Feb. 12—GRAND FORKS — Brock Nelson's first period of Olympic hockey included a disallowed assist, a disallowed goal and a post.
When the former Warroad High and UND star dangled Latvia goaltender Elvis Merzlikins and buried a goal in the second period, Nelson turned, pointed at the net and signaled "goal."
That one counted.
Nelson wasn't done, either.
He scored again later in the period and led the Americans to a 5-1 win over Latvia in their first game of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Brady Tkachuk, Tage Thompson and Auston Matthews also scored for Team USA, which plays Denmark at 2:10 p.m. Saturday.
The tournament was a long time coming for Nelson.
The NHL did not send its players to the 2018 or 2022 Winter Olympics, when Nelson was in the prime of his career. But at age 34, he's still playing at an elite level. Nelson, who has 29 goals and 49 points for the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL, was selected to the 2026 roster.
Nelson continues a deep family legacy with Olympic hockey.
Nelson's grandfather, Billy Christian, and great uncle, Roger Christian, were on the 1960 U.S. gold medal team. His uncle, Dave Christian, won gold with the 1980 Miracle on Ice team.
His great uncle, Ginny Christian, won silver in 1956.
Nelson didn't waste any time making his own impact.
After several close calls in the first period, Nelson broke through at 10:38 of the second. Jack Hughes slipped a pass to Nelson in the slot. He faked a shot to get Merzlikins to commit, then moved it to his backhand and scored.
With just 12 seconds left in the period, he did it again, finishing off a highlight-reel passing play with Hughes, Matthew Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes.
Nelson also played a defensive role, killing penalties for the Americans. His ice time was 13:25.
Former UND defenseman Jake Sanderson also suited up for the Americans, officially marking his second Olympic Games. Sanderson played in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, but suffered an injury in his debut.
Sanderson played 16:18. Like Nelson, Sanderson also killed penalties for the Americans.
The Americans have two pool-play games left.
They play Denmark at 2:10 p.m. Saturday and Germany at 2:10 p.m. Sunday. The group winner gets a bye to the quarterfinals, scheduled for Wednesday.