Daily Archives: February 28, 2010

Before the beginning of the 21st Olympic Winter Games, most hockey experts predicted it would be the greatest hockey tournament ever held. At the end of yesterday’s spectacular gold medal game, the experts were right.

What a spectacular hockey game yesterday. Sidney Crosby scored the winner midway through the overtime period to give Team Canada a 3-2 win over the United States in exactly what a gold medal hockey game should be. Fast, tough, skilled, brilliant, close.

Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews, a tournament all-star, scored Canada’s first goal, Corey Perry scored the second and the Canadian defence hung in long enough to allow Canada’s greatest young player to win it.

As a result of that game, Canada finished the Vancouver Games with a national record 26 medals: an Olympic record 14 golds, seven silvers and five bronze medals, good for third place in the medal race and tops in golds. And it came to end after one of the finest hockey games ever played.

Interestingly, Crosby was the hero yesterday, but no one had any doubt that U.S. goalie Ryan Miller was the best player in the tournament.

While Crosby’s overtime winner gave Canada a wonderful victory, Miller was named the tournament’s most valuable player and the best goaltender in the Olympics. Miller also made the final tournament All-Star team alongside teammates Brian Rafalsk and Zach Parise, Canada’s Toews and Shea Weber and Slovakia’s Pavol Demitra.

Once again, it was a sensational gold medal game — a sensational game that ended a sensational tournament. Twenty years from now, you’ll remember where you were when Sid the Kid scored the winner.

Bravo.