USA vs Canada 2/21...

...DO YOU BELIEVE IN...uh, wildly overblown comparisons between this hockey game and a certain Olympics one that happened 30 years ago? (30 yrs minus a day when the game took place, 30 yrs ago when I'm posting this). no, certain sports reporters and some of the excited hordes on Twitter, this wasn't a "Miracle." but the US winning 5-3 over Canada, in Canada, was damn exciting. definitely an upset (I found it as thrilling and significant as the Super Bowl two weeks ago, except for the fact that it wasn't an actual championship game of course): the first US win over Canada in men's hockey in 50 years! (I know US hasn't actually faced Canada in every Olympics since then, but it's still impressive)

ok, more of a game recap/links to good articles later; for now I can sum it up with my two favorite photos of the game, as in, the two moments I saw live and was anxious to see replayed and as a still photo. Team USA near the end:


frankly I like that photo just a bit too much...

...and, as a contrast, the accidental Team Canada pile-up. it quickly became available as a gif (which I love, but I didn't want to put a constantly blinking thing on the page)


oh, and US IS THE #1 SEED. I was up late waiting for the update on NHL.com (they're much faster at getting NHL game results up in the standings, not that I'm in the habit of obsessively checking soon after every Blackhawks and/or Bruins game or anything) and here it is:

 
 

Americans seem kind of happy. meanwhile, laaaate, before I finally sign out of everything for the night, here's what's trending in Canada (I was at a bar watching the game, because I still don't have cable [or NBC reception--totally missed Russia-Czech game earlier], and since I don't have a portable internet device either, I couldn't check Twitter or live blogs till I got back home, but I know many hockey topics were trending):


there's no break from goalie debates...

(I'm way, way, way behind on posting stuff now, I know. the combination of the Olympics being more fun than I expected, and having frustratingly little access to see them, means I've been in a lot of bad moods and away from the blog...also, since the AHL is going strong, I've been to one fantastic game and am planning on a couple next weekend.)

1 comment:

Ken Socrates said...

No, it isn't a miracle by any means but a signinficant win for a youngish USA squad that was given almost zero chance by the talking heads prior to the game. Add in the hunger of Canadian fans to atone for the WJC's and their general hang up about the States stealing "their game" and it becomes even more momentous from a north-of-the-border perspective.

Easy to forget, though, the US may have less high profile stars on their squad but they all play in the NHL and more than a few are the rising young talent in the league - Kane, Parise, Kesler, Ryan. And they clearly had the better goalie.

Great win no matter how you slice it.