When the U.S. and Canada square off Friday in Sochi for a chance to play for the gold, it will be similar to when the Seattle Seahawks took on the San Francisco 49ers for the right to play in the Super Bowl – the victor has a likely chance to win it all. No offense to Sweden or Finland, but the U.S and Canada are the top teams left in the tournament.
During the past two Olympic tournaments, the U.S. has gone 9-1 and the Canadian squad has compiled a 10-1 record (Canada had to play an extra qualifying game in 2010) with their only losses coming to each other. In fact, the U.S. is undefeated during regulation during their last 10 games as Canada had to take the Americans to overtime in Vancouver to defeat them in the gold medal game in 2010.
In Vancouver, the U.S. knocked off Canada 5-3 during group play to advance to the quarterfinals and lock up the No. 1 seed for the remainder of the 2010 tournament. That game was played one day before the 30th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” game against the Soviet Union in Lake Placid and was widely considered to be one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
In the gold medal game, the U.S. fell into a 2-0 hole before a late goal from Zach Parise — with goaltender Ryan Miller off of the ice in favor of an extra attacker — tied things up in regulation. Unfortunately for the U.S., tournament MVP Miller was unable to stop a shot from Sydney Crosby 7:40 into overtime and Canada escaped with the win and the gold.
“It’s just a shame that both teams couldn’t have received a gold medal,” then-U.S. coach Ron Wilson said after the game. “A great player made a great play and found a way to finish us off. This was a classic hockey game. In Canada now, it’s the greatest game ever.”
The Americans might not have earned a win in their final game in Vancouver, but they put Team Canada, Team Russia and Team Sweden on notice that they were not to be taken lightly.
The team has backed that up in Sochi.
Entering Friday’s showdown with Canada, the U.S. has scored 20 goals while only allowing six. The U.S. has been so dominant that one of the heroes of the 2010 squad, Parise, is the only member of the squad with a negative plus/minus rating (-1). Miller is still on the team as well, but Jonathan Quick has handled the bulk of the goaltending duties and has stuffed 72 of 77 shots for a save percentage of 93.5.
On the other side of the puck, Team Canada isn’t far behind. The team has only scored 13 goals but they’ve allowed just three (all scored on Carey Price, Friday’s goalie). No Canadian player has a negative plus/minus rating and the combination of Price and Roberto Luongo in net has stopped a ridiculous 95.5 percent of shots.
Boil all of that down and it basically means that Friday’s game should be another all-time great. The teams have a combined 24 players returning from the gold medal game in Vancouver and there’s little doubt that both teams want to win – badly.
“There’s a lot of animosity, a lot of feelings like there’s something to prove between both teams,” said Canadian forward Jonathan Toews.
“It’s a team that you want to be able to beat to say that you played through the best,” said U.S. forward Patrick Kane, Toews’ teammate on the Chicago Blackhawks. “You’ve got to respect them, but at the same time, we have a chance to prove we’re in the same sentence with Canada.”
The U.S. hasn’t medaled in men’s hockey outside of North America since 1972; Canada hasn’t done it since 1994. No matter what happens on Friday, that’s going to change in 2014.
Evan Bleier is a freelance writer based out of wherever he can plug in his laptop. You can send him questions, comments and Buffalo wing suggestions @itishowitis or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook
Photo Credit: Getty
