Yes, I know, they only got second place. And second place is the first loser. But a silver medal in the Olympics is nothing to shake a stick at, especially considering nobody thought the Americans would even medal before the tournament started.
This is pretty similar to what I wrote about the Jets losing the AFC championship game. While the ultimate goal in any tournament is to be the last man standing, sometimes you have to accept failure when you've already exceeded expectations. I can't believe I just wrote that.
But honestly, what American isn't proud of how their boys competed in the Olympics? They shocked Canada and the rest of the hockey world with their 5-3 win in the qualifying round and showed that wasn't a fluke the second time around.
Down 2-0 in the second period, lots of fans were thinking this game was headed to blowout status. But the only people that mattered, the ones on the ice, were thinking they had over a period to at least send this game to overtime. And while it took them almost the whole 60 minutes, they were able to do just that.
My Facebook news feed was flooded with pro-American sentiment and "I <3 Zach Parise" status updates after his goal with under 30 seconds left tied the game for the U.S. They had all the momentum heading into overtime and Patrick Kane even said he thought they were going to win the gold after Parise's goal.
Although Sidney Crosby's goal early in overtime took all the wind out of the American sails, nobody can say that they were disappointed by the effort the U.S. put forth. That was by far the worst goal Ryan Miller had allowed in the whole tournament; anytime you get beat five-hole it's somewhat embarrassing. But considering Miller was the major reason behind the first-round upset of Canada and the Americans performance throughout the Olympics, it's hard to place the blame on him.
I watched almost every minute of each American game in this tournament, despite the fact that I don't watch hockey. I will always support the country that has given me so much, especially when athletes represent it as well as the U.S. hockey team was able to.
The 2010 olympic hockey team will go down as winners in my book, despite falling short of the ultimate prize. And coming from somebody as ultra-competitive as I am, that's an extremely high compliment.
Showing posts with label Hockey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hockey. Show all posts
Monday, March 1, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
U.S. beats Canada in Olympic play for the first time in 50 years
People who know me know I'm not the biggest hockey fan in the world. But if every NHL game was as scintillating as last night's USA-Canada matchup, maybe I would start watching a little bit more.
Like most who tuned in last night, I expected a Canadian victory. Of course I was pulling for the Americans out of nationalistic pride but even I could see, as a casual hockey observer, that Canada was stacked. With premier NHL players like Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash, Martin Brodeur, Joe Thornton, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger among others, the Canadians entered the tournament as heavy favorites, particularly playing at home in Vancouver.
But the most important name in last night's game was an American: goaltender Ryan Miller. The Americans were outshot 45-22, but Miller turned in an awesome performance with 42 saves, while counterpart Brodeur stopped just 18 of the 23 shots he faced and seemed uncomfortable in net at times as the Americans won 5-3.
Many people have been comparing this victory to the 1980 Miracle on Ice, when the Americans beat the heavily favored Soviets. But that was a medal-round victory that propelled the U.S. to the gold-medal game, while this matchup was just a qualifier. Regardless, it was an awesome and gutsy effort by a scrappy American team, and one that had myself and thousands if not millions of other Americans going crazy in their living rooms.
The U.S. is now the top-ranked team in the tournament, a huge advantage that most thought would be afforded to the Canadians. The most important position on an NHL team come playoff time is the goalie, and that position is only magnified in the one-and-done setup of Olympic play.
That is one position where the Americans have no issues. Miller is one of the better goalies in the NHL and if he can maintain the level of play he showed against Canada, this American team has an outside shot at a gold medal. Then, and only then, can we start talking about miracles.
Like most who tuned in last night, I expected a Canadian victory. Of course I was pulling for the Americans out of nationalistic pride but even I could see, as a casual hockey observer, that Canada was stacked. With premier NHL players like Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash, Martin Brodeur, Joe Thornton, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger among others, the Canadians entered the tournament as heavy favorites, particularly playing at home in Vancouver.
But the most important name in last night's game was an American: goaltender Ryan Miller. The Americans were outshot 45-22, but Miller turned in an awesome performance with 42 saves, while counterpart Brodeur stopped just 18 of the 23 shots he faced and seemed uncomfortable in net at times as the Americans won 5-3.
Many people have been comparing this victory to the 1980 Miracle on Ice, when the Americans beat the heavily favored Soviets. But that was a medal-round victory that propelled the U.S. to the gold-medal game, while this matchup was just a qualifier. Regardless, it was an awesome and gutsy effort by a scrappy American team, and one that had myself and thousands if not millions of other Americans going crazy in their living rooms.
The U.S. is now the top-ranked team in the tournament, a huge advantage that most thought would be afforded to the Canadians. The most important position on an NHL team come playoff time is the goalie, and that position is only magnified in the one-and-done setup of Olympic play.
That is one position where the Americans have no issues. Miller is one of the better goalies in the NHL and if he can maintain the level of play he showed against Canada, this American team has an outside shot at a gold medal. Then, and only then, can we start talking about miracles.
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