VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Remember those unproven, untested U.S. men’s hockey players no one was going to put their money on to do damage at the Olympics? Well, they are now riding high as the top-seeded team in the tournament.

While second-guessers across Canada spent Monday trying to figure out what went wrong in the host nation’s surprising 5-3 loss to the United States on Sunday, the young Americans (3-0) took the day off and waited to find out who they will play in the quarterfinals. That will be determined on Tuesday.

No losses, no goalie controversy, and no sign that this group of upstarts is intimidated by its sudden lofty status.

“This was a huge step for the confidence of all the players,” said 36-year-old defenseman Brian Rafalski, who scored two goals and added an assist against Canada. “I don’t think we’re going to surprise anyone anymore.”

But they aren’t rushing to give up their long shot status.

They will be favored Wednesday in the quarterfinals to beat the winner of the Switzerland-Belarus qualification game, yet the Americans claim Russia and Canada are still the tournament powerhouses.

“I would still say that we’re pretty big underdogs just from our lack of experience,” forward Chris Drury said during a conference call Monday. “Certainly now the tournament takes on a whole new meaning with single elimination.”

Mistakes the U.S. team got away with in preliminary-round victories over Switzerland and Norway will probably prove costly against stronger teams in the medal round.

Should the Americans advance to the semifinals, they will likely face the Czech Republic or 2006 silver medalist Finland. Those rosters are full of NHL talent, unlike Switzerland and Belarus, which don’t have enough elite players combined to run a five-man shift.

The U.S. topped Switzerland 3-1 in its opening game in Vancouver last week.

“I’m not happy with the way we played to this point,” U.S. general manager Brian Burke said. “We have to play significantly better. We need all hands on deck. We’re playing with about 10 guys carrying us. Thank God there are some guys pulling on the rope, but we need everyone pulling on the rope.”

The Americans’ best player has been Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, the man the United States needed to be on top of his game if a medal was going to be a realistic possibility. Miller is building off his fine NHL season and is living up to the billing that he is the best goalie in the league.

Miller has backstopped all three U.S. games and was tabbed by coach Ron Wilson as the starter for every game of the tournament.

The Americans played well in beating Canada in a hostile setting, but Canada dominated play for long stretches. Canada finished with a 45-23 shots advantage, wore down the smaller U.S. players with physical play and bone-jarring hits, and put on tremendous pressure in the final minutes while pushing for a tying goal.

“I was happy to see we were in a battle and we responded,” Miller said. “Hopefully it provides the confidence we need to keep moving forward, but emotionally we need to make sure we are not going to get too high. We want to keep battling and keep playing, and there are going to be some tough teams ahead. We might even have these guys again.”

Miller has stopped 66 of 71 shots and posted a 1.67 goals-against average, the third lowest in the tournament. He was the difference maker Sunday night.

“We got outchanced two to one. Our goaltender stole us the game. That’s what happened,” Burke said. “Except for the goaltending position, we didn’t deserve to win that game. With that said, that’s why we brought him. That’s why he’s in net.”

It wasn’t until Ryan Kesler’s one-handed, empty-net goal sealed it in the closing seconds that the Americans could enjoy the big win over Canada.

“You didn’t see Canada’s best game (Sunday) night,” Burke said. “Everything gets ratcheted up now. We’ve got to ratchet it up, too, or all this goes for naught. They don’t hand out any medals for finishing first in the preliminary round. No one’s taking any bows now.

“I’ll see to it by (Tuesday) that they understand first-hand how I feel about it.”