What was anticipated by most Canadians to be the best game and the biggest rivalry in the 2010 Winter Olympic Men’s Hockey Tournament was all that and more.

With one exception, Canada didn’t win. They lost to the United States 5-3.

Just hours before the 30th anniversary of the miracle on ice, where the United States defeated the dominant Soviet Union in the 1980 Lake Placid, N.Y., games, the U.S. team pulled off another somewhat improbable victory over the Olympics’ host nation.

Amidst what was described by most players as the most hostile atmosphere that they had ever encountered as a professional athlete, the U.S. found a way to win.

The jubilation in the crowd was extinguished less than a minute after the start of the game, when the U.S. put in its first goal and took the lead, which it never relinquished.

The Canadians came into the match highly favored. The host nation had bigger names, bigger players and bigger expectations. Yet, the Americans still found the victory.

The Americans were beat in most of the categories except the one that counted, the final score.

They overcame the raucous crowd and left the arena which had been chanting Canada, Canada was in stunned silence when the final horn sounded. 

A team of no-names, even to the most savvy of NHL fans, beat some the games elite, on their home ice.

This loss has cast a significant shadow over the games for the Canadians who consider anything less than gold for their hockey team, a failure.

The Canadians are not out of the medal contention, but their road to get there is more difficult than the Americans. The host nation will have to play an extra game and will likely face another medal contender in Russia in the second round of the playoffs. All of this happened because a scrappy U.S. team showed up the best team in the neighborhood.

The slogan for the Americans through the Olympics has been “Be Brilliant in the Basics,” and that is exactly what they have been throughout the tournament.

This tournament, which few have seen due to its relegation to an NBC affiliate and not the main station, has shown some of the best that the sport of hockey has to offer.

At the end of these winter games, the popularity of hockey will probably not increase but the history of the United States Hockey team will have another incredible story to tell. There is no greater story of American sporting triumph than the miracle on ice. While, this victory may not be in the same class as the victory from the 1980 games, this victory adds another chapter to the incredible story of U.S. hockey in the Olympics.

 

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The Hilltop Views’ column, ‘Bench Warming,’ appears every other week in the sports section and is written by Co-Editor-In-Chief Bryce Bencivengo.