olympic hockey opener

MILAN — Brock Nelson might be making his Olympics debut, but he has a rich family history when it comes to playing hockey for Team USA.

His grandfather was a forward on the team that won gold in 1960. His uncle was a forward on the “Miracle on Ice” team in 1980.

And Thursday night, Nelson made a mark of his own. The Colorado Avalanche forward scored two goals to lead the U.S. to a 5-1 victory over Latvia in an opening game that included some of the best American NHL players.

“It’s pretty crazy,” said Nelson, 34, considered the old man on a team filled with some of the game’s brightest young stars. “It’s just an unbelievable experience. I’m trying to soak it all in.”

The Americans had to show resilience after two of their goals were wiped out in the first period by successful challenges. It’s rare to have two such reversals in a game, exceedingly rare to have two in the same period.

“Yeah, that was frustrating,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, who plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets. “But at the same time, you’re still getting the goals even though they got overturned. You’re doing the work to put the puck in the net, and I think that helps your confidence a little bit. After they get overturned, you’ve just got to put it out of your mind and continue to play the same way.”

Latvia was competitive early, forging a 1-1 tie in the first period, but eventually fell prey to a U.S. barrage. The Americans outshot them, 38-18, and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck needed to make only 17 saves.

Brothers Brady Tkachuk, left, and Matthew Tkachuk after the U.S. scored the first goal of the game against Latvia.

(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

“It was just 1-1 but there was never any panic,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk, the Florida Panthers winger. “From the second period on, we just wanted to make sure someone was at the net at all times. They were playing pretty tight, but with the skill and puck possession and strength that we have, we knew we were going to win some battles.”

Nelson, who said he takes a ribbing from his young teammates for his graying hair, has a rich family history when it comes to Olympic hockey. His grandfather, Bill Christian, won gold at the Games in Squaw Valley — now called Olympic Valley — and his uncle, Dave Christian, was on that championship team in Lake Placid.

“My brother came in today,” said Nelson, raised in Minneapolis. “He brought me a couple pins from back home, from ‘Hockeytown,’ and a couple letters from the youth team. They’ve always been supportive of me, going back to growing up there. I’m forever grateful for that.”

The U.S. team features brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, and Quinn and Jack Hughes — all NHL players. It has been 12 years since NHL players last took the Olympic stage.

“To make this roster is extremely difficult when you look at the amount of talent that the United States has developed and can play at this level,” said coach Mike Sullivan, who doubles as coach of the New York Rangers.

The fans were fairly evenly divided, with every “U-S-A” chant countered with one for “LAT-VI-A.”

“It was great to see the flags, the chants, and just the support that you have here,” said U.S. forward Brady Tkachuk, who was raised in a suburb of St. Louis and plays for the Ottawa Senators. “I’m just kind of a little example of the support you have back at home. So you’re playing in front of millions of millions of Americans, and you just want to represent them well, and it’s always an honor to put this jersey on.”