updated 6:56 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2006

TURIN, Italy - Much of Day 5's drama for the U.S. was on the ice.

The men's hockey team got their groove back, one figure skater's hope for silver turned to no medal at all and there was a curling upset.

Men's hockey
The U.S. hockey team found just what it needed to get going in the Olympics. A good night’s rest and a game against Kazakhstan (0-2) added up to a 4-1 win.

Rick DiPietro, in his debut, stopped 11 shots. The United States (1-0-1) used three first-period goals to move into second place in Group B with three points, behind Slovakia — the Americans’ next opponent and the only 2-0 team in the six-squad bunch.

It didn’t take long for the Americans to shake off any remaining jet lag and the disappointment of their 3-3 tie with Latvia in Wednesday night’s opener. They quickly established dominance over a team that fielded only two NHL players.

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Anything but a victory would have made the chances of advancing to the quarterfinals near impossible. The Americans still have their three toughest matchups ahead of them in a four-day span beginning Saturday.

Canada (2-0) roughed up Germany (0-2). Wade Redden, Joe Sakic and Simon Gagne gave the defending gold medalists a 3-0 lead halfway through the first period.

David Aebischer made 20 of his 40 saves in the second period, and Switzerland (1-1) stunned the Czech Republic (1-1).

Alex Kovalev and Alexander Ovechkin scored less than two minutes apart during a three-goal second period, and Russia (1-1) shut out Sweden (1-1).

Also, Marian Hossa scored twice to lead Slovakia over Latvia (0-1-1), and Teemu Selanne scored twice for Finland (2-0), which had five power play goals against Italy (0-2).

Figure skating
Evgeni Plushenko posted his score, then watched the other Olympic contenders crash and burn.

The three-time world champion took few chances, yet still managed another personal best to grab the fifth straight gold medal for a Russian/Soviet man. He pretty much owned that when he showed up in Turin; the field at these games couldn’t come close to measuring up to Plushenko.

World champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland won silver and Canada’s Jeff Buttle got bronze, although both struggled in the free skate.

U.S. champion Johnny Weir, who fell out of medal contention with a cautious program filled with errors, stormed out of the rink when his mediocre marks were shown. He finished fifth.

Snowboarding
American Seth Wescott used a sweet little slide move to nudge into first place and become the first Olympic champion in the wild sport of snowboardcross.

Some said snowboardcross resembled NASCAR on icy snow, with four riders at a time vying for space, pushing and shoving through the tight corners on the 3,100 foot-long course. But not even NASCAR would allow some of the things that happened over these 90-minutes of side-by-side racing.

Wescott won by being able to stay out of any messes over his four trips down the slope. In the final heat, he took the lead over silver medalist Radoslav Zidek of Slovakia with a deft passing move in the middle of the course and led the rest of the way, barely beating Zidek past the finish line.

Paul-Henri Delerue of France took bronze.

Men's curling
The United States rallied to beat first-place Sweden.

The Americans (3-2) and Sweden (3-2) traded two-pointers for four ends, then held serve with one point the next four times. With Sweden holding the big last-rock advantage called the hammer, the Americans stole two points in the ninth end when skip Pete Fenson converted a double-takeout on his second throw.

Slide show   Emotional Moments Feb. 26: See photos of athletes' highs and lows from Sunday.

Because it didn’t score, Sweden retained the hammer for the 10th and final end, but Fenson dropped another double-takeout on them with his last rock; Sweden conceded, needing two points to force extra ends with only one stone left.

Canada (4-1) and Britain are tied for first ahead of the Americans and Sweden. Finland, Italy and Switzerland are all 2-2 with Norway (2-3) close behind. Germany fell to 1-3, and New Zealand (0-5) remained winless.

Women's curling
Cassie Johnson left her last rock short and Sweden held on for a victory in extra ends, sending the U.S. women’s curling team to its fourth loss in five games.

The Americans will need to win their last four matches in the Olympic round-robin to have a chance at the medal round.

Sweden (4-1) scored a point in the 10th and final frame to tie it and send it into extras.

Switzerland (4-1) remained tied for first after tying an Olympic women’s record for margin of victory against Denmark (2-3). Britain (3-1), Canada (3-2) and Norway (3-2) are all close behind. Italy, Japan and Russia are 1-3.

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