It was the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice and Canada Hockey Place was rocking. It was going to be an epic showdown of Canada versus the U.S.A. - and this was only a preliminary game yet every fan in the stadium knew that it was much more - that's why over 87 million fans tuned in to watch the game. The Canadian/American rivalry has been a huge part of hockey and has only gotten stronger since the Canadian upset at Salt Lake City where the U.S.A. fell 5-2 in the gold medal game. Hockey is Canada's game and they were going to prove it by winning the gold medal on home ice, yet the Americans weren't going to let Canada have an easy ride - we play hockey too.
The fans were already rocking the stadium and cheering like they already won, because they knew they were going to win. With a line-up of the greatest NHL players (including the fantastic four from the Sharks), who wouldn't expect them to breeze through the prelims? The Americans, while containing all NHLers as well, were the youngest squad in the tournament with an average age of 26 and only three players ever playing in an Olympics before. Team Canada by far was the better team . . . but I guess know one told Team U.S.A. that. At the drop of the puck, the chant of "go, Canada, go" was deafening, then 41 seconds later the chant fell silent. Olympic veteran Brian Rafalski (Detroit Red Wings) ripped a blast from the shot that found its way into the net after being redirected. The only problem with this goal, Rafalski is an American. What was to ensue was a hard fought battle that had both teams battling for every inch of ice and every second with the puck. Halfway through the first period, Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes) was able to tie the game up with a goal for Canada with the hopes of building off the momentum, but Rafalski wouldn't allow that to happen as he scored once again - 22 seconds after Staal. Team U.S.A. would go into the locker with the lead while Canada had to find a way to regroup.
And regroup they did. They came hard and often in the second period with a fury of shots early on but goalie Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres) came out with some stellar saves that kept the one goal lead for the Americans. But trouble came for the Americans just three minutes into the second period as the fantastic four from the Sharks hit the ice. With a classic Shark attack, Dany Heatley tied the game once again with a great goal from his usual turf right beside the net. Again, the Americans looked to their Olympic veterans to help keep them in the game. After the Heatley goal, the Americans pushed back hard, with great back-to-back-to-back breakaways for the Americans, the Canadians, and finally ending with one last effort by the Americans. Both goalies were stellar with long-time goalie Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils) keeping Canada tied until Chris Drury (New York Rangers) sent one flying into the twine to reclaim Team U.S.A.'s lead once more. Once again, Team Canada found themselves with a one goal deficit going into the third period.
At the start of the third period, you could tell the fans were shocked by the outcome of the game so far. Canada was supposed to wipe the floor with the Americans. Even some Canadian priests said that God was rooting for the Canadian team. Team Canada only had 20 minutes now to score two goals to gain the lead, the one thing they weren't able to accomplish the whole game. The Canadians came out hard, out shooting the Americans by a wide margin, but Miller was able to stand his ground. Then, seven minutes into the third period, the third Olympic veteran deflected a great shot by Rafalski into the net. Jamie Langenbrunner (New Jersey Devils) just gave the Americans a 4-2 lead with 13 minutes left to play. That is when the stadium went dead with a sort of in awe kind of silence. In a once vibrant sea of Canadian red, white, and maple leaves was now replaced with stars and stripes scattered about the stands.But you couldn't count out the Canadians, they pushed back hard and dominated for almost the rest of the period. With back-to-back penalties, the Americans gave the Canadians the advantage they had been looking for all night - and Sid the Kid, the heir apparent to the Great One, made them pay. Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) was able to get the Canadians back to within one with his powerplay goal with three minutes left to play. It was 4-3, the Canadians were back in this, and the place was rocking once more.
In the waning minutes of the game, Brodeur was pulled for the extra attacker and the seemingly endless onslaught of high-powered shots began from the Canadians. It was like a shooting gallery as blast after blast came but the Americans stood their ground with great block shots from Drury and others as well as one spectacular save by Miller that literally robbed the Canadians of a game tying goal, to force the gaming into overtime. On a poorly timed change by the Canadians, Ryan Kessler (Vancouver Canucks) was able to beat Canadian Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks) and make a diving sweep at the puck which send it careening into the open net. It was a 5-3 final, the Americans had done the impossible, beat the powerhouse that is Team Canada. The U.S.A. Team that wasn't even supposed to make any kind of splash, known as a test run for 2014 had just beaten the number one seeded team in the tournament.
While it was no medal game, it sent shockwaves throughout the hockey community as stunned Canadian fans could only look on as the American players flooded over the boards and to the ice to congratulate Miller on his amazing performance. With their win of Canada, Team U.S.A. became the number one seed in the tournament and best placing for the elimination rounds. With an extra day off, they regroup and prepared for a tough game against Switzerland. Team Canada on the other hand, had to play a special elimination round against Germany the next night to get into the next round.
Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils) helped elevate the Americans over the Swiss with his two goals while Miller gained a shutout to advance to the semifinals. Team Canada made some major changes including a goalie change to Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks) and a trouncing of Team Russia, 7-3. Now, only four teams remain with the U.S.A. facing Finland and Canada going against underdog Slovakia. There is a very stong possibility that Canada and the U.S.A. will face off once more in the medal round but Finland and Slovakia very much have a say in whether it happens or not. No matter what the outcome, I have to say that even though it was just a preliminary game, it should be remembered as one of the best Olympic hockey games ever played and proves that you can't count anyone out of anything.
Update: Team U.S.A. was able to make it to the gold medal round after beating Finland 6-1, their opponent would be none other than Team Canada. The gold medal game was definitely a thriller, seeing Canada go up two early in the game. The Americans would go to tie the game with seconds left in the third period but fell in overtime, handing Canada the gold medal. While it was a huge disappointment to see Team U.S.A. lose, it definitely gives me hope of a great tournament in Sochi four years from now, especially when you consider that the Americans weren't supposed to medal at all. And not a bad outcome for the Sharks either, with five of the eight players coming away with medals. So, here's to Sochi in four years and all I can say is the gold medal round better be a rematch of U.S.A. versus Canada.
