By MIKE LOOMIS
Special To One Great Season
The United States hockey team just won a few extra days off with its defeat of Canada, and nothing more.
Going into this tournament, I had the Americans as the seventh-best team behind Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Now at least I feel a little more comfortable using the words "United States" and "medal" in the same breath, but so far all these games have been nothing but Olympic preseason. The United States could have lost all three games and still would have just as good of a chance of winning a medal as any other team.
Still, it was nice to see our Boys in Blue put together such a solid team effort in Sunday's thrilling 5-3 victory. Ryan Miller was spectacular in goal, which he needs to be, and for the first time in the tournament, the defensemen played smartly. If those trends carry over into the next round, good things should happen.
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Yes, there is a murderer's row of teams the United States has to somehow navigate through to get to the medal stand, but every other team has to run the same gauntlet, and having one fewer game to play to make it through will be helpful. Ask the Canadian players how they feel about playing one extra game. Lowly Switzerland gave them all they could handle earlier in the week, and every Canadian player looked like he just went nine rounds with Muhammad Ali by the end. These things take their toll.
Last week, after the first day of games, I wrote how I thought the ice might not hold up very well. Overall, the ice really hasn't been a factor, but after seeing all the teams there is one intangible that could make a difference in this tournament: the number of legendary players competing in their final Olympics.
Guys like Teemu Selanne, Sergei Federov, Peter Forsberg and Jaromir Jagr have become heroes to their respective countries, and every teammate of theirs wants to see them go out with a gold medal draped around their necks. That kind of heart and dedication go a long way, more so than the amount of skill any team might have. At this stage, all seven teams I mentioned above are loaded with skill, so what better motivating factor to block a shot or lay a thunderous check, or even just want to muck the puck out of the boards more than your opponent is there than to do it for a teammate you want to see go out in style?
Talent took all these teams to where they are right now; heart will take them the rest of the way. Whoever has more of it wins, plain and simple. Canada may have lost today, but the road to Olympic gold should still go through the host country for whomever wants it badly enough. Now the games count for real.
Mike Loomis is a freelance video editor in Cincinnati who has become "useless around the house since the Olympics started." Follow him on Twitter at @Loomis2.