Monday was the 30-year anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” and the United States was treated to its own modern-day miracle when the men’s Olympic hockey team beat Team Canada on Sunday. But in reality, Sunday’s miracle may be bigger than the one 30 years ago.
Sunday’s win had no outside tension, such as the Cold War and strained U.S.-Russian relations. Unlike the matchup in the 1980s, the United States was given almost no shot at beating the Canadians. What many forget is that there was discussion of whether the Americans could beat the mighty U.S.S.R. But this year, the Americans were just supposed to be a bump in the road on Canada’s way to the gold medal.
What a shock the Maple Leaf faithful and sports world got on Sunday.
There is no debate that Canada outplayed the Americans. Canada outshot the USA, had better special teams and controlled the puck much more than USA did. But still, the Americans deserve all the credit for the win. It is not a question of whether Canada choked, but whether the Americans did what was required better than the Canadians did.
A very misleading stat in hockey is shots on goal. A team may fire off a 100 shots, but if only 10 of them are good shots, then are they really outplaying their opponent? The question needs to be addressed when talking Sunday’s game. Canada had 45 shots and the USA had 23. On paper, it looks as if Canada had complete control of the game, yet they still lost 5-3.
Much of the hockey world has said Team USA would not have won if it were not for Ryan Miller. That may be true, but isn’t Miller part of the team? And as a result, isn’t it still the team’s win if he played well, and others contributed?
The stats from the 1980 game against Russia are eerily similar to those of Sunday’s game. The only one that matters right now is shots on goal, which were 39-16 in favor of the U.S.S.R. There are not many people who would say the only reason the “Miracle on Ice” happened was because of the USA netminder Jimmy Craig. Yet, Miller had almost the same stats, and they are saying he is the only reason Team USA won. Is there really a difference between the two games?
For the upset of Sunday’s magnitude to happen, there had to be a complete team effort. Of course, Miller and Brian Rafalski were the main forces behind the win, but several other athletes directly led to the victory.
Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan are just two of the members of Team USA who may have saved the game for the team. With time ticking away in the final three minutes, Callahan and Drury — members of the NHL’s New York Rangers, and two players many thought shouldn’t be on the team — literally sacrificed their bodies for the win. They must have blocked at least four of five shots in the last three minutes. Not only did Drury throw himself blindly in front of the puck, but he also scored the goal that would give Team USA a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Sunday was the game Captain Jamie Langenbrunner had been waiting for. He had put together solid efforts in the two previous wins, but finally showed up on the score sheet Sunday. On a power-play just under halfway into the third period, Rafalski fired a shot from the point. It looked as if he had scored his third goal of the night. Langenbrunner actually redirected the puck and took what would have been an easy save away from Martin Brodeur and scored the eventual game winner.
No one thought the stars and stripes would even be in the game against Team Canada, let alone score five goals against them. Canada was the juggernaut and the U.S. team didn’t have players with the same talent level as Canada, but no one questioned whether Canada could play together as a team. From some of their games this tournament, it doesn’t always seem like they can.
A lot of their scoring comes from a few players, and the defense does not always seem in sync. Sure, Rafalski has scored a lot of goals for Team USA, but Backes, Drury and Kesler have also scored goals to make it a solid team effort.
Looking ahead, Team USA is going to have to play a near-perfect game if they want to win the gold medal. There is a reason that hockey is a team sport, and that is because it takes a team to win it. We saw just how important playing as a team was on Sunday.
It sounds so cliché, but with teamwork anything can be accomplished. It showed in 1980 with the Miracle on Ice, and if Team USA can keep up the team effort, we may see it again this year if the American flag is raised after the gold medal game.
You can reach this columnist at atomlinson@theeagleonline.com.
