I was sure how it was going to end: The US would play great, but the Canadians would eventually win. That was, before Zach Parise had something to say about it. Parise’s goal, with just under .25 seconds left in regulation, put the game into overtime and gave the USA all the hope and momentum in the world. I have to say, I was taken in. I stood up and shouted and ran around my house like a crazy person. I felt some sort of national pride from Winter Olympics that I watched a grand total of five minutes of. Pactrick Kane would later say that he thought they were going to win the gold, because of that goal. But then, in a flash of disappointing brilliance, Sidney Crosby went into the phone booth and changed became his alter-ego super hero, Mr. Canada, and scored the game winning goal on goalie and tournament MVP Ryan Miller to give the Canadians the gold medal.
What would go through my mind in the following minutes can only be described as utter shock. It was like hearing the f-bomb on national television. You just heard it, but you can’t believe it. I can’t say I was disappointed. This US team was an afterthought, who was overlooked for medal contention. A silver medal should be a big win. But with all the hope that Parise’s last goal provided, it seems like a disappointment. I thought, “They didn’t take us down, now we are going to come back for the gold.” The Americans have nothing to be ashamed of. With names like Crosby, Joe Thornton and Dany Heatly, the Canadian team was practically and NHL All-Star team. Having said my peace, this was one of the greatest hockey games I have ever seen. Luongo and Miller were both phenomenal between the pipes and the defense was great. There was so much competitive fire on the ice. It got me hyped up for something… the continuation of the NHL season!!
Tonight the Detroit Redwings face off against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. How will winning the gold medal help Redwings head coach Mike Babcock? The San Jose Sharks will resume their campaign for winning this year’s Stanley Cup (they will do it, and the Washington Ovechkins will not stop them). How will New Jersey Devil’s hall-of-fame goaltender Martin Brodeur bounce back from being pulled from the Olympics? This year’s Winter Olympics have got me (a Shark’s fan, who is pretty much waiting for the playoffs to start) excited about the rest of the regular season. There has been some talk of not allowing the NHL players to play, instead going back to the old style of amateur players. But NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman needs to make sure this does not happen. There will be so little interest in Olympic hockey if you take the big names out. Besides, this year’s tournament has provided excitement, something most thought the Olympics couldn’t provide.
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