The gold medal men's hockey match up between the United States and Canada was one for the ages. You could not have asked for a better way to end the 2010 Winter Olympics if you live in Canada. The United States who was undefeated before their loss on Sunday, was the surprise of the tournament. Even though both teams had NHL players on their rosters, Canada had the more experienced ones.
Crosby, Nash, Iginla, Heatley all roll off the tongue if you are a fan of the NHL, and they are all on Team Canada. The United States had no slouches however, just not players that are popular with the fans. The United States had the best goaltender in the tournament, Ryan Miller who was named MVP. Miller posted a 5-1 record and allowed only 8 goals on 147 shots for a .946 save percentage. Needless to say if you didn't know who Ryan Miller was before the tournament, you certainly do now.
If you are a US fan, the game didn't start out well. Team Canada struck first scoring at the 12:50 mark in the first period when Jonathon Toews took advantage of a defensive miscue by US defenseman Brian Rafalski that allowed Towes to score. Team Canada outshot the US 10-8 but the Americans had all the energy in the period.
The second period was much of the same until the Canadians took advantage of another defensive miscue by the US. At the 7:13 mark US defenseman Ryan Whitney deflected a pass from Ryan Getzlaf that made it to the slot where Corey Perry took advantage and slapped it right past Miller for a 2-0 lead. Just when you thought that Team Canada had all the momentum, the US got right back in the game. Just six minutes later Patrick Kane ripped a shot that deflected off of Ryan Kesler that just got past Team Canada goalie Roberto Luongo to bring the deficit to 2-1 in favor of the Canadians.
So going into the third period, the shots were basically even for both teams with 25 for Canada and 23 for the US. The Canadians came out of the locker room the aggressors in attacking Miller and ripping shots off the post just barely missing out on taking over the game. Sidney Crosby, who would turn out to be the hero in the contest had a breakaway chance to put the game out of reach at 3-1. But US defenseman Kane caught Crosby just in time and knocked his stick from the puck.
With just 90 seconds left in regulation, the US pulled Miller to have an extra attacker. What transpired next was nothing short of a miracle. Canada won two straight faceoffs in the offensive zone, but the second one resulted in the puck squirting behind the Canadian net and their was Kane again to fire a shot that deflected off the stick of Jamie Langenbrunner, who was just outside the crease where Zach Parise got the rebound and snapped it right past Luongo for the miraculous goal to tie it at 2-2 with 24.4 seconds left. Overtime.
Now if you are a US fan, you are thinking about Lake Placid, the Miracle on Ice. However it wasn't meant to be as Team Canada outshot the US 7-4 with the last shot by the hero, Crosby that just went past Miller to give Team Canada the gold. How about Crosby, he has won the Stanley Cup and now a gold medal for Canada. What more can you ask for? The celebration that would follow was spectacular as Canada did what they came to do during the tournament, and that was to win the gold medal.
The United States should be proud however as they have proved to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. Team Canada and the US have started a rivalry that will be fun to watch during the Hockey Championships and Winter Olympics to come. Now the NHL starts up its second half of the season, and it will be exciting to watch because of the popularity created by the players during the Olympics.
To be honest though, don't you just wish that both of these teams could have won the gold medal? Both teams played their hearts out and its a shame that one of them had to lose. But Team Canada took care of its home ice. Now the question has to be asked; who would have won if the game was in the US?
