Timo Meier scored twice in the third period as Switzerland blanked France 4-0 in their Olympic men’s hockey opener. Leonardo Genoni made 27 saves for the shutout victory.
Switzerland jumped ahead early when Damien Riat scored just 55 seconds into the game.
J.J. Moser, who plays for Tampa Bay, extended the lead three minutes later. The defenseman beat Washington goaltending prospect Antoine Keller clean off the rush from the left faceoff circle.
Meier’s two goals in the final period put the game away for Switzerland. The New Jersey forward capitalized as his team controlled play and tilted the ice toward Keller throughout the contest.
Switzerland outshot France 43-27 in front of a boisterous crowd that went home happy.
Genoni’s performance continued his stellar international play. The 38-year-old goaltender backstopped Switzerland on an improbable run to the world championship final last spring, where they lost 1-0 to the U.S. in overtime.
He earned tournament MVP honors with a 0.99 goals-against average and .953 save percentage.
Switzerland faces Olympic favorite Canada on Friday in their next game.
“Obviously a big team coming up,” forward Nino Niederreiter said. “We’re going to try our best to poke the bear a little bit and see if we can go from there.”
The U.S. opens play Thursday night against Latvia with Connor Hellebuyck set to start in goal. Canada faces Czechia in the earlier game, while Germany takes on Denmark at the secondary arena.
