The Winter Olympics were a time of ups and downs, many playing off the hands of American teams poised to take gold or any medal during a high stakes bout. Through the turbulent few weeks that these games have taken place, the American viewing populace has watched as our very own champions fell victim to the younger athletes, many directing their failures at faulty equipment or poor track conditions. We’ve also watched as American men and women swept medal after medal through various events and conditions. Most events bring their own spark to the games, and sometimes there are such clear cut favorites that the medal standings don’t come as much of a surprise. However, this is not true for all events. During these Winter Olympic Games, one of the most intense and emotional sports, except for possibly curling, was men’s ice hockey.
The violence and adrenaline the sport gives to viewers can only be matched by the pure intensity and down-to-the-wire feel of most games. The sport is a testosterone-filled match between two countries on ice and can be held as a prestige status with whoever holds the gold. The US Men’s Ice Hockey team brought the American spirit and fire to the ice this year as they arrived at Sochi with what would seem to be the best prepared team.
The American team was faced with few easy wins during the qualifying matches and kicked it into overdrive upon entering the final tournament. The team received much needed support after going on an elongated victory over the Russian hockey team which was led into multiple overtimes and ended with a victory that seemed to resound all the way from the Cold War days. The team went on to face off against the Slovenian team and ended with an easy 5-1 victory that led them into the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic.
The team started the finals off with a 5-2 quarterfinal round win over the Czech Republic. The match tossed the American team into a face off with the Canadian team which ultimately led to a Canadian 1-0 win over the Americans during the medal semifinals. This loss took much of the wind out from under the Americans’ wings as they marched on to the Bronze medal finals against Finland. Early into the match the Finnish team took a two point lead and knocked the Americans back. This quick start by Finland disrupted the American team’s cohesion that had helped in previous victories. Without this vital weapon the Americans were left empty handed and the score showed just that. Finland went on to score 3 more times and finished with a 5-0 win over the Americans in what came as a devastating blow to their confidence and knocked the Americans completely out of medal running.
