KYLE IRELAND
Sports Writer

If drinking on a Sunday is considered a faux pas amongst certain circles, exceptions will have been made on Feb. 28 as Canada and the United States battled for the coveted Olympic gold in men’s hockey in Vancouver. The stakes could not have been higher in Canada, a country that so readily admits to being obsessed with hockey and whose national identity is so closely tied to the game.

At a Saskatoon bar before the game, dedicated hockey fan Ryan Shook claimed that “if we win this medal it would be on the same scale as the War of 1812, but far, far more important.” By the tone of the comments flying around the bar, he was not alone in his passion.

After one period, the Canadian team was up by a score of 1-0, morale was high and there were beers aplenty as the country of hockey fans sat on the edges of their seats in anticipation of a gold medal. After a bitter defeat to the rival American squad at the World Juniors Tournament in Saskatoon early this year, for this nation of hockey fans, redemption could only come in the form of a gold medal.

After killing off an early penalty in the second period, the talented Canadian team poured it on to take a 2-0 lead with a goal from Corey Perry, who after a slow start to the tournament has no doubt redeemed himself in the eyes of die-hard Canadian fans. Minutes later the bar erupted with the familiar cheers of “Lou!” as the hometown favourite in Vancouver made a clutch save as the Americans looked to answer back.

Just past the midway point of the game, our southern neighbours had something to cheer about as Team U.S.A. replied, cutting the lead in half to 2-1. After 40 minutes, people across Canada were surely beginning to think of unique excuses as to why they would not be at work Monday morning. American goalie Ryan Miller delayed further Canadian celebration when he stoned Sidney Crosby on a clear-cut breakaway with three minutes left in the game. Just over two minutes later with the American net empty, the game reached a feverish pace that saw the Americans scoring the game-tying goal with less than 30 seconds left, increasing the collective blood pressure of our country at least 20 mmHg.

A half hour later, at precisely 2:53 Pacific time, the entire country resonated with screams of excitement as once again Canada captured an elusive gold medal in men’s hockey that to some would surely be as important as the rest of Canada’s 26 medals combined. Fittingly the overtime tournament-winning goal was scored by Canadian poster-child Sidney Crosby, only 22 years old, who now already has a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal to his name. At this point, an American fan at any bar in Canada would have likely felt more comfortable wearing a clown costume at a funeral as people went wild with over-the-top enthusiasm.

For a few hours at least, this country was as unified as it is likely to be at any time in the immediate future. A gold medal could not mean more to a country than this medal did to Canada. Since the roster was announced earlier this year, Canadians have been speculating about exactly how this tournament would play out, and to the nation’s delight, it went (almost) perfectly. The men’s hockey win also pushed Canada to 14 gold medals, a new record for gold medals at a Winter Olympics.

Hockey fans across the country will sleep sound tonight, knowing that Canada has reasserted itself as the most dominant team in hockey, and this time doing it on home ice.

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photo: Flickr