Key events
NBC, meanwhile, has brought out 1980 men’s hockey legend Mike Eruzione to talk about what it means to play for the USA. He says this is the best US team ever assembled. He also notes “there’s not a TV set in Canada that isn’t tuned to this game,” and that’s probably not an outlandish statement.
Bryan Armen Graham
The United States will be facing a hostile crowd at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena as they seek their third ever Olympic title in men’s hockey and first since the Miracle on Ice team of 1980. The Americans were greeted with a chorus of lusty boos when they took the ice in their white jerseys for their 20-minute warm-up ahead of today’s gold medal game. It already felt like there were more Canada shirts in the building and along the concourses of the brand-new 14,700-seat arena on Milan’s south-eastern edge. Now it sounds that way too.
It is arguably the hottest ticket of the Milano Cortina Olympics and that’s clear from the scenes outside the gates, where hordes of Canadian and American fans in hockey sweaters are pounding beers and roaring through songs and chants in glorious 53F (12C) sunshine.
And now it’s the saddest moment of every four years …
Olympic curling is over.
Anna Hasselborg goes back-to-back, and my fantasy team dominated.
What was your favorite moment of the Olympics?
Alysa Liu’s gold medal performance? Megan Oldham soaring to two medals? Snoop Dogg showing up at curling? Send in your favorites, and I’ll run through them during intermissions.
Preamble
So many USA-Canada showdowns in Italy this year. Women’s hockey gold to the USA. Women’s curling bronze to Canada.
Fitting that the Olympics will draw to a close with the two North American rivals facing off in the last event, the men’s hockey final. As in 1980, the hockey tournament has political undertones, but things are quite a bit different when each team has a gaggle of NHL players, not a Soviet Union team shrouded in mystery when it’s not dominating on the ice. And this time around, don’t expect any underdog-rallying speeches in the US locker room that will be commemorated on film.
Personal story: When Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner for Canada on home ice in 2010, I was at high altitude browsing a gift shop in Whistler, where I had just ridden the breathtaking Peak-to-Peak gondola. I made sure the other patrons didn’t know I was from that other country.
Crosby will be missed in this final. But this is still the star-studded final hockey fans wanted to see. Enjoy.
Crosby ruled out for Canada
A big early blow for the Canadians. Their captain, Sidney Crosby, has been ruled out of today’s game. The 38-year-old has won two Olympics golds and three Stanley Cups, but did not play in his team’s semi-final win over Finland due to a knee injury. Canada coach Jan Cooper said on Saturday he would wait until the last minute before making a decision on Crosby’s participation.
“We will see. I watched him skate today and we will meet tonight,” said Cooper. “He won’t put himself in harm’s way, and he will not put the team in harm’s way.”
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s what the players said ahead of today’s game:
The US and Canada are prepared for a stormy men’s ice hockey final on Sunday as the long-time rivals face off for Winter Olympic gold.
This year’s Olympics mark the first time NHL players have competed at the Winter Games since 2014, meaning many of the best players in the world will face each other on Sunday. While Canada are the betting favourites – and have won the most ice hockey golds in Olympic history – the US players say they have motivation to upset their northern neighbours.
“There’s hatred there,” USA’s Brady Tkachuk told ESPN on Saturday. “I mean, they’ve been the top dog. They’ve been the best for the last bunch of years, and for us, we want to be in that position, be the best. So it’s going to be a game where I think a lot of guys could say, this is the biggest game that they’ve ever played in.”
The rivalry between the teams has sharpened recently, particularly as political tensions have risen between Canada and the United States. At last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, Canadian fans booed the US anthem and there were a number of on-ice fights.
Canada’s Connor McDavid acknowledged there is extra spice when his team play the US.
“It is the game everybody wanted and hoped for, and it will be a great game,” he said. “It now comes down to one game between two teams. It is a hockey game, and we are excited about that. Team Canada playing Team USA in a hockey game – that is what it is.
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