Showdown Sunday!

A few more minutes on Friday night and it very well may have been a very different match up this final Olympic Sunday in Vancouver, Slovakia which for all intents and purposes looked relegated to the Bronze medal game by midway through the second period, battled back and provided some nervous moments for Canadians, coming within a goal post or two of sending Canada into overtime and whatever fate that might have portended.

In the end, Canada's path towards the gold medal game remained in view, a furious final two minutes testing the faith of the heartiest of Team Canada fans but with a victory in hand, the stage was set for Sunday afternoon at the Canada Hockey Place.

Where two of the fiercest rivals in sport today will once again renew acquaintances,  as the USA and Canada join battle for Olympic gold.

Canada with twin visions of a hard fought loss to the Americans one week ago combined with the knowledge of just how fast that American attack can lay waste to long sought dreams (ask Finland) will need to summon up every last second of desire and seek to contain an American squad that can match them for speed, physicality and all important goal tending.

Not since a little border skirmish called the War of 1812 has there been this much attention generated towards the meeting of these two nations. The prices for tickets for Sunday's showdown going well beyond Super Bowl benchmarks, the price of a suite at Canada Hockey Place listed at 138,000 dollars enough for a sizeable dent on a mortgage in many Canadian cities (in some an entire house), individual seats range anywhere from 15,000 to 1,000 dollars depending on how close you wish to be to the action.

For Team USA the quest is clear, come out fast knock the Canadians off their game and frustrate their gameplan execution at every instance, the Canadians who were found frequently in the American zone last Sunday have but one ambition, put puck behind Ryan Miller.

It was Miller who last Sunday stymied the Canadians, leaving them to shake their heads by games end sending their coaches to the video room to try and unravel the mystery to the back of the net, expect more traffic in front on Miller on Sunday afternoon, hoping to reduce his vision on those howitzers from the point,  looking to bounce in rebounds if such a thing is provided.

For Canada's Roberto Luongo, this is the shot he's been shooting for, the opportunity to lead his country to gold on their own ice, in his very own rink, the script could not be any more fascinating for a finale.

We've been treated to some fascinating hockey over the last thirteen days, the speed of the game amazing, the passion from the players riveting, the drama of the results mesmerizing.

It is only fitting that the final act of these Vancouver Games should bring together two so similar teams, two teams that play the game in the same style, with similar values and the same passions, Wednesday Canada was treated to another chapter in a storied rivalry with Russia, a game that exorcised many of the past demons of Canadian hockey   built up over the decades.

Sunday, a rivalry that has grown over the decades as well will resume, not bitter enemies but respectful rivals, with a shared joy of the game and a equal desire to be top of the heap. It should be a most memorable afternoon with which to bring down the curtain on Vancouver's showcase to the world.  

Globe and Mail-- It's Canada-USA again, for all the bragging rights

Globe and Mail-- Canada hasn't been as Crosby-centric as predicted

Globe and Mail-- Goalies have the game - and the gold - in their hands

Globe and Mail-- Luongo gets his shot at gold this time

Globe and Mail-- Canadian fans embrace rivalry with United States

Globe and Mail-- Babcock: 'Olympics more intense than NHL playoffs'

Globe and Mail-- United States looking to make history versus Canada

Globe and Mail-- Americans ready for clash in hostile conditions

Globe and Mail-- Luck could play a role in Canada-USA hockey game

Globe and Mail-- USA vs Canada: The rubber match

National Post/CBC-- Pressure game for Canada, U.S.

National Post/CBC-- U.S. is all that stands in Canada's way

National Post/CBC-- Might want to make sure it's actually Ryan Miller next time

National Post/CBC-- Babcock wants win, not miracles

National Post/CBC-- Staal 'thrives for these situations'

National Post/CBC-- Scouting the gold medal game

National Post/CBC-- Ron Wilson says he has nothing to prove

National Post/CBC-- Canada will win 5-3, predicts Don Cherry

Toronto Star-- Cox: Luongo, Miller joust one for the ages

Toronto Sun-- Babcock bracing for big game

Toronto Sun-- Canada doesn't want to see another Miracle

Boston Globe-- US built a team top to bottom

Boston Globe-- US-Canada, Part 2: This time it's for hockey gold

Boston Globe-- Thomas delighted by debut

New York Times-- U.S. and Canada in Fight for Olympic Hockey Gold

New York Times-- Narrating Canada’s Quest for Gold in Men’s Hockey

Detroit Free Press-- Pressure is on Canada at Games' end

Detroit Free Press-- It's no miracle if U.S. beats Canada

Detroit Free Press-- All the emotion surrounding USA vs. Canada makes game one for the ages

Detroit News-- Lunch-bucket Americans have nothing to lose vs. Canada

Detroit News-- Heading to the U.S.-Canada hockey game? It'll cost ya!

Detroit News-- Youngest U.S. hockey player raising Kane

Chicago Tribune-- Kane having time of life at Olympics

Chicago Tribune-- Breaking down the U.S. vs. Canada

Chicago Tribune-- What’s on the line? Just everything

Chicago Sun Times-- USA vs. Canada: Scouting the men's hockey final

First posted to the HockeyNation blog 

Fifty years of ghosts chased away in one night

Wednesday nights total domination of the once feared Russian hockey machine provided no shortage of instant therapy for the ever anxious Canadian hockey fan. For those with particularly long memories, Wednesday night's victory brought to an end a fifty year drought in Olympic hockey, giving Canada it's first victory over a Russian squad since the 1960 Olympic games, the unofficial beginning of the long running Cold War of the ice.

Beyond soothing the jangled nerves after last Sunday's disappointing loss to the USA and a too close for comfort match with the Swiss earlier, Canada's 7-3 victory in the quarter final has finally put down those undercurrents of panic among the Canadian fan.

Canada's performance on Wednesday was about as perfect a game as one could ever hope to find, the first twenty of the sixty minutes among one for the ages as the Canadians came rushing off the opening face off, leaving the Russians reeling by the end of the first period.

Line after line played the body, took the shots, made the passes and absorbed and delivered the hits, a text book example of all that Canadians hold dear when it comes to how they want to see the game played. For a bonus as though to remind the hockey world that reports of our demise were premature, Canada finally found it's scoring touch after a preamble of games had proven to be more frustrating than instructive.

If Hockey had the knock down count, the game would have been over by the mid point of the second period, a wobbly Russian favourite clearly overwhelmed by the onslaught. The names of the stars of the NHL silent on the scoresheet and on the ice as Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk were all but invisible, contained and dominated by Canada's forwards and defencemen who shut down some of the most impressive names on paper, who couldn't bring all that potential to the ice when it was needed the most.

Canada's ability to shut down the powerful Russians while turning on the offence should banish the talk of "what's wrong with our game" for at least a few years now, such is the faith that Team Canada has shown towards it's rising stars in this tournament, many of whom played a key role in Wednesday's victory.

It was a night for a complete team to shine, from the youngest of players eager to show that the decision to select them to the team was a wise one, while the oldsters on the squad reaffirmed the faith of Steve Yzerman with their own stellar performances.

The speed of Team Canada was astounding, the hits punishing,  those twin pillars of Canadian hockey played in a fashion that found favour with the Canada Hockey Place crowd who came perhaps nervously ready to party and by games end once again had dreams of Gold medals dancing in their heads.

There's no doubt that Canada saved their best game for when it was needed the most, when survival was on the line, and now two more dates with destiny beckon, each offering the chance for reward or the bitter bile of disappointment, from Wednesday night's performance the early money should be on reward.

The night brought a team together as an imposing unit with a clear mission in mind and focused on how to get there. At the same time, it was a night that united a country in revelry, reassured that all was well in the land from where the game has come.

When the television numbers come in, we suspect that CTV will find that they controlled the nation's television sets for a good chunk of time, a captive audience more engaged with the night as each of Canada's 7 goals lit up the scoreboard.

Canada next plays the Sovakian squad on Friday night a 6:30 start in Vancouver, over confidence at these times is a as dangerous an opponent as the one on the ice, but one gets the impression that Canada has learned that lesson from the early rounds, with the realization that only with hard work, dedication and an adherence to our style of play, will a gold medal be provided for the homefront medal case.

That work ethic was in full view on Wednesday, we expect nothing less than a repeat performance on Friday and if all goes according to plan, another on Sunday afternoon when a gold medal will be but sixty minutes away.

Globe and Mail-- Canada thumps Russia to advance to semifinals

Globe and Mail-- A game for the foot soldiers

Globe and Mail-- Boyle puts aside Olympic nerves in big game

Globe and Mail-- On a rare night, Canada gathered to watch one game

Globe and Mail-- Canada can't afford to overlook Slovakia

Globe and Mail-- No pressure on dangerous Slovakia in semifinal

Globe and Mail-- Luongo makes the best of his golden opportunity

Globe and Mail-- Loss to Canada ends rough Olympics for Russia

Globe and Mail-- The noise and the glory

National Post/CBC-- Still much work to be done

National Post/CBC-- Team Canada will strike gold: Cherry

National Post/CBC-- KHL players not to blame for exit: president

National Post/CBC-- Canada flattens Russia in Olympic hockey

National Post/CBC-- Russian president may cancel Vancouver visit

National Post/CBC-- A compelling, convincing victory

National Post/CBC-- This is the team we were waiting for

Toronto Star-- Canada comes at Russia like ‘gorillas coming out of a cage’

Toronto Star-- Young: Slovaks have Canadians' attention

Toronto Star-- Slovak hockey success a well-kept secret

Vancouver Sun-- As juniors and as men, Crosby and young Canadians pursue greatness

Vancouver Sun-- Canada breaks a 50-year-old Russian curse

Vancouver Sun-- Team Canada dominates in win over top-ranked Russia

Vancouver Sun-- Weber makes Ovechkin vanish, Russia folds shortly after under pressure

Vancouver Sun-- Russians reduced to rubble in a hurry by 'Energizer bunnies'

Vancouver Province-- Opportunistic and dangerous, Slovaks can’t be underestimated

Vancouver Province-- Canada handily defeats Russia 7-3 in Olympic men's hockey quarterfinal

Vancouver Province-- Just as hockey-mad as Canada, or more

This item first appeared on the Hockey Nation blog