It was the weekend that Canadian hockey fans didn’t see coming.
Two Olympic gold medal hockey games featuring Canada vs the USA.
Two games ended with a score of 2 to 1.
Two Olympic gold medal games won by the USA.
One country in total disbelief, twice.
The only thing not known for certain is whether Canadian beer sales slumped or jumped as Canadians sought solace in their suds.
Canadians have always believed that hockey is “our game,” as framed by a failed former prime minister. Canadians are certain that hockey was invented in Canada, and although there is evidence that a hockey-like game was played in the Netherlands in the 1600s, Canadians are credited with developing the modern game of hockey as far back as the 1870s.
But enough brooding and hand-wringing.
It’s not like the Canadian teams just rolled over and let the USA teams win. Both the women players and the men can hold their heads up high. They weren’t outplayed; they were out-chanced.
In a tight contest, the women fired 31 shots at the USA goalie. The USA had 33 shots on the Canadian goal. Very close, as was the final score, 2 to 1 for the USA.
The Canadian men took it to the USA team, dominating in every aspect of the game and out-shooting the Yanks by 42 shots to 28.
The Canadians were robbed of victory by the incredible game turned in by the US goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck, who, when he’s not backstopping the USA Olympic team, is the chief puck stopper with the Winnipeg Jets.
It was a historic performance, and Hellebuyck is being hailed as the Secretary of Defence in the USA, a title he certainly deserves, with the Americans winning in overtime, by a score of 2 to 1.
It was only one weekend in the lives of Canadian hockey fans and players, so let’s look at the big picture.
Canadian women’s teams have won five Olympic gold medals and 13 World Championships.
The US women’s teams have won three Olympic gold medals and 11 World Championships.
Canadian men’s teams have won a record nine Olympic gold medals and a record 28 World Championship titles.
The USA men’s teams have won three Olympic gold medals (the one on the weekend was the first in 46 years). The teams have also won three World Championships.
What should also be mentioned is the reaction by the US news media. More than winning the gold medal was the fact that their two teams beat the Canadians, which shows the tremendous amount of respect the media has for the Canadian teams.
Beating Canada has for decades been the number one goal of the USA Olympic organization, and this year, they did it.
It was only one weekend in Canadian hockey history, and at the end of the day, those with the most gold are the winners.
And most of the gold is north of the border.