Here we are, a week later, in a very an identical situation. The only difference is, and it’s a major, MAJOR difference, this one is for it all.
Neither the United States nor Canada haven’t been to a Gold Medal game since 2002 when the two, obviously, paired up for a clash at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Canada took that contest, and the gold home with them by a count of 5-2. The men were not alone in taking gold from the host country, as the women also defeated the American women’s team by a count of 2-1
On Thursday, the Canadian women made history repeat itself, this time besting the United States 2-0.
Tonight, however, the USA hockey team comes in with a slight edge.
They controlled their previous game against Canada, even after Sidney Crosby pulled the Canadians within a goal with under 5 minutes to go, the USA held on and added a tally of their own off the stick, and one heck of an effort, from Ryan Kesler.
Sure, the Canadians will have home ice advantage, even if they’re supposed to be the “away” team tonight, and they will have revenge on their side, the Americans have been playing more consistent hockey.
Coming off an undefeated group stage, the Americans opened the elimination round with a matchup against the Swiss.
Giving them as many problems as they did during group play, the Swiss proved to be a formidable opponent, keeping the game close throughout. Zach Parise broke the scoreless tie midway through the 3rd period but the Swiss stayed tough, meeting the USA with an equally persistent offensive attack. It was not until Parsie tallied another goal, this time an empty netter, could the United States exhale collectively, and Ryan Miller toss his first Olympic Shutout onto his resume.
Up next would be Finland, who had a very daunting line-up headlined by Olli Jokinen and the Ruutu brothers, and anchored in net by Miikka Kiprusoff.
But the US would not be intimidated by the names on paper, and brought the play directly to the Fins.
An early blunder by the usually solid Kiprusoff set the tone for what would prove to be a long afternoon. Ryan Malone would kickoff the scoring by capitalizing on Kippers gaffe as he came way too far out of the crease to play a loose puck, but when his poke check failed, Malone had a wide open net to shoot for.
Pat Kane would net a pair, Zach Parise, Erik Johnson and Paul Stastny each added another in one of the most offensively prolific first periods of the Olympics.
After the first, the USA took a noticeably defensive stance and pull back the reins on an offense which was firing on all cylinders.
Miller would be spelled midway through the third as a precaution to avoid any unforeseen injuries in a game that the end result was little in doubt. Tim Thomas was his relief and surrendered the first goal against the Americans since Crosby’s goal in the Canada game.
While the Americans in the stadium were chanting for their country, the Canadian contingent decided to boo the Americans, thus prompting a “we want Canada” chant in response.
The Canadians path seemed to be a much more difficult one, but it proved to be much easier. Germany proved to be little competition as Canada ran up the score by count of 8-2. Russia was next, and should have been one of the marquee games of the tournament, but after a few bumps early on, the Canadians seemed to back the Russians into a corner and beat them down, punch after punch.
The hapless Russians made mistake after mistake on the ice. Defensive lapses, goaltending blunders, and a major coaching error, failing to pull Evgeni Nabokov after a 4 goal first period and allowing him two more goals in the second before mercifully giving him the hook in favor of Ilya Bryzgalov all contributed to the horrors which fueled the Canadian domination.
The surprise Slovakians were the only thing standing between the Canadians and the gold medal game. Many Canadian fans and writers were already counting on the gold medal game, and even when the team had a 3-0 lead late in the third, chants of “we want USA!” rained down from the stands. The problem was, someone forgot to tell the Slovakian team it was over.
With under 10 minutes to go, a fluke goal got behind Roberto Luongo to pull the Slovaks within two. A few minutes later, another goal gave the underdogs a massive breath of hope, and sucked the life and arrogance from the Canadian crowd, whose visions of a gold medal game were hardly guaranteed. Even as the final minute counted down, the Slovaks did not give up. With seven seconds to go, they had their best chance to tie the game, but Pavol Demitra’s shot clanged off the crossbar and away from the front of the net.
The Canadians survived a major scare, which could have been one of the most devastating losses ever for their country, but they now come up against a USA team who not only has beaten them before, but is playing their best hockey of the Olympics. The Canadians, who had a major air of confidence after a dominating performance against the Russians, now have had that goof feeling ereased by the late never-quit attitude of the Slovakians.
The first five minutes will prove, again, to be the setting point for the game.
Should the Americans grab an early lead again, you could quickly see, feel and hear a panic in the Canadian Pacific Coliseum this afternoon.
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