2010 Winter Olympics Ends on a Bang: Canada's Hockey Team BeatsTeam USA 3-2

The Winter Olympics came to an end yesterday, but not before perhaps the biggest event of the Olympics ended in a thriller.

Before the day began, USA was in pursuit of breaking the medals record for any one country in the Winter Olympics. However, that wasn’t the only record in pursuit of that day.

Canada, in their backyard, was trying to break the record that they had tied the day before for the most gold medals for any one country in the Winter Olympics.

Everyone in America and Canada turned their TVs on to watch one event yesterday.

It was not to see if their respective countries broke the medal records. America was not tuned in to watch them total the most medals in a Winter Olympics since 1932.

Both of these countries were tuned in for the biggest hockey game of the year. USA versus Canada, the game lived up to the hype.

USA had beaten the mighty Canadian team just a week before 5-3, but now this game had a whole new meaning. Americans enjoyed watching flashbacks to Lake Placid, when USA played a bunch of college kids and beat all the teams of the world for the gold 30 years prior.

Canadians didn’t care about the previous 13 golds the country had won prior to this event. The only one that mattered was the Dream Team the Canadians had on the ice taking on their most bitter rival USA.

The game itself was a thriller.

Canada went up 2-0 by the middle of the second period. Goaltender Ryan Miller knew that a 3-0 lead would be too insurmountable for the US to make a comeback. Another goal would not pass him in regulation time.

Ryan Kesler jump started the US in the second period by getting them on the board. The lead was cut to 2-1 and the US were skating hard and fast, attacking the Canadians.

Both teams fought hard and put all they had on the line for the gold medal. The third period only had a minute left with the score still 2-1 in favor of Canada seemingly that they would just hang on for the win in the final minute.

Then just like the miracle on ice 30 years earlier, Zach Parise scored with 24 seconds left in the game to tie it and send it in to overtime.

Everyone in America screamed for joy as the puck off of Zach Parise’s stick hit the back of the net. USA had a chance for gold heading into overtime with all the momentum on their side. 

There was 10 minutes of hard hitting hockey played through overtime without either country seemingly gaining an edge.

Finally Sidney Crosby, the young Wayne Gretzky, got a clear shot on net and it slipped by Ryan Miller’s stick side.

Americans sat in disbelief feeling this is not the way this fairy tale story was supposed to end. However, America still had to feel proud and keep their heads held high, after all team USA wasn’t even supposed to Medal and they nearly beat the best team in the world.

It was a classic finish to a great two weeks of Winter Olympics.