Canadians Win Only Game That Mattered
W E S T V A L L E Y C I T Y, Utah, Feb. 22 -- About the only thing Kim St-Pierre couldn't stop Thursday was the combined weight, energy and joy of her teammates as they tossed aside their gloves, their sticks and four years of frustration while smothering the Canadian goalie in a victory pileup so high they could hold Friday's giant slalom on it.
"I think I might have a concussion," St-Pierre said after stopping 25 shots in Canada's 3-1 gold medal victory over the United States. "I'm speaking but I'm losing track of my words. I don't remember what happened. I know I asked a teammate, 'Is it really over? Did we really win the gold medal?' "
St-Pierre wasn't the only one stunned, though. While Canada captain Hayley Wickenheiser held her 22-month-old child and her teammates celebrated their country's first Olympic hockey gold medal since 1952, the heavily favored Americans reacted to their silver medals as if they had been handed polka-dotted corduroy ties for Christmas.
Thank you, they're very nice. But we were really hoping for something in gold.
Many of the Americans cried with disappointment as they accepted their medals while goalie Sarah Tueting spent her time in the receiving line wiping the tears from her face.
"It's pretty disappointing to spend four years on something and get a silver," admitted U.S. forward Jenny Potter, who earned a gold when the Americans beat Canada in Nagano.
That's an understandable feeling. Normally, it's no shame to take second in the Olympics, but in women's hockey, there are really only two teams, the United States and Canada. The rest of the globe is just so much rink time.
Seeing Fear in Their Eyes
The two teams dominate women's hockey the way Dick Vitale dominates a conversation. They have never lost to any team but each other and they strolled through the Olympic tournament, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 63-4. Everyone else is so far behind them that the bronze medalists, Sweden, nearly bailed out before the Olympics started because they didn't feel they could be competitive.
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