Olympic Hockey at its finest

The hype surronding the USA vs. Canada game was unreal. The Americans weren't even supposed to be here. They were loaded with young talent and predicted not to do well at the 2010 Olympic games. Canada on the other hand, were the powerhouse and predicted to win Gold. But after the USA beat Canada, Canada found themselves having to play the powerful Russians. They beat them quite easily and set-up a rematch between the powerful Canadians and the underdog USA. People were saying if the USA won the Gold it would be almost as great as 1980. After a slow start, The pace started to pick up. Brooks Orpik's hit on Corey Perry into the USA bench set the tone for a crazy 2 hours of hockey. After few chances came and went, Jonathan Toews stuck in a rebound after poor play by the Americans and a fine save by Ryan Miller. Toews found a way to get it in. Then in the 2nd period, Ryan Getzlaf made a fantastic run down the left side of the USA threw it back in the middle only to find Corey Perry sitting there giving Ryan Miller no chance to save it. 2-0 Canada. Without Miller however, The USA would have been dismantled as brilliant save after brilliant save kept the USA in the game. The USA would not go down without a fight. Ryan Kesler almost walked through the Canadian defense then dumped it off to Patrick Kane. Kane then shot the puck only to have a wicked deflection off Kesler go off Roberto Luongo and in. The USA deserved a bit of luck after being so unlucky. Then in the 3rd period, This is where the intensity cranked up to 11. The USA desperatley tried to get shot after shot. But after they through to many people forward, Sydney Crosby found himself one on one with Miller. The USA could not have picked a worse player to go 1 on 1. But once again, Ryan Miller was the hero along with great hustle by Patrick Kane to deny Crosby. AS the minutes wore down, so did the belief. 3/4's of th e arena was candian fans screaming as they came closer and closer to a gold medal. Desperation set in for the Americans, pulling keeper Miller who had been amazing all day. The with less then 30 seconds left, What seemed the impossible became possible. After Luongo fumbled a puck that should been caught the Americans worked it around to Patrick Kane woes suprise shot bounced off Luongo into the direct path of Zach Parise and with 24.4 seconds left stuffed in the tying goal. Then we went to Overtime. As we were getting settled in 8 minutes into the Overtime, Sydney Crosby's magnificant run gets in behind 3 USA players. He picks up the puck in the corner and lays it off for Jarome Iginla who somehow is able to find Crosby while falling down and Crosby slots the puck between the fantastic Miller. He simly couldn't do anything. As the Arena erupted, the dejected American players, who had fought so hard all day to get here, came up short. All in all, the Americans earned lots of respect, gained many new fans, and put a glimpse into the future of this sport in America. Ryan Miller was deservedly the Player of the Tourney, stopping the impossible. Patrick Kane, Jack Johnson, Zack Parise, and Chris Drury all played like superstars this whole tourney. America should be proud of these individuals and be excited for the future of this sport in this country.