Finns blank USA for bronze; American collapse complete

Sochi,  Russia -- Teemu Selanne and Jussi Jokinen tallied in an 11-second span early in the second period and Tuukka Rask stopped 27 shots, as Finland claimed yet another bronze medal thanks to a 5-0 decision
over the United States on Saturday.

Selanne scored twice -- presumably ending his Olympic career with 24 total markers -- for the Finns, who claimed bronze for the fourth time since 1994. Jussi Jokinen, Olli Maatta and Juuso Hietanen added a goal each, with Lauri Korpikoski and Mikael Granlund adding two assists apiece.

The 43-year-old "Finnish Flash" is getting his well-deserved due after completing his sixth Olympiad, as Anaheim Ducks teammate and USA defenseman Cam Fowler stated after the crushing loss: "If there's one guy on the planet I feel happy for after losing a game, it's him."

"You're not going to see that," Selanne said when asked if he could hold out four more years for South Korea. "Obviously it was a huge disappointment, losing last night (to Sweden), but we bounced back today. It was 27 years ago that I played my first international contest for Finland. I'm proud that I got to play all those years for my country."

Rask's shutout, his first of the tournament, was aided by stopping a pair of Patrick Kane penalty shots.

Jonathan Quick was left in for all five goals on 29 shots for the Americans, who saw the promise of another shot at a gold medal dissipate thanks to back-to-back scoreless outings.

It was a similar finish as the surprising 1992 Team USA squad, which shocked the world by reaching the semifinals, only to finish fourth after consecutive losses to the Unified Team and Czechoslovakia.

"We lost 1-0 in the semifinal to Canada, and it erased the 20 goals before," said USA head coach Dan Byslma of the sudden power outage.

Selanne put his country ahead with a backhander from the left side at 1:27 of the second period, then Jokinen flipped home a rebound from the high slot only 11 seconds later to provide Finland a commanding 2-0 edge.

That seemed to break the American team's spirit.

The United States has yet to medal away from North America since taking a surprise Silver in 1972 at Sapporo.

“They played like they had something to win, and we just shut it down,” said US captain Zach Parise.

The last gasp for Team USA came less than five minutes after Jokinen's marker.

Kane's stick was shattered by a Leo Komarov slash on a breakaway, and provided yet another chance in alone on Rask with 6:24 played. The dynamic Chicago forward came up empty once more, clanging that chance high off the right post.

It was 3-0 for the Finns at the end of a Kane tripping minor, when Hietanen beat Quick on a shot through a screen with 6:10 elapsed in the third period. That score capped a clinic by the Finns in puck possession, showing how tight a unit these international veterans were compared to their NHL counterparts.

Selanne struck once more, on a subsequent Finnish advantage, to make it a four-goal margin just after the nine-minute mark. He stood in the slot and one-timed a Granlund feed inside the left post.

Maatta added a power-play marker with 6:51 to play that accounted for the final margin.

The best chance to snap the deadlock in a scoreless opening period came when the USA was awarded a penalty shot with 6:20 remaining. Veteran Finnish defenseman Kimmo Timonen flipped a broken stick towards Ryan Kesler during a scoring chance.

Rask had the right post sealed off, but Kane, who was tabbed to take the uncontested chance, lost control of the puck and slid his opportunity wide.

There is one more hockey game on tap, Sunday's Gold-medal tilt between defending champion Canada and the upstart and undefeated Swedes.

Double disappointment: Canada beats USA once more

Sochi,  Russia -- Jamie Benn supplied the lone goal of the contest  at 1:41  of the second period,  and Canada earned the right to defend its gold medal thanks to a 1-0 decision over Team USA in Friday's semifinal of the Sochi Olympics.

Carey  Price  turned aside all  31 shots he faced  for the Canadians, who will take  on Sweden  in Sunday's title contest. The Swedes advanced earlier Friday with a 2-1 victory over Finland.

"A lot of people expect us to be there, and expect us to just show up in the final and have a chance to play for the gold medal," said Canadian forward and Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. "But we knew it was going to be a lot of work, a lot of effort and a lot of adversity to get there."

Canada,  which topped  the U.S. in a memorable overtime contest four years ago in Vancouver to claim gold, reached the Olympic final for the fifth time since 1992.

Jonathan Quick made 36 saves for the Americans, who must regroup quickly for a matchup with the Finns in Saturday's bronze medal tilt.

The  United States,  which has a checkered history on the international stage, suffered  its  first  shutout  loss  in the  Olympics  since  falling  5-0  to Czechoslovakia on Feb. 8, 1976.

"We're coming home with a bronze medal. After we put this loss behind us we'll be back to do that," said a defiant USA head coach Dan Bylsma following the game. That would be a tough thing to accomplish, as America hasn't collected a third-place medal since 1936 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Quick,   the  LA  Kings'  starting  goaltender,  was  beaten  only  once.  Jay Bouwmeester  unleashed  a low, hard  shot from  the left point which skittered into the slot and was redirected home by Benn for the winning margin.

Canada  improved to 4-1 in Olympic action against its southern neighbors since NHL players began competing in 1998.

USA  defenseman John Carlson released the first quality chance for either side at  the six-minute  mark of the scoreless opening period, but Price stayed put in  his  crease to glove down  the rising shot  with traffic sliding in to his right.

Quick  was sharp  with 16 saves in  the game's initial 20 minutes, while Price was  good  on 11 shots.  Both nations  misfired on their respective power-play chances.

Following Benn's marker, the Americans failed to convert two subsequent power- play opportunities, and couldn't dent Price on 11 more shots during the middle frame.  Quick was  equal to the other 11  pucks he faced to keep it a one-goal margin.

Canada  couldn't expand its  edge on a hooking call to Phil Kessel just before the  midway point  of the  third period,  but its  defense did  an expert  job keeping its foes away from the middle of the ice.

Chris  Kunitz  had a golden opportunity  to expand the Canadians' lead when he was  left alone in  front of Quick, but pushed his rebound try wide of the far side with 5 1/2 minutes to play.

Due  to Canadian forechecking pressure, Quick wasn't summoned to the bench for an  extra attacker  until  less  than a  minute  remained,  and the  Americans couldn't reward his effort with an equalizer.

On Thursday, Canada's women snagged its fourth straight Gold with a thrilling comeback 3-2 overtime victory against America's top females. 

Heartbreaker: Canada rallies past USA in OT for Gold

Thanks to UPI

Sochi, Russia -- Marie-Philip Poulin netted the tying score late in regulation and the winning goal on a power play 8:10 into overtime as Team Canada bested Team USA by a 3-2 count in a thrilling gold-medal contest in front of 10,639 fans at Bolshoy Ice Arena on Thursday.

The deciding advantage was created when Hilary Knight was called for a questionable cross-checking minor when taking down Hayley Wickenheiser on a clean breakaway roughly 7 1/2 minutes into the extra session.

Under current NHL rules, what looked like a simple hook as Wickenheiser had a two-stride lead easily would have been called a penalty shot. The call was initially just that, then rescinded to a simple minor penalty.

"I think it is no different – officiating, developing players, developing programs – the game is growing by leaps and bounds," USA head coach Katey Stone said. "The speed and pace of the game is tremendous. It is a great, great product. We have to make sure that every part of the game operation, the game management, is developing at as fast a rate as it possibly can."

Laura Fortino received a pass from Haley Irwin as the Americans scrambled to shift their defense, leaving Poulin alone on the left side to hit the Gold-medal winning shot into an open net.

"This is the best feeling ever. It's like a dream come true," Philip said. "This was a team effort. We never gave up, and now we know what all that hard work was for."

The dream also appeared out of a nightmare for Canada head coach Kevin Dineen, who began this season as head coach for the Florida Panthers but was fired on November 8 and then named to his current post on December 17. 

"Sometimes one door closes and another one opens. I don't know how that all works out," Dineen admitted. "I haven't read the manual on where I go from here. It's a little bit of a left turn to take on this job. As I told my players before the game, the first time I met with them, I couldn't wait to get on the ice with them. In the last two months, I think I've become better at what I've done."

Brianne Jenner got the rally from a 2-0 deficit going for the Canadians, who have won the title four straight times and have come away victorious in 20 straight contests on the world stage since losing to Team USA in Nagano 16 years ago. 

Meghan Duggan and Alex Carpenter lit the lamp for the USA, which claimed its second straight Silver against its northern neighbors and medaled for the fifth time in as many Olympiads.

After missing out on a pair of power-play chances in the opening period as Canada attempted to take the body, the Americans took control in the middle frame.

Duggan finally snapped the scoreless deadlock with 8:03 remaining in the period, when her rising shot from the left circle settled inside the far post through a screen of multiple players.

Despite the lead, America began to take some liberties and paid the price. Team Canada enjoyed 32 seconds' worth of a 5-on-3 advantage starting with 5:46 to play, but failed to capitalize on either end of the advantage thanks to the USA's shot-blocking acumen.

Team USA picked up a crucial insurance goal at the tail end of its first power play of the third period, when Knight's hard pass to the right post was tipped home by Carpenter for a 2-0 game at 2:01.

Things got interesting with 3:26 on the clock, as Jenner cut through the offensive zone and her deflected shot fluttered past Jessie Vetter to make it 2-1.

Shannon Szabados was called to the bench for an extra skater with more than 90 seconds left, and a try to the empty net from center ice by Kellie Stack skittered off the left post with 1:24 to play. That came back to haunt the hosts, as Vetter failed to properly knock a puck away from her crease and Poulin capitalized with 54.6 seconds to play.

"That's how you knew it just wasn't meant to be," said Stack, who nonetheless will return to Boston College, which took the Beanpot and clinched the Hockey East regular season title. "The puck literally missed by an inch. We have to keep telling ourselves that everything happens for a reason and if we were meant to win it, it would have gone in."

Szabados came up with 27 stops, while counterpart Vetter stopped 28 shots but not the most important one. 

Earlier in the day, the Bronze medal went to Switzerland, which fell behind Sweden by two goals in the first period but stormed back to win, 4-3. Jessica Lutz provided the game winner with 6:17 left in regulation, as the Swiss medaled for the first time in Olympic competition.

USA rolls its way into a semifinal against Canada

Sochi,  Russia -- James van  Riemsdyk,  Dustin Brown  and David  Backes  tallied in a three-goal  first period, as the United States put 32  years of frustration to rest and gained a spot in the semifinals thanks to a 5-2 decision over the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

Zach  Parise and  Phil Kessel also lit  the lamp for the Americans, who hadn't beaten  the Czechs  -- or  its previous  incarnation as  Czechoslovakia --  in Olympic play since 1980 and will face Canada in a Friday semifinal.

"This was certainly one I think we all wanted and possibility looked to," U.S. head coach Dan Bylsma said. "You don't want to get ahead of yourself. We knew we were going to have some big games prior to this point in time, but you were looking forward to the possibility of this rematch and now we have it in the semifinals. I know our group and our guys are ready for it and looking forward to it. We certainly had to win some hockey games and do well before this point, but now we have the rematch with the Canadians."

The  defending  gold medalist Canadians  squeaked past  Latvia, 2-1, on a late power-play marker from Shea Weber. Their path through the USA got a little bit tougher when it was revealed after the game that Joh Tavares will not play for the remainder of the tournament after suffering a left knee injury.

Ryan  Suter added three  assists and Ryan Kesler picked up two more helpers to back a 21-save effort by Jonathan Quick.

Ales  Hemsky recorded  both scores for the  Czechs, who came up short in their quest  to medal  for the first time  since taking bronze in Torino eight years prior.

Starter  Ondrej  Pavelec was pulled early  in the second period after yielding four goals on 12 shots. Alexander Salak finished up with 12 stops.

Van  Riemsdyk measured Pavelec from the goal line to the right of his net just 1:39  after the drop of the puck, but Hemsky was credited with the tying score on a scramble in front at 4:31.

Pavelec  was rescued by his post on a Kessel drive minutes later, but the iron was  no reinforcement after  Brown was left alone at the left side to accept a Backes  pass  and score  into a half-open  net to  make it 2-1  for the USA at 14:38.

"There’s a lot of talented guys on this team and I’m on it too," Backes said when asked if it was tough for him to crack the scoreboard despite his team's Olympic-best output.

Backes  sent the Americans to intermission with a 3-1 edge, scoring just ahead of the buzzer by taking a Ryan Suter miss that caromed off the back boards and tucking it home from the right side.

"That goal was the biggest difference in the game," Czech forward Jakub Voracek said of that crucial marker. "There's two seconds to go in the period, we have to make sure we lock it up."

The  end  boards factored  into  the  USA's fourth  goal  of  the contest,  as Joe  Pavelski's  point blast went wide,  but Parise alertly followed up with a chance from the goal line off the carom at 9:31.

Kessel sped to the net and tapped in a long Ryan Kesler cross-ice feed to make it  5-1  for the USA and  officially welcome Salak  to the game just after the two-minute mark of the third.

Quick  was finally beaten again on a blistering drive from Hemsky from between the  circles  with seven minutes to  play, but the seasoned Czechs had nothing left for a comeback.

Friday's other semifinal features a rematch of the 2006 title game, with Sweden and Finland battling for supremacy. The Swedes took down Slovenia, 5-0, while the Finns banished host Russia with a 3-1 decision.

USA and Canada to battle for Gold

Sochi, Russia -- There was clearly no looking ahead for the U.S. women's hockey team.

The Americans accounted for the first 26 shots in their semifinal against Sweden and rolled to a 6-1 victory, earning a spot in the gold medal game on Thursday against Canada.

Alex Carpenter, Kacey Bellamy and Amanda Kessel scored to stake the Americans to a 3-0 lead before the Swedes even registered a shot against U.S. goaltender Jessie Vetter late in the opening period.

The United States outshot Sweden by a whopping 70-9 count in the rout. Monique Lamoureux, Megan Bozek and Brianna Decker also scored for the Americans, who haven't won gold since women's hockey made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Games in Nagano.

Canada, which advanced on Monday with a 3-1 win over Switzerland, lost to the U.S. in the 1998 title game, but has since won the last three Olympic gold medals, beating the Americans in the championship game in 2002 and 2010.

"We're very pleased and taking the moment to recognize where we're at and what we're going to be playing for on Thursday," said U.S. head coach Katey Stone. "Again, we're building here and the best is yet to come we hope."

Sweden has just one victory in 28 meetings with the U.S., but it was a big win -- a 3-2 shootout triumph in the 2006 Olympic semifinals. The Americans gained a measure of revenge four years later with a 9-1 rout of the Swedes in the 2010 Olympic semis.

Anna Borgqvist was credited with the lone goal for Sweden late in the contest, spoiling Vetter's shutout bid. Vetter finished with just eight saves.

Valentina Wallner started in net for Sweden and was pulled after yielding five goals on 47 shots. Kim Martin Hasson turned aside all but one of the 23 shots she faced in relief, including a penalty shot by Jocelyne Lamoureux late in the third.

The Americans grabbed a 1-0 lead on a power play. Kelli Stack carried the puck through the offensive zone along the right wing and circled behind the net before firing a pass into the slot for Carpenter, whose shot was headed wide but deflected off the skate of a Swedish defender and slid into the net.

Bellamy increased the advantage just 1:06 later when a blast from the left point eluded a screened Wallner, and Kessel chipped in a rebound from the left side of the crease with 8:41 remaining in the period to make it 3-0.

The Swedes took a timeout after the third goal and had a couple of chances on the power play late in the period, but managed just one harmless shot.

An interference penalty on Sweden's Pernilla Winberg early in the second period led to Monique Lamoureux's power-play goal, and Bozek's point blast slid under Wallner with 7:43 left in the second for a 5-0 cushion.

Wallner was pulled soon after.

The Swedes finally snuck a shot past Vetter, as Borgqvist deflected an Emma Eliasson point shot into the back of the net with 6:56 remaining.

The Americans had a hard time beating Martin Hasson, who made a nice pad save on Jocelyne Lamoureux's penalty shot attempt. Lamoureux tried a spin move in front of the crease and Hasson kept the right pad extended to turn aside the backhand attempt.

Martin Hasson finally yielded a goal with 3:02 to play when Decker's shot from the slot rang off the crossbar and Swedish defenseman Emilia Andersson inadvertently kicked it into her own net.

Sweden will play Switzerland for the bronze on Thursday.

"We have the most important match for a medal left now, so we just have to give 100 percent there," Winberg stated.

The Swedes placed fourth in Vancouver after winning Silver at Torino in 2006. Switzerland, win or lose, will see its highest finish in Olympic history. 

USA 3-0 after win over Slovenia, gets second seed

Sochi, Russia -- So much for the lime green menace.

Phil Kessel recorded a natural hat trick, including two goals in the first five minutes of the contest, while Ryan Miller stopped 17-of-18 shots in his first start of these Olympics in Team USA's 5-1 decision over Slovenia on Sunday morning.

The Americans earned themselves a bye in qualifying, finishing play in Pool A with a 3-0 record. They will be out of action until the quarterfinal round, which plays all of its four games on Wednesday.

Ryan McDonagh and David Backes also lit the lamp, with Joe Pavelski contributing three assists to the winning effort.

Marcel Rodman scored for the Slovenes, with Luka Gracnar allowing all five scores on 28 shots in the loss. Anze Kopitar, the star player for the tiny country from the former Yugoslavia, did not finish the contest. Kopitar's father, the nation's head coach, stated his son left the game due to a stomach issue and went to hospital for blood tests.

It was all Kessel from the get-go. He opened the scoring at 1:04, by taking a Pavelski pass, swooping around a defender and scoring through Gracnar's pads. He provided a two-goal margin with 4:33 played by batting a Pavelski feed out of the air and into the net, then completed the trifecta at 11:05 of the second by sliding in the rebound of a Pavelski chance.

That was the first hat trick by an American since John LeClair unleashed his fury in a 6-0 win against Finland on Feb. 15, 2002.

McDonagh pushed the Americans' edge to 4-0 only 72 seconds later with a laser to the top corner and Backes lit the lamp 3:26 into the third.

The USA snagged the second seed after Finland-Canada moved beyond regulation.  They will take on the winner of the Battle of Bohemia between the Czechs and Slovaks. Canada posted a 2-1 overtime victory and took the three seed, with the Finns ending up fourth.

USA beats Russia in SO; win not without controversy

Sochi, Russia -- The host Russians wanted this game badly, for top seeding in Group A, for bragging rights over their rivals, and to dispel any notion of a collapse after barely beating Slovenia in their Olympic opener.

What they got was a loss as bitter as it was controversial.

T.J. Oshie eventually beat Sergei Bobrovsky in the eighth round of a shootout, as Team USA claimed a 3-2 victory over the host nation on Saturday morning, but it shouldn't have gotten that far.

Late in regulation, Quick was following the direction of play when he slid across his crease and slammed feet-first into the right post. Using his glove as leverage, on the pushoff, the net came off its moorings slightly as that peg was dislodged, not enough for officials to blow play dead.

Seconds later, Fedor Tyutin appeared to give Russia a 3-2 advantage with a long shot, but the goal was waved off after Quick motioned to the loose peg and officials ruled in the Americans' favor.

Sergei Bobrovsky was not affected by that setback, as he kept the game even with a spectacular save in overtime with Patrick Kane roaring in alone.

In the shootout, Oshie was leaned on six times, scoring four. His final shot was the game-decider, helping Quick -- who made five saves in the game's final segment -- pick up 29 stops in regulation for his second straight win. Ilya Kovalchuk, who measured the Kings' goaltender twice previously, planted his final shot into Quick's glove ahead of Oshie's forehander.

Quick was helpless, as was the American defense, to stop Pavel Datsyuk on a breakaway up the middle for the first goal of the contest at 9:15 of the second period. Cam Fowler evened the score on a power play, sneaking into the right side to tap in a James van Riemsdyk feed at 16:34.

Pavelski provided the Americans with a 2-1 lead just prior to the midway point of the third period, rifling home a fade-away one-timer off a pass from Kane.

The hosts struck to tie, though, just over three minutes later as Datsyuk fired away from the bottom of the right circle and beat a screened Quick.

Preliminary-round play concludes on Sunday morning with Team USA taking on Slovenia and Russia facing Slovakia.

USA A-OK in first-ever victory against Slovakia

Sochi, Russia -- For about 62 seconds there, we should have been worried.

That's how long it was in between Tomas Tatar's tying goal early in the second period and Ryan Kesler's go-ahead marker which put the Americans up for good.

In all, Team USA used a six-goal blitz in the middle frame and rolled to a 7-1 victory over Slovakia in their Olympic opener on Thursday morning.

It was their first-ever victory against the relatively new nation. Slovakia managed to tie the USA, 3-3, in its first time out in Lillehammer, and beat the Red, White and Blue in 2006.

Paul Stastny scored twice in the burst, while David Backes, Phil Kessel and Dustin Brown all lit the lamp. John Carlson added a first-period marker and Jonathan Quick stopped 22 shots in his Olympic debut, showing the same kind of hot hand he possessed for the LA Kings since returning from injury.

Kesler struck at the 1:26 mark, set up by Patrick Kane for an easy one-timer which beat Blues netminder and Slovak starter Jaroslav Halak.

It was 3-1 for the USA at 2:32, when Stastny was left alone in the slot to pick up a Max Pacioretty rebound, then Backes provided a three-goal margin with 8:16 played on a power play when he was credited with a final whack at a loose puck at the right side of the Slovakian net that slipped just inside the far post.

Stastny then rushed the net from the left-wing side and poked a long cross-ice pass from Kevin Shattenkirk through Halak's pads, chasing him from the contest at 13:30. Peter Budaj was then rudely welcomed into the contest as Kessel beat his man to the right post and tapped in a Kesler dish only 50 seconds later.

Brown positioned himself perfectly in the slot to take a Carlson dish and whip it home to cap the scoring with 4:43 remaining in the second.

Halak ended up allowing five scores on 25 shots, and Budaj stopped 6-of-8 chances the rest of the way.

Dan Bylsma's team faces host Russia on Saturday morning, and then ends pool play against Slovenia. The Russians took down Anze Kopitar's home nation by a 5-2 count earlier. Finland also opened up its Olympic slate with an 8-4 decision against Austria.

Carlson put his nation on the board first, trailing behind Kessel on the rush and one-timing a slapper under the crossbar from the right wing with 5:33 remaining in the opening period.

Slovakia's goal was not without controversy. Marian Hossa intercepted a clear about a foot outside the blue line, but edged closer to the zone without hearing a whistle. He eventually flipped the puck ahead to a waiting Tatar, who weaved from right to left and beat Quick high to the glove side.

The seven-goal outburst was the most for an American Olympic squad since its 8-1 triumph over Belarus in qualifying play on February 18, 2002 at Salt Lake City.

Almost There: 1992 US Men's Olympic Hockey Team

What took six games and 10 days to build up, came crashing down in the span of two 60-minute segments in less than 48 hours.

The surprising USA men's hockey team were on the cusp of medaling for the first time since striking Gold with a memorable performance on home soil at Lake Placid in 1980, but in Albertville 12 years later, the Red, White and Blue couldn't get over the hump against a pair of nemeses from behind the former Iron Curtain.

In the semifinals, it was a 5-2 defeat to the so-called "Unified Team," a mish-mash of "amateurs" who would have competed under the Soviet banner if it hadn't been for the slow process of Communism's fall leading to the inevitable breakaway and independence of its satellite nations. Within two years, 18 members of that team would see action in the NHL -- many of those jumping right into the league after leaving the French Alps.

The bronze-medal game wasn't even close. A pre-Velvet Revolution Czechoslovakia team -- which, ironically, only featured four soon-to-be-NHLers -- whipped the Americans by a 6-1 count. It prevented our boys from medaling on foreign soil for the first time since winning Silver in Sapporo in 1972, a dubious honor which still stands as the 2014 roster prepares to compete in Sochi.

Still, for almost two weeks, it was a glorious ride put together by an unlikely squad built from the U.S. college game and some choice NHL talent not under contract.

Led by Dave Peterson, Team USA was placed in Group A for the 1992 Winter Games in Southeastern France. Its record against NHL, college and other national teams in the season's worth of exhibitions was 17-31-8, and Peterson drew fire for the seemingly endless parade of players and roster combinations leading up to the tournament, that little was expected.

"The big trick is to get into the village healthy and well, and the peaking takes cares of itself," Peterson said in defiance of expectations. "I like this team."

It looked to be a cakewalk, even for a team which was trying to elevate itself from a seventh-place finish in Calgary four years prior -- and it was. The only threat, besides themselves, to reaching the medal round was Sweden, the Bronze winners in 1980, 1984 and '88. Finland, Italy, Germany and Poland rounded out the group, and the USA got right to work.

Game 1 kicked off on February 9 against the Italians. Under new rules created to aid lesser-qualified nations against the traditional powers, if a player or his spouse had any type of ancestry from a certain country, he would be eligible to play. That's how Bill Stewart, Bob Manno and Frank Nigro, all born in Canada but having Italian blood course through their veins, ended up playing for that squad and former Penguins head man Gene Ubriaco ended up behind the bench. It didn't help, though, as America scored four straight times in the third period after trailing 3-2 and triumphed by a 6-3 count, led by Tim Sweeney's goal and two assists.

"I told them to put a smile on your face. We have 20 minutes to get one. When we get one, we'll get the next one. Let's win the game and have some fun with it," Peterson said to his charges who faced that deficit after blowing a 2-0 lead.

Ray LeBlanc then posted his first shutout of the tourney, blanking Germany thanks to 46 saves in a 2-0 decision two days later. That 2-0 start equaled the best for the Stars and Stripes in pool play since 1960 in Squaw Valley. The Finns were next, boasting a certain current Anaheim Duck on his professional farewell tour, but fell victim to the USA, 4-1. Former Pittsburgh Penguin Scott Young stoked the offense with a pair of goals and LeBlanc made 29 more stops as the USA reached the medal round for the first time since 1980.

"Everybody on the team is excited with what's going on, but we also have to take things in perspective," said Young, who played on the doomed '88 squad. "No matter if we're first, second or third, we could still be eliminated in the first game of the medal round because of the new (single-elimination) format, so we can't get too high."

LeBlanc worked his magic once more in a 3-0 whitewash of Poland, but the Swedes rallied to post a 3-3 tie in the final contest of Pool play. That undesirable result was made all the more bitter when ex-NHLer Mats Naslund put defenseman Greg Brown out of the game with a questionable check. It resulted in Peterson failing to meet his counterpart for the postgame handshake, yet only prevented a clean sweep for Peterson's charges. Team USA finished atop Group A with a 4-0-1 mark, tying Sweden and Finland for the highest goal differential at plus-11.

They did, however, allow the fewest goals in preliminary round play of all nations with seven. That was a dagger to the hearts of critics who panned Peterson's run-and-gun style that created defensive issues in Calgary.

Host nation France, which boasted such luminaries as Patrick Dunn and Yuha Ylonen due to the lax membership restrictions, was next up in the quarterfinal round.  In the crossovers, the first-place Americans were paired with the fourth-seeded French and the USA kept rolling with a 4-1 victory.

Up next, was a date with a old foe, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"People who have never seen a hockey game remember 1980," USA forward and team captain Clark Donatelli said to the Baltimore Sun. "We have to live with that. Everyone always remembers that gold medal. Now, we want to win a gold medal. And if we do win it, it will be just as great a miracle."

By the end of a 5-2 defeat against the erstwhile Soviets, it would have been a miracle for the Americans to stop complaining. Gold medal hopes dashed by falling back on the old crutch of crying conspiracy.

"The team worked awful hard all year, and it's a shame to let an official take it away in the third period. I don't know who's in charge of picking the refs, and I don't know how they can let this happen," groused Donatelli. "Five penalties in the third period. You can't come back from that. The NHL All-Stars couldn't do it. The Swedes got us. Their hockey team couldn't beat us, but their ref surely did."

Sven Erik Sold was fingered as the main culprit which turned a 2-2 game in which the Americans admittedly were scuffling, into a runaway for the other side. The only truths that can be proven was that the Unified Team claimed a 55-18 shot edge, five straight penalties were called against the USA and that Andrei Khomutov, Yuri Khmylev and Evgeni Davydov beat LeBlanc to salt away the victory.

"I think the American players were tired," said Vyacheslav Bykov to the LA Times. "That's why they were holding and hooking, because of fatigue. We were never worried when it was 2-2. We controlled the play." The Unified team then went on to beat Canada, featuring an 18-year-old Eric Lindros, to win their final Gold to date.

Everything exploded against the Czechs. America's stout defense gave up 47 shots and six goals, looking like lost children playing pond hockey against their savvy opponents who plied their trade on the Olympic sized (200x100) ice sheet. It was a shooting gallery from the start, as LeBlanc had to contend with 24 first-period shots, only letting chances from Frantisek Prochazka and Tomas Jelinek through. Kamil Kastak put his nation up 3-0 early in the second and LeBlanc finally earned a seat on the bench when Jelinek connected for his second of the night with 2:38 gone in the third.

Ted Drury provided the only answer for the USA at 6:55, beating Petr Briza on a slow shot, but Scott Gordon was victimized twice in a span of 2:11 later in the frame on soon-to-be NHLer Robert Lang, who provided the five-goal margin.

"That early lead they got shook us up," forward Joe Sacco said. "We thought if we got one early in the second, we could come back. But we can't complain. The Czechoslovakians capitalized on their opportunities. We really expected to win the bronze tonight. Everybody thought we would. We didn't come out with a medal, but fourth place is not bad. Once we get over our sadness, I think we'll all realize that."

Response to the unexpected fourth-place finish was immediate.

LeBlanc, the standout star for the Americans, earned a call-up to the Blackhawks. He won his only NHL start, stopping 21 shots as Chicago beat expansion San Jose, 5-1, on March 10. By the end of the 1991-92 season, Mantha was back in the NHL thanks to a five-game stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, while Bret Hedican (Blues), Scott Lachance (Islanders), Ted Donato (Bruins), Steve Heinze (Bruins), Shawn McEachern (Penguins), Marty McInnis (Islanders), Sacco (Maple Leafs), Tim Sweeney (Flames), Keith Tkachuk (Jets) found places in the Show. Scott Young returned to the NHL the following season with the rejuvenated Quebec Nordiques.

America has seen a mixed bag abroad since then. Its last team without the benefit of professionals, two years later at Lillehammer, did a lot of tying and losing en route to eighth place. In '98 at Nagano, they broke chairs instead of records and finished fifth, one slot below Canada. Torino saw perhaps the weakest batch of pros to wear the tricolors, who slid all the way back down to eighth.

The 2014 squad has a lot of wiggle room between a Silver in Vancouver and the depths of Northern Italy.

Poile won't head to Sochi after all

If Team USA is going to compete for a medal in Sochi, it will have to do so without its principal architect.

USA Hockey announced on Monday that David Poile, the GM for America's entry in the men's hockey tournament, will not make it to Russia.

"He's back in Nashville with great care," said Jim Johansson, Asst. Executive Director of Hockey Operations. "It's just not advisable for him to come to Sochi with everything he has to deal with. Saying that, he is still our general manager."

Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero, who was tabbed as the USA's assistant GM under Poile, will be heading to Russia in Poile's stead.

The  Nashville  Predators announced  this past Friday that Poile underwent successful procedures to fix facial damage suffered in a freak accident the day prior.

Poile  was standing near  the benches at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul during his  club's  morning practice  session, when he  was struck in  the face by an errant  puck.  He had damage  to his nose and  eye repaired, and also received stitches for a facial laceration.

The  63-year-old, whose prognosis was good, put his original travel plans to leave for Sochi with the rest of the USA players on hold, but was expected to make his way to  Russia  at some  point.

Team USA, which is seeking its first medal on foreign soil since 1972, opens  up its schedule on Feb. 13 against Slovakia.

"As I told the team today, knowing how much passion, time and effort he has put into putting this team together it’s disappointing for David and for us that he can’t be here,” Shero stated."He’s still the general manager of this hockey team and over the last few days even when he was in Minnesota at the hospital before he left I was in touch with him in terms of the roster and will continue to be. I’m looking forward to his continued involvement and he is still the general manager of this team."

Team USA women's Olympic roster revealed

The following players, announced between the second and third periods of Wednesday's Winter Classic, will represent the United States at Sochi just about five weeks from now:

Lee Stecklein
Monique Lamoureux
Megan Bozek
Meghan Duggan
Julie Chu
Brianna Decker
Anne Schleper
Kelli Stack
Jocelyne Lamoureux
Lyndsey Fry
Gigi Marvin
Hilary Knight
Kacey Bellamy
Michelle Picard
Josephine Pucci
Alex Carpenter
Kendall Coyne
Amanda Kessel
Brianne McLaughlin - G
Molly Schaus - G
Jessie Vetter - G

For full bios and information, hit the link.

America's women have medaled in every Olympics, winning Gold (Nagano, 1998), Silver (Salt lake, 2002 and Vancouver, 2010) and Bronze (Turin, 2006).