Published: Monday, February 22, 2010
Loss to U.S. is crushing blow to nation of Canada
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Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
Jamie Langenbrunner (right) of the U.S. deflects the puck into the net past Canadian goalie Martin Brodeur in the third period.
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VANCOUVER, B.C. — In order to curb rowdy crowds in Vancouver's downtown streets, the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch forced stores to close at 7 p.m. on Sunday night.
Hopefully they reconsidered after Canada's red and white fell 5-3 to the United States in men's hockey.
Canada could use a drink right about now.
What has already been a disappointing Olympics for Canada took perhaps its worst turn yet at Canada Hockey Place as the gold medal favorites, the team shouldering the hopes of a nation, lost to their hockey-indifferent neighbors to the south.
Hockey is king here. It trumps everything else going on at these Winter Games, which is why, a week before the gold medal will be decided, a preliminary game between the U.S. and Canada is the biggest event of these Olympics so far to many Canadians.
Yes Canada has failed to live up to the lofty expectations created by their Own the Podium Initiative, but hockey gold would make up for all other disappointments.
But losing to a young American team on home ice? Just the latest blow to a host country already taking some heat for underperforming.
Over the past 10 days in Vancouver and Whistler, Own the Podium has turned into the much less popular Pawn the Podium Initiative. It has become a punch line for American Athletes like snowboarder Nate Holland, who said Canada can go ahead and keep the podium, but “We'll just rent it for the month.”
All of that was supposed to end Sunday night. The past weekend was a 48-hour party on the streets of Vancouver. Everywhere you went Sunday, all anyone could talk about was The Game. Canada was going to continue its march to gold. Was going to remind America that, no matter what happens in other sport, hockey is still Canada's game.
Then Brian Rafalski happened. Just 41 seconds into the game, the U.S. defenseman fired a shot from the blue line that deflected of Canadian hockey hero Sidney Crosby and into the net. Canada answered midway through the first period, but Rafalski struck again just 22 seconds later to quiet the crowd once again.
What followed was two-and-a-half more periods of breathtaking hockey.
Canada tied it at two, then the U.S. went up 3-2, then 4-2, but there was Crosby, making it a one-goal game with 3:09 left to play. From there, U.S. goalie Ryan Miller, who had been great all night, dialed his game up to brilliant and withstood a barrage of shots before Ryan Kesler scored an open-netter to clinch the victory.
Thanks in large part to Miller, the U.S. was able to win despite being out-shot 45-23.
“Unbelievable,” forward Zach Parise said of Miller's performance. “He made great saves and bailed us out. He was our backbone.”
One of the most hyped events of these Olympics more than lived up to it. It was thrilling, it was unforgettable, and for Canada, it was crushing.
After the game, both Canadian and American players tried to downplay the significance of the preliminary game. The U.S. wins its group and moves on to the quarterfinals, a accomplishment, but nothing to brag about, while Canada is still very much alive, though they'll need to win an extra game to move on to the quarters. Still, the disappointment was evident on the faces of Canadian players as they walked to their locker room.
“It's probably not where we wanted to come in,” Crosby said of facing a qualifier Tuesday. “But that is where we are now. When you get to this point in the tournament, it is not going to be easy, and the fact that we have to play an extra game isn't a terrible thing.”
Maybe not, but losing to the U.S. in the Olympics for the first time in 50 years felt pretty terrible to a country already tired of watching the U.S. dominate these games.
Sitting at Steamworks Brewing Co. a night before the game, a group of Canadian fans were talking, among other things, about The Big Game. Then a nearby TV showed the latest medal standings. One man in the group first marveled at how many medals the U.S. had piled up, then looked lower on the table to see Canada fifth.
“We're behind Korea?” he said with disgust in his voice.
And then U.S. 5, Canada 3 happens.
The sports page of Sunday's Globe and Mail detailed a disappointing Saturday for Canada, then a headline of “@#$%&” across the page. The Vancouver Province, meanwhile, went with “Day of Disappointment” splashed across the cover, followed by a sub headline of “Canada left off the podium Saturday. Thank God there's hockey today.” Kind of makes you wonder what they'll do Monday morning.
Throughout the game, one red-white-and-blue-clad fan held up a sign that read, “The United States of Awesome.” And for the past 10 days, that's exactly what Team U.S.A. has been.
On what had to be the best day for American Millers since prohibition was repealed, Bode won gold, Ryan stonewalled Canada, and the U.S. Winter Olympic freight train continued to roll.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Olympics coverage, go to heraldnet.com/olympics
Hopefully they reconsidered after Canada's red and white fell 5-3 to the United States in men's hockey.
Canada could use a drink right about now.
What has already been a disappointing Olympics for Canada took perhaps its worst turn yet at Canada Hockey Place as the gold medal favorites, the team shouldering the hopes of a nation, lost to their hockey-indifferent neighbors to the south.
Hockey is king here. It trumps everything else going on at these Winter Games, which is why, a week before the gold medal will be decided, a preliminary game between the U.S. and Canada is the biggest event of these Olympics so far to many Canadians.
Yes Canada has failed to live up to the lofty expectations created by their Own the Podium Initiative, but hockey gold would make up for all other disappointments.
But losing to a young American team on home ice? Just the latest blow to a host country already taking some heat for underperforming.
Over the past 10 days in Vancouver and Whistler, Own the Podium has turned into the much less popular Pawn the Podium Initiative. It has become a punch line for American Athletes like snowboarder Nate Holland, who said Canada can go ahead and keep the podium, but “We'll just rent it for the month.”
All of that was supposed to end Sunday night. The past weekend was a 48-hour party on the streets of Vancouver. Everywhere you went Sunday, all anyone could talk about was The Game. Canada was going to continue its march to gold. Was going to remind America that, no matter what happens in other sport, hockey is still Canada's game.
Then Brian Rafalski happened. Just 41 seconds into the game, the U.S. defenseman fired a shot from the blue line that deflected of Canadian hockey hero Sidney Crosby and into the net. Canada answered midway through the first period, but Rafalski struck again just 22 seconds later to quiet the crowd once again.
What followed was two-and-a-half more periods of breathtaking hockey.
Canada tied it at two, then the U.S. went up 3-2, then 4-2, but there was Crosby, making it a one-goal game with 3:09 left to play. From there, U.S. goalie Ryan Miller, who had been great all night, dialed his game up to brilliant and withstood a barrage of shots before Ryan Kesler scored an open-netter to clinch the victory.
Thanks in large part to Miller, the U.S. was able to win despite being out-shot 45-23.
“Unbelievable,” forward Zach Parise said of Miller's performance. “He made great saves and bailed us out. He was our backbone.”
One of the most hyped events of these Olympics more than lived up to it. It was thrilling, it was unforgettable, and for Canada, it was crushing.
After the game, both Canadian and American players tried to downplay the significance of the preliminary game. The U.S. wins its group and moves on to the quarterfinals, a accomplishment, but nothing to brag about, while Canada is still very much alive, though they'll need to win an extra game to move on to the quarters. Still, the disappointment was evident on the faces of Canadian players as they walked to their locker room.
“It's probably not where we wanted to come in,” Crosby said of facing a qualifier Tuesday. “But that is where we are now. When you get to this point in the tournament, it is not going to be easy, and the fact that we have to play an extra game isn't a terrible thing.”
Maybe not, but losing to the U.S. in the Olympics for the first time in 50 years felt pretty terrible to a country already tired of watching the U.S. dominate these games.
Sitting at Steamworks Brewing Co. a night before the game, a group of Canadian fans were talking, among other things, about The Big Game. Then a nearby TV showed the latest medal standings. One man in the group first marveled at how many medals the U.S. had piled up, then looked lower on the table to see Canada fifth.
“We're behind Korea?” he said with disgust in his voice.
And then U.S. 5, Canada 3 happens.
The sports page of Sunday's Globe and Mail detailed a disappointing Saturday for Canada, then a headline of “@#$%&” across the page. The Vancouver Province, meanwhile, went with “Day of Disappointment” splashed across the cover, followed by a sub headline of “Canada left off the podium Saturday. Thank God there's hockey today.” Kind of makes you wonder what they'll do Monday morning.
Throughout the game, one red-white-and-blue-clad fan held up a sign that read, “The United States of Awesome.” And for the past 10 days, that's exactly what Team U.S.A. has been.
On what had to be the best day for American Millers since prohibition was repealed, Bode won gold, Ryan stonewalled Canada, and the U.S. Winter Olympic freight train continued to roll.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Olympics coverage, go to heraldnet.com/olympics
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