Not Quite A Miracle, But A Definite Message

By Adam W Parks

The United States Olympic hockey team did not just run Canada on its home ice last night, they made a statement to the rest of the world: watch the @#$% out for the Americans!

Anyone who watched that game last night, hockey fan or not, had to be impressed with how the superior skill from Canada was bested by the toughness and determination from the US. There were moments of doubt last night, but in the end they made a believer out of me and the whole world.

The American team got off to a great start (courtesy in large part of Brian Rafalski!), and did not let up for 60 minutes. After Dany Heatley tied it at 2-2 early in the second period I figured that would ignite the Canadian team, and Sidney Crosby and company would begin to roll.

But they withstood the waves of the storm. Each time Canada's momentum built to a tall crest it was diverted by Ryan Miller, and shifted back in favor of the US with goals by Chris Drury and Jamie Langenbrunner. When Miss Crosby scored late in the third on the power play, I thought that was it--this is when Canada wakes from its preliminary slumber and realizes its roster's fire power.

Miller was unbelievable after that goal, and the effort by Ryan Kesler on that empty net goal was inspiring...Olympics style. I have never seen an American ice hockey win that momentous in the Olympics--I was negative one in 1980, 30 years ago today, for that miraculous win in Lake Placid. I can only compare that game to Stanley Cup-clinching goals in 1997, 98, 02, and 08, and also the blood bath of March 26, 1997.

Maple leaf worshippers can talk all they want about how that was just a preliminary game, which it was indeed. Canada is still alive, wounded, but well enough to push for gold down a rough road.

Standing in the way will be Germany, a pushover, but then there is Russia, a team that I thought had been playing the best Olympic hockey before the USA/Canada matchup last night. If Canada makes it past Alex Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Evgeni Nabokov, they will have to face Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall, and a bunch of other really good Swedes who do not play for the Red Wings. Sweden has not looked dominant, but did get two shutouts in the preliminaries (including a 3-0 matchup against Finland late last night).

The Stars and Stripes earned themselves a first round bye and the top overall seed in the Olympic playoffs. If the US has any sort of hangover from the win over Canada, they are fortunate to face either Switzerland or Belarus in the Quarterfinals. The Semifinals will be tougher (either Finland or the Czech Republic, barring an upset by Latvia over the Czechs), but nothing like what the syrup-suckers will face.

Perhaps this game was not a miracle, the circumstances much different, the players more talented, but that victory just set the table for American gold.

Peace. Respect.