Olympic coverage (the Hockey part of it!)
Loonie lunacy
By Shawn P. Roarke | NHL.com | Feb. 24, 2002
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WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah -- Now, Canada is really loony for the loonie.
It seems Canada's distinctive dollar coin played an integral part in Canada's 5-2 defeat of Team USA in Sunday's gold medal game at the E Center.
To hear Wayne Gretzky, Team Canada's executive director, tell it, the loonie was Canada's secret weapon. It seems that some enterprising Canadian on the ice-making crew buried the coin at center ice at the start of the tournament in an effort to bring his country luck at the Salt Lake City Olympics.
It certainly worked.
Canada wins the gold
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Friday, the Canadian women's team ended its futility streak against the American women, winning the gold medal game, 3-2, after going 0-8 against Team USA in pre-Olympic play. Team USA also upset Team Canada four years ago to claim gold in Nagano.
Two days later, the Canadian men rode the luck of the loonie to end a 50-year gold medal drought in Olympic ice hockey competition.
Gretzky pulled the now-famous coin out of his Team Canada jacket during the post-game press conference, showing it to the media. After the game, the Canadians dug the coin out of its icy resting place.
"I don't know if the guy is going to get fired, but it was just something nice for him to do," said Gretzky.
Gretzky plans to give the one-dollar coin to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto for display, so it can be seen by all Canadian hockey fans.
Gretzky doesn't gloat
The mixture of players selected by Gretzky and the rest of the Canadian brain trust turned out to be correct.
During his uncharacteristic outburst the day after Canada's loss to Sweden, Gretzky made some pretty bold statements.
At the time, Gretzky said that Canada would be the team left standing at the end of the tournament. Turns out he was right.
But instead of saying 'I told you so' in his post-medal press conference, Gretzky was back to being his gracious self and explained why he stepped out of character.
"I just felt on Monday that our team had taken so much criticism that I needed to take the heat off them and let them relax," Gretzky said.
After losing to Sweden 5-2 in its Olympic opener, the Canadian media was ready to heap scorn upon Gretzky and the players for their performance.
Gretzky essentially set his team on a "Canada vs. the world" course, saying his players were under a lot of pressure and everyone outside Canada wanted to see them lose.
In hindsight, it now appears that the loss to Sweden was a blessing. The Swedes won the group and built early confidence. By winning the group and perhaps being over confident, they set themselves up for their ill-fated quarterfinal meeting against Belarus.
"Whenever you win anything like this, you need a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work," Gretzky said.
As luck had it, Canada got Belarus in the semi's while the Americans matched up against a tougher Russian squad.
The Sweden game also established the leadership ideal within the Canadian dressing. Mario Lemieux and Joe Sakic were able to set an example in a game that wasn't going Canada's way.
"The locker room was really good," Gretzky said. "It was 5-1 in the second period against Sweden and guys like Mario and Sakic set the tone. They didn't just throw their sticks out on the ice, they went out and continued to play hard and set an example."
The mixture of players selected by Gretzky and the rest of the Canadian brain trust turned out to be correct.
"In Canada when you pick 23 guys it's difficult," Gretzky said. "We have so many good players. When you pick a group of 23 guys, we're probably the only country to critique each and every one."
Magnificent Mario
Mario had one assist in Sunday's game, finishing with two goals and four assists. With six points, he finished just one point behind Joe Sakic in the scoring race for Team Canada.
Team Canada captain Mario Lemieux had so much invested in these Olympics, basically sacrificing his health to appear in his first Olympic competition and try to help the Canadians end their 50-year gold medal drought.
Sunday, he received the payoff as a gold medal was draped around his neck by International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel at center ice of the E Center.
Lemieux, who missed a good portion of the National Hockey League season after undergoing hip surgery, was sidelined for Canada's second game of the tournament when the injury flared up again.
But, he returned for the final four games of the tournament, and was dominating at times for the Canadians. Mario had one assist in Sunday's game, finishing with two goals and four assists. With six points, he finished just one point behind Joe Sakic in the scoring race for Team Canada.
But, those in the winning dressing room say it was the intangibles that Mario brought to the table that meant the most in Canada's march to gold.
"For Mario, what a job he did," said Paul Kariya, the right wing on Lemieux's line for the last four games of the tournament. "He provided great leadership. He played two-way hockey out there. It's great for him."
Team Canada's Brendan Shanahan agreed. "He was a great leader for us," said Shanahan. "In a tournament like this, the little things mean so much. Mario was backchecking, taking the body and taking short shifts, all that stuff. When your best player is doing that, it becomes contagious."
Lemieux said throughout the tournament he was willing to do whatever it took to claim that elusive gold.
"My goal was to come here to win a gold medal for my country, and to play with all these great players," said Lemieux. "You don't get that opportunity very many times."
Now that he has accomplished his mission, Lemieux will return the focus to his Pittsburgh Penguins, which are battling for an Eastern Conference playoff berth.
"You know, as I said, whatever happens after this, I'll do my best for the city of Pittsburgh, and, hopefully, I can get the guys back in the playoffs."
Consolation prize
Richter deserved the all-tournament honor. The American goalie went 2-1-1 in the tournament, often saving the Americans from near disaster. He finished the tournament with 2.25 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.
Team USA might have lost the gold medal game, but they dominated the tournament's All-Star team.
The Americans placed four players -- goalie Mike Richter, defensemen Brian Leetch and Chris Chelios and forward John LeClair on the six-man squad. Canadian forward Joe Sakic, the tournament's MVP, and Sweden's Mats Sundin were the only non-Americans to make the cut.
Leetch finished the tournament with five assists and a plus-2 rating. Chelios, Team USA's captain, had just one goal, but led his squad with a plus-6 rating. LeClair was dominant early in the tournament, tallying six goals and one assists. He, however, did not tally a point in the last two games.
Sakic, who had two goals and two assists in Sunday's gold medal game, finished the tournament leading Canada with seven points. Sundin, Team Sweden's captain, tallied five goals and four assists in the four games before the Swedes were upset by Belarus in the quarterfinals.
But, it was Richter who most deserved the all-tournament honor. The American goalie went 2-1-1 in the tournament, often saving the Americans from near disaster. He finished the tournament with 2.25 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.
He was at his best in the two games against Russia, earning a 2-2 tie in Group play and a 3-2 win in the semifinals, but was better than the scoreline suggested in Sunday's final. Richter finished with 34 saves Sunday, and had his team down 3-2 entering the third before allowing late goals to Jarome Iginla and Sakic.
"[Richter] played outstanding," said Ryan Smyth, a forward for Team Canada. "He was flopping around out there and made some great saves. We could have buried them during that 5-on-3 [advantage in the second period], but we couldn't beat Richter."
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