2010 Winter Olympics: The Most Memorable Story Lines from Day 13

The 2010 winter olympics in Vancouver have been every bit as interesting as we could have hoped for. From the dramatic US Means hockey team victory over Canada, to the gold medal from an achy Lindsey Vonn, every moment has had us ont he edge of our collective seats.

So what did day 13 hold in store for us? More intrigue, that's for sure. Once again, hockey took center stage as the US battled Switzerland and Canada faced Russia.

But the drama wasn't limited to men on skates. Come along with me as I travel through the best of day 13...

Intrigue on Ice, Part One: Team USA Wins a Close Battle

Team USA battled the Swiss and following their shocking victory over Canada, the US were ripe for a letdown.

But it was a head standing effort from the Swiss goalie that contributed most to a scoreless first two periods on Wednesday.

But the US recovered in the third, to become the first team to reach the Olympic men’s ice hockey semi-finals with a hard-fought 2-0 win

Zach Parise accounted for all the scoring with a third period power play goal and an empty net marker while Ryan Miller notched the shutout to power the unbeaten Americans to their fourth straight win and a place in the final four.

There were three other hockey games, as well. But the remaining one that mattered most was...

Intrigue on Ice, Part Two: Canada Gets Back on Track

...Russia vs. Canada. The Canadians desperately long for a rematch against the US, but first had to skate past a solid Russian team.

Well, they certainly left no doubt that they are hungry, as they clobbered the Russians 7-3 in Wednesday's quarterfinal.

While nether Alex Ovechkin nor Sidney Crosby had a single point in Wednesday's clash, the victory was critical for the Canadians. It keeps the fans off the ledge for another day.

So the death of Canada hockey has been greatly exaggerated and the US can expect a rematch in the gold medal round potentially.

Perhaps Russian netminder Ilya Bryzgalov said it best.

"They came like gorillas out of a cage."

Unlike our next subject...

Lindsey Vonn Comes Crashing to a Halt

Lindsey Vonn crashed out of the first run of the Olympic giant slalom race Wednesday and injured her right pinkie.

Vonn lost control around a right turn in the middle section of the course, got twisted around, landed hard on her left hip and crashed backward into the safety netting.

“I’m just a little bit beat up right now,” added Vonn, who also fell in the slalom leg of the super-combined last week. “Things don’t seem to be quite going my way.”

Vonn said she was going for an X-ray on her right hand, after which she’ll know if she will race Friday’s slalom, her final event of the games.

Well, at least she did capture one gold medal, so it hasn't been a total lost for the beauty queen of US Olympics.

Mens Curling: Sweden Advances but can anyone beat Canada?

Tied for the fourth and final playoff spot, Great Britain and Sweden squared off for the chance to battle undefeated Canada (9-0) for the gold.

Sweden edged Great Britain 7-6 in a tiebreaker.

Thursday will be a big day for Canadian curling. Skip Kevin Martin enters the semifinals having gone a perfect 9-0 in round-robin play, and his team is in first place. The Canadians will face Sweden,

Sweden also took gold in the men's cross-country skiing relay, so it was a good day for the Swedes.

The Americans, meanwhile, ended the Olympics with a 2-7 record.

US Gets Short Track Bronze, China Gold, After Koreans DQ'd

In the short-track speedskating competition, South Korea crossed the finish line first in the women's 3,000-meter relay Wednesday and was preparing to celebrate when the judges decided otherwise.

The four-time defending Olympic champions were disqualified for impeding, having clicked skates with China just after an exchange with five laps to go.

That gave China its first gold medal in the relay, prompting Wang Meng, Zhou Yang, Sun Linlin and Zhang Hui to jump into the rinkside padding for celebratory hugs with their coaches.

In the excitement, Zhang got cut, causing blood to stream down her face.

The Americans fell out of contention early in the 27-lap race, nearly getting lapped toward the end. But the DQ moved everyone else up, with Canada earning the silver and the United States the bronze.

Intrigue on Ice, Part Three: Finland Earns Shot at Top Seeded US

Jaromir Jagr's return from injury wasn't enough to lift the Czech Republic out of its offensive funk as Finland won the teams' quarterfinal matchup 2-0 on Wednesday in Vancouver.

Finland didn't exactly light up the scoreboard either. Calgary Flames winger Niklas Hagman scored the first goal of the game—and eventual winner—at the 13:34 mark of the third period. Valtteri Filppula of the Detroit Red Wings added an empty-net goal for the final score.

Hagman's NHL teammate, Miikka Kiprusoff, made it stand up with 31 saves for Finland.

With the win, Finland earned a shot a top seeded US.

US Takes Bronze in Bobsled

Canada's Kaillie Humphries has won gold in Olympic women's bobsled, beating teammate Helen Upperton.

The gold was Canada's seventh of the games, putting it in a three-way tie with Germany and the United States.

Upperton was second in 3:33.13 for the silver, and Erin Pac of the United States took the bronze in 3:33.40.

While the USA I team of Shauna Rohbock and Michelle Rzepka were the ones expected to be standing on the podium. But it was Eric Pac and teammate Elana Meyers who medaled.

Pac was hurting, but unlike Lindsey Vonn, doesn't talk about it.