The first period is going poorly for the Americans. Russia leads 3-1 on a goal from Hurricanes prospect Vasily Ponomaryov, but the Americans are having trouble entering their own zone and setting up for a power play. As of 11:33 p.m. ET, the USA has zero shots on goal and Russia has three. After two periods of play, the Americans have no points. The game is not yet over, but the Americans are still putting up a fight.

The first game was played on Christmas Day. The United States was down 4-1 and trailed at the end of the first period. The United States goaltender, Spencer Knight, made a few bad decisions and allowed four goals on 12 shots. The game ended 5-3 in favor of Russia after the fourth goal was sent up the boards by Russian forward Ilya Safonov. The United States was outshot by two goals in the third period, but a strong USA defense remained in the game for the entire game.

The two countries have largely divergent paths to military might. In the air, the US has more fighter jets and bombers than Russia. In the sea, both countries have more ships and submarines. The US also has more aircraft carriers and destroyers. The US military budget is far greater than that of Russia. The United States spends more than six times as much as Russia on its military, which makes it the undisputed leader in this realm.