Well...the Canadians won the big game, but the Americans sure put up a fight. Nobody....absolutely nobody thought the USA hockey team had a chance in these Olympics, especially with a young inexperienced team with only 3 players (not including Modano, Tkachuk, Chelios) returning from past Olympic games. The turning point came when they played the first game against the Canadiens in the preliminary round in which they suprised everybody (and made Canada poop their pants) when they beat them 5-3. There was hope in the air for the Americans. These guys are for real and they made Canadiens a nervous team. USA goaltender Ryan Miller played some of his best hockey right here in these olympics, in which he outplayed some of the greatest goaltenders of all time, and thats why he was named MVP of the tournament. 36 year-old defensman Brian Rafalski, one of the few veterans of this team went on a scoring rampage earlier this tournament and set the tone for this US team. Zach Parise really came into his own these games too, as he'll be the face of USA Olympic hockey for years to come. Jaime Langenbrunner did a phenominal job as a captian of the US team. Those were just a few highlights from what the Americans had accomplished these games. I was blessed in witnessing these moments. These Olympics left me more love & respect for the game of hockey. I'm proud to be a hockey fan, and more importantly, an American hockey fan. Maybe next time, when we have a more experienced team, then we can beat those Canucks. ;)
I just want to honor USA hockey GM Brian Burke for assembling this USA hockey team. He has an eye of a genius. Instead of putting the best players, he assembled this team with the right players, like fitting the right pieces in a puzzle. I know this is a hard time for him, in which his son, Brenden, was killed in a car crash right before these Olympic games, but he came inspired. I have a great respect for this man and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
Again...Congrats to the both the Men's and Women's Canadian, USA, and Finland hockey teams for all earning medals. Now lets get back to the NHL season please.
No comments:
Post a Comment