Canadian Gold in Men's Ice Hockey: Canada Beats United States in OT, 3-2, at 2010 Winter Olympics

He was outstanding which is why you can’t really blame him but on that last goal he swept the puck to the corner instead of just covering. I knew right when he did that that something bad was gonna happen. It’s a shame that USA couldn’t get gold when they were the best team throughout the Olympics. It great that we won silver but Jack Johnson summed it up the best, “You win a gold. You win a bronze. You lose a silver.”

was incredible where I was watching the game. Difference this time is that the place was 85 – 15% Americans Canadians, where last Sunday it was 60-40% Americans.

Here is that 40 second link of when Parise scored.

John, your closing remarks are a sobering reminder, thanks for that link. Sochi should be a no brainer after this. I’d be perfectly willing to find a Diner where we can all gather for taylor ham and hockey. I’m coming out with a video looking at interest in Olympic hockey, but here’s what I feel in a nutshell:

NHL fans deserve this atmosphere during the regular season in some way, shape or form. WE DESERVE IT. Al Michaels described the NBA fans vs. the NHL fans like this: " "Remember when the NBA used to use the slogan, ‘We love this game.’ That is puppy love. That is a first date next to the way puckheads feel about hockey." I know nothing unites Americans like international play and it would be near impossible for the league to emulate this. But there are ideas out there.

I think like you suggest, possibly anointing a day where fans are encouraged to take a non-hockey fan to a game with them is a great idea and is something that will gain steam. I think my mid-season division tournament is a great, but fanciful idea. I don’t like to use the word “gimmick” but the NHL needs to use this mid-February window more effectively in non-Olympic years.

Guys, when I tell you that the atmosphere was electric in the City today, that’s an understatement. I saw fans on the PATH, in the Subway, on the streets and in that bar. I saw people with American flags.

One interviewer I talked to was from Hershey, PA. We all know how established and successful that area is about hockey and how their attendance figures are. And remember this is an area of Pennsylvania that James Carville described as “Alabama.”

Maybe the secret lies in that community development in places like Hershey. If we are indeed as enthusiastic as Michaels stated, the PR people at the NHL can find better ways to please us and bring in new fans. Let’s see how they build on this. Ovechkin and Crosby match-ups aren’t enough after this.

Steve described Thursday as “The Best Day of Hockey Ever.”

I want more. I’m sorry, guess I’m selfish.

My friend who loves basketball wrote this on his FB post:

“Great game, despite the loss. I might even watch some of the NHL playoffs now.”

I just offered to go to DC to a game with him. Thanks for the inspiration John!

and to playing in Sochi by NBC.

But they trash the Devils again, "But the Devils don’t really do superstar players, but here in Vancouver Parise was one of several on the U.S. team. "

I guess Kovalchuk is not a superstar . . .

“”http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug=dw-winnerslosers022810&prov=yhoo&type=lgns" target="new">WINNER: Hockey

Sidney Crosby and Canada defeated the United States 3-2 in an epic, overtime final that showcased the heart-pounding sport at its very best. The roller-coaster finale is one reason hockey itself is the big winner. The tournament was played at an exceptionally high level, and the skill on display was unlike almost anything seen before.

The Canadian fans packed neutral games and offered a colorful backdrop. Both the Canadian and American teams captured their country’s imagination and delivered record television audiences – not to mention a dramatic and memorable gold-medal battle. The NHL isn’t suddenly going to leapfrog the NFL in the States, but it should get a boost from this tournament. If Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres are coming to town, now you know it’s worth checking out.

It’s a way of making the Olympics last into the spring."

Even the President was watching

Canada was probably scared out of their mind when Parise scored. I sure was when that happened: The tournament’s best goalie is in net and he’d be a massive difference maker, but it turned out that one play changed the game. For US hockey it’s obviously an accomplishment for them even if it wasn’t gold, people now know North American hockey is the best kind of hockey.

For me i’m just happy it’s finally over because now I can stop cheering against you guys (being a Canadian, and most members here being americans)

Amazing game. Great tournament as a whole. I’m saddened that it ended the way it did, but someone has to win and someone has to lose and a Silver Medal is a pretty awesome consolation prize for a bunch of kids few predicted would do better than 3rd or 4th.

They played the favorites perfectly. It was an even game all the way through, but Canada definitely had the advantage 4 on 4. Just think, if it had only been a 5 minute OT period, the game would have gone to a shootout… in which case I think the US would have had the advantage, considering how shaky Luongo was.

Just as the winning goal was scored my first thought was, “Anyone but Crosby!” but upon reflection I realized that, as a Devils fan, there actually was one person that could have scored that would have made it an even tougher loss: Eric Staal.

In all the coverage I’ve seen this morning, I’m disappointed to hear all about Crosby and his GWG, but Parise’s name often overlooked when the game tying goal is spoken about. It’s usually “we tied it up…” or “the US got the game tying goal with 25 seconds…”

I really dislike the fact that Luongo is going to get credit and the benching of Brodeur is going to seem justified. Can’t argue with the results, but as shaky as Luongo was, one more badly misplayed puck and an entire nation would be burning him in effigy right now.

I was hoping that Marty would use his benching as motivation in the rest of the NHL season, but when I saw the look on his face when Canada clinched the Gold, I lost that hope. I think that the team winning in the end, under that enormous national pressure, alleviated the sting enough… I mean, 3 Cups and 2 Gold Medals… he’s accomplished all that a hockey player can accomplish and he’s at the end of an illustrious, sure-fire first ballot HOF career. I won’t say he’s got nothing left to prove, but his competitive motivation is surely more tempered than it would have been if Canada hadn’t won Gold and he was still in his home nation’s dog house.

On the flip side, my hope of using the Games as a springboard has transferred over to Zach and Jamie. They both had tremendous tournaments, though they both looked absolutely crushed after the game. That emotion could go either way in terms of their performance in the near future, and I hope that they are quickly able to re-energize and refocus and carry over their confidence to help get the Devils back to the dominant team they were just a few short months ago.

Toews as the best forward? Pshaw! I may be biased, but look at the stats:

Parise — 6 GP 4g-4a-8pts 6PIM +4 rating 2GWG 2PPG 20SOG SG% 20.0 102.21TOI
Toews — 7 GP 1g-7a-8pts 2PIM +9 rating 0GWG 0PPG 10SOG SG%10.0 102.32TOI

Plus Zach had the clutch last minute game tying goal to send the Gold Medal game to OT. I mean, even Crosby had a better tournament than Toews and I wouldn’t have been surprised to have seen his name there, considering how his last shot worked out.

In any event, it was a great tournament and the US boys have nothing to be ashamed of. If the NHL sticks in the Olympics in four years, guys like Langenbrunner and Drury and Rafalski probably won’t be around, but guys like Parise and Kane and Miller will be a little more experienced and a little more hungry, and that’s a dangerous prospect to think about.

Plus, the games won’t be in Canada.

To me, the NHL in Sochi is a no brainer. My perspective is a little different because I believe TV ratings and the business aspect shouldn’t even come into consideration. I would call it the business side of things. Well after the tournament we just experienced, I think the games deserve the best teams possible on the ice. I understand the Pro/amateur debate some people may have but the best players should be able to participate to elevate the level of play. Having the NHL players play in Sochi, would give an opportunity to have NHL exposure in the 3 main markets (US, Canada and Russia) in just 12 years.

As far as trying to bring people to go to games or watch it, I did it last night. Making my mum watch it. She enjoyed it, she jumped out her seat a few times. Hockey has to be in the top 5 team sports as far as potential is concerned. The rules are pretty easy to understand for anyone unlike baseball or football. The game has speed, physicality, finesse, drama…. My belief is that anybody who gets introduced to hockey will enjoy it and probably stick to it. That’s what happened with me over 10 years ago.

If anybody remembers my post after the qualifying game between the US and Canada, you probably remember that I predicted no medal for Canada. I was wrong but that Canada team has been really inconsistent in the first three games. I am still so mad at the treatment Brodeur received and the poor support he got while in net! I hope he comes back fresh and show them what he is made of.