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BEIJING — Jordan Weal was down on the ice, blood dripping from his face. 

The Canadian winger eventually returned to the fray, relieving some frustration by breaking his stick over an American shin pad. 

Neither sequence resulted in a penalty — because there weren't any referees. 

"Would have liked for us to get a power play," joked Weal, who last suited up in the NHL with Montreal in 2019-20. 

Desperate for a game ahead of the men's Olympic hockey tournament, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ and the United States held a controlled scrimmage earlier this week minus officials. 

Players on both sides mostly kept their collective cool, but Canadian coach Jeremy Colliton wondered aloud what might have happened had the exercise continued much longer. 

"The game probably ended at the right time," he said. 

There will be a lot more on the line, and plenty more emotion, when the countries meet again Saturday afternoon — Friday night back home — for Group A bragging rights in Beijing. 

"We have an idea what's coming," Colliton said Thursday after sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ beat Germany 5-1 to open another Olympic tournament minus NHLers. "It's gonna be a challenge. They're are fast team, they're a skilled team. 

"We'll be ready." 

The U.S. also kicked off its gold-medal quest in convincing fashion with an 8-0 thumping of China. 

"It's gonna be competitive, no question," Canadian captain Eric Staal said. "It'll be a little different than the scrimmage, but you get a little taste of what they are. We'll talk about what we can do to try and exploit some of the things against them." 

"It actually gave us an idea what we're good at," U.S. head coach David Quinn said. "And it gave us an idea what we weren't good at." 

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ will have head coach Claude Julien back behind the bench after the 61-year-old, who broke his ribs in a fall during the team's training camp in Switzerland and was initially unable to travel to China, rejoined the team following the game against Germany. Colliton, meanwhile, will revert to his assistant's role. 

"Young, really good feet they can skate really well, we saw it," Canadian defenceman Maxim Noreau, who won bronze four years ago, said of the Americans. "The difference when it's an exhibition game like that it's not as physical as normal. It's kind of our bread and butter … getting to the net, throwing our bodies, blocking shots. 

"We're ready to sacrifice — take hits, give hits. That's the Canadian way." 

Following the showdown Saturday, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ will wrap up its round-robin schedule Sunday against China. The United States closes out against Germany. 

The NHL, of course, declined to send its stars to Beijing after COVID-19 obliterated the December schedule, marking the second time in as many Olympics the league skipped the event. 

Without the likes of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid at its disposal, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ named a team that includes Staal, a 2010 gold medallist looking for another NHL contract, and highly touted youngsters Owen Power and Mason McTavish. 

The U.S., meanwhile, doesn't have Auston Matthews or Patrick Kane, but instead of going with more seasoned European and Russian-based professionals, are relying heavily on college players, including goaltender Drew Commesso and Matty Beniers. 

"They're a young, fast team," Canadian forward Ben Street said. "They've got a lot of talent, a lot of skill. 

"We knew this tournament would have no easy games." 

Power and McTavish could have very well met Commesso and Beniers in the medal round at the world junior hockey championship in Alberta over the Christmas holidays had it not been cancelled because of COVID-19. 

Now they're set to meet on an even bigger stage. 

"We're pretty similar teams," Beniers said. "It's just going to be who wants it more." 

The countries last played in men's hockey at the Olympics in Sochi in 2014 when sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½'s NHLers ground out a 1-0 semifinal victory on the way to winning a second straight gold. 

The women's teams, which continue to dominate the sport, met in the preliminary round in Beijing, with the Canadians picking up a 4-2 win. Barring something catastrophic, those squads will meet again in the final. 

The men will serve as the appetizer. 

"Always a treat to play sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½-U. S.," Staal said. "Always a competitive game. 

"Looking forward to it." 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2022. 

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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press