Cherry Hill's Ryan gets two chipped teeth against Norway

VANCOUVER - Cherry Hill native Bobby Ryan chipped his two front teeth yesterday when he took a stick to the mouth while tussling against the boards with Team Norway captain Tommy Jakobsen during the United States' 6-1 victory.

The incident occurred with 4 minutes left in the third period in with a four-goal U.S. lead.

As Ryan licked the jagged tips of his teeth afterward, he allowed, "Yeah, things got a little chippy. I'm sure they were getting frustrated. You can't blame them."

After the United States took a 3-0 lead early in the second period, Norway, outmatched beyond the score's indication and embarrassed after dropping an 8-0 decision to Canada on Tuesday, began a grab-and-bang strategy that helped turn the game's momentum. The Norwegians took two penalties in the last 12 minutes of the second period.

By the time the U.S. regrouped and ran away with things, the game started getting rough, culminating with Jakobsen's shot to Ryan's mouth, with the U.S. leading, 5-1.

Jakobsen immediately dropped his stick and bent to console Ryan, who lay on the ice for a moment before skating off. Jakobsen went to the penalty box for 2 minutes for high-sticking, a penalty that led to a power-play goal and the final score. Ryan remained on his team's bench. After the game, he declined further treatment and told team medical personnel that his teeth were not even sensitive to cold.

He was, however, a little sensitive to getting dropped and disfigured.

"Perfect," he said, shortly. *

- Marcus Hayes