It will not be a miracle if the United States men’s hockey team wins an Olympic gold medal this weekend in Vancouver. But it will still rank as one heck of a surprise.
First, the Americans must deal with a Finland team that is overlooked at almost every Winter Olympics, yet almost always finds a way to medal. Then comes a likely rematch with Canada, which woke up with fury Wednesday night by dispatching the powerful Russians, 7-3. So what does the United States have to do to beat one very good team in the semifinals and then the tournament favorite on its home ice?
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Not much different up front. The Americans are a difficult team to play against — a group that just knows how to score dirty goals. They park their big bodies in front of the net, mess with goalies’ sightlines and punch home any pucks that come their way. Of the 13 American forwards, only Dustin Brown has yet to register a point and even he’s played pretty well. It’s not a team that can match the offensive talent of Canada. But, by scoring goals that way, it doesn’t have to.
The United States is familiar with Finland, the team it lost to in the quarterfinals in Torino. Seven different players have scored at least one goal for Finland, which employs a crash-and-bang style similar to the United States. Canada is another story, though. It won’t overlook the Americans after a 5-3 loss last Sunday and its play against Russia was frightening. Obviously, U.S. goalie Ryan Miller needs to stay sharp. In front of him, both young defensemen Jack Johnson and Eric Johnson have played well — so far. They average 18 minutes per game and rank third and fourth in time-on-ice on the American blueline, respectively. But neither has played a minute in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The first Canada game was one thing. The gold medal game will be played at an entirely different level. Are they ready for that?
