State of Shock

In the grand scheme of things, Team USA's upset win over Canada last night in the Olympic men's hockey preliminary round wasn't as big as the 1980 win over the Soviets. How could it be? After all, this was a team of NHLers beating another team of NHLers. But still, nobody expected the Americans to walk away with a win over the pre-tournament favored Canucks.

I sure didn't. But I also knew that USA goalie Ryan Miller is one of the best in the NHL and that if he got hot, his team would have a shot, even against the vaunted Canadian juggernaut. And sure enough, he had a masterful game, stopping 42 of 45 shots in the 5-3 win. Defenseman Brian Rafalski scored in the first minute of the game and the US squad held off a furious charge at the end of the game, which culminated in Ryan Kesler scoring the most exciting empty netter I've ever seen, diving to beat Canada's Corey Perry to shove the puck in.

It was an electrifying game and despite being buried on MSNBC, it had even non-hockey fans raving about the sheer excitement and skill on display. It didn't hurt that the stakes were a lot higher than a regular season NHL game and that there were no commercial interruptions during the periods to break up the action. The ratings for the game were huge, albeit not as huge as the audience NBC had for its ice dancing extravaganza last night (22 million); but I'd bet as many if not more folks would have watched the game had it been on NBC.

The win meant Team USA had run the table in the opening round, winning all three games and securing a bye and top seed in the medal round. The Americans get an extra day off while Canada will have to win three games in four days to get to the gold medal game next Sunday. Next up for Canada is a game with Germany tomorrow night and if they win that, Russia on Wednesday. The US takes on the winner of Switzerland and Belarus in the quarter-finals.

The previous three USA entries into the NHL-infused Olympics featured the old guard of American hockey: Jeremy Roenick, Mike Modano, Chris Chelios et al. Although the Americans lost the gold medal game in 2002 to Canada, the other two entries were dismal failures. This time around, USA GM Brian Burke built a younger, faster, stronger (and much more inexperienced) squad with a goalie who could match up with any of the other top netminders in the tourney. It was a gamble and Burke and coach Ron Wilson (both of the Leafs) was quick to paint his team as serious underdogs compared to the powerful teams from Canada, Russia and Sweden. Although the team looked a little shaky in the first game against Norway, it has gotten better with each contest.

The Americans still must win three games to capture the gold, the country's first since that storied win 30 years ago. The US entry in the 1996 World Cup beat Canada to win that event, but nobody but hockey devotees was paying attention then. And nobody was this time around until last night's win. Now the nation's eyes are focused on this team. It'll be fun to see how they respond this week.

I find myself in an interesting position watching this tournament. I love it for the superbly skilled play and the passion that playing for one's country brings to the games. Normally, I root for Canada since that's where I was born and spent the first 14 years of my life. But I've spent the last 28 years here in the U.S. and part of me wouldn't mind seeing the Americans win it all. There's still a lot of hockey to be played and if yesterday was any indication (the Russia-Czech game was great as well), it's going to be an exciting week. I'm going to enjoy every second until the NHL season resumes and the Leafs are back to depress the hell out of me.

Let it go!