2004 World Cup: Signs of Life From Czechs and Americans

Team USA rose from the dead on Friday. After a couple of poor efforts against Canada and Russia, coach Ron Wilson turned over the roster - Brett Hull was among those sent to the press box. The new lineup produced a convincing 3-1 win over Slovakia.

Over in Europe, Jaromir Jagr, Milan Hejduk and their Czech Republic mates are finally taking an interest in the tournament. Preying on a weak German team and its backup goalie, the Czechs opened up the offense and came away with a 7-2 win.

Outplayed badly in their first two games, the Americans needed more than a win. They needed a convincing win. Half a dozen lineup changes were made, and one of them paid off immediately, as Brian Smolinski scored the first goal of the game. The other American goals came from Jason Blake and Bill Guerin. But it was the younger generation - Chris Drury, Jamie Langenbrunner, Jeff Halpern - that showed the most energy throughout the night.

Rick Dipietro started in goal, replacing Robert Esche. That was no reflection on Esche's play. He is expected to be back in net when the playoff round begins. Dipietro made 16 saves, as the USA outshot Slovakia 39-17. Jan Lasak was excellent in goal for the Slovaks, and Ladislav Nagy scored the team's only goal on a power play.

The Americans are finished round-robin play and appear likely to face either Canada or Russia in the quarterfinals.

In Prague, Marek Zidlicky, Jiri Slegr and Jagr scored early in the second period to begin the Czech onslaught. Hejduk, Vaclav Prospal, Martin Havlat and Patrik Elias added to the total. Tino Boos and Jochen Hecht scored for Germany.

The Germans rested their top goaltender, Olaf Kolzig of the Washington Capitals. The team used two goalies from the German league, with Robert Mueller starting and Oliver Jonas coming on in relief.

Saturday's game between Sweden and Finland will decide the quarterfinal matchups. Germany gets the winner of that game, while the Czechs play the loser.

Saturday's Games:
1:00 pm ET: Sweden at Finland
7:00 pm ET: Russia at Canada

Complete World Cup Resources: The schedule, the format, the rosters, the prediction, and more.