Leaving it all on the ice

China's brave pucksters vow to fight to finish to keep Olympic dream alive

The Chinese men's ice hockey team has pledged to bring the fight to Canada again when in their rematch on Tuesday.

Following gallant defeats to the USA and Germany, the host produced another brave display on Sunday against another of the sport's heavyweights, keeping the score respectable at 5-0.

The teams will face off again on Tuesday in a quarterfinal qualification playoff, where China has vowed to implement some lessons learned.

"They're a big, fast and strong team with a lot of NHL-caliber players, so it was a big task at hand for sure. I think we showed we can compete," Team China captain Ye Jinguang said after China's final group game of the Beijing Winter Olympics at the National Indoor Stadium on Sunday.

"We need to start burying a couple of goals in there and get us back in the game and figure out a way not to get down so early because that's a tough team to come back against," said Ye, one of a number of North American-born players with Chinese heritage in the squad.

After conceding three goals in the first 10 minutes, Team China upped its intensity on both ends of the ice to drag Canada into a far tighter fight than most expected, holding the nine-time Olympic champion to one goal each in the second and third periods.

Cheered on by the loud home crowd, Team China even forced a few turnovers and let fly with some decent shots that on a luckier night could've easily have flown in.

"I think we hit two posts in the power play and we were buzzing around there, so that'll give us some confidence going forward and hopefully we're saving them for the next game," said Ye, a 36-year-old right wing who played 174 NHL games from 2009-14 mostly with the Colorado Avalanche.

As the bottom team in Group A, the host team will challenge Canada again in the last playoff game on Tuesday night, when it is determined to put in an even stronger performance and look to impress fans of each country, both of which they feel connected to.

"It was a surreal moment. Once in a lifetime for sure, something you dream of. My 5-year-old self wouldn't believe where I am today," said China's goalie Ouban Yongli, who is known as Paris O'Brien abroad.

"I was born in Canada but now I'm representing my Chinese heritage and my roots. It's pretty cool to see and play against the players that I grew up watching, like Eric Staal (former NHL player from 2005-21)," added O'Brien, whose grandparents are from South China's Guangdong province.

The next game against Canada is all about leaving a positive image of the game in China, said the 21-year-old who joined the Chinese national program after being selected by Beijing-based KHL club Kunlun Red Star in 2018.

"It's going to be a tough game again but we're up for the challenge, I'm sure of that," said O'Brien. "There are lots of things to improve, but we're just here having fun out there ... Our main goal here is to spread the awareness of hockey in China and to inspire the younger generation."

Reflecting on some of the pressure his team had to deal with in front of its own goal on Sunday, Canada's head coach Claude Julien said he is warning his players against any complacency.

"The one thing we know is they're going to come out hard, they're going to compete hard, so we need to be ready. We can't take anything for granted," said Julien, whose squad is packed with future NHL talent, including 2021 top draft pick Owen Power, selected by the Buffalo Sabres out of the University of Michigan.

"One bad bounce here or there could make a difference, so we're going to prepare the same way we prepared for this one tonight. We took this one seriously."