college athletes, as the NHL decided that its professional players would not be able to participate in the Beijing Olympics due to COVID-caused disruptions to the league’s regular-season schedule.

Cui Nan/China News Service via Getty

Players of Team United States celebrate a goal during the second period of the Men’s Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A match between Team Canada and Team United States on Day 8 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium on February 12, 2022 in Beijing, China.

The announcement was made in December, with the NHL noting that rising COVID-19 cases because of omicron had postponed a significant amount of games and would not allow an Olympic break.

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Ben Meyers #39 of United States celebrate his goal with teammates during the Men’s Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A match between Team Canada and Team United States on Day 8 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium on February 12, 2022 in Beijing, China.

The U.S. women’s hockey team is also having a strong run at the Olympics, advancing to the semifinals where they’ll play Finland.

To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, now, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.

source: people.com