USA Vs. Canada: Round One to The Yanks, What's Next?

All right ladies and gentlemen on Bleacher Report, it's time to face the facts. The USA men's ice hockey team, that blend of promising youth and veteran leadership mixed in, left 19,100 partisan Canadians in stunned silence (save for a few USA hockey fans), winning 5-3 in preliminary action at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

And no, this isn't a typo or some cheeky effort to attract a false sense of security. The USA defeated Canada on home ice. Not very often do you see a favored side in Team Canada, led by Sidney Crosby, falter against a team that very few expect to realistically earn gold.

At the same time, the numbers could be ominous.

• These Games mark the 30th anniversary of the USA's surprise gold-medal performance  at Lake Placid. Monday will mark the 30th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, the 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union.
• The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games also mark the 50th anniversary of the USA's first-ever gold medal at Squaw Valley. Monday will mark the beginning of the medal rounds for the States during the 1960 Winter Olympics.
  I wanted to go ahead and point out something interesting: On this day, the USA defeated Australia 12-1 in preliminaries. Australia does not have the best ice hockey team (and they do have a national side and accompanying program), but they are not the worst in the world (the IIHF has four divisions [World Championship, Division I, Division II, Division III]; the "Mighty Roos" [as they are called] compete in Division II) and they certainly should be commended for competing in the Olympics. I hope to see them back again one day.

Whether or not this will turn the momentum in the USA's favor remains to be seen. But now I begin to wonder: will Canada get their revenge? Surely both women's sides will meet in the gold medal or bronze medal game (unless the Swedes and Finns throw a monkey wrench in the plan).

A Canadian victory (and I would be remiss not to think that Canada, led by Meghan Acosta and Hayley Wickenheiser, will cruise past Finland and pull off a decisive victory over their southern neighbors if all goes according to plan) could set up a rubber match if both men's sides meet each other for a medal on the 27th or 28th to close out the tournament.

The possibility of Canada and the USA meeting three times in this tournament will be tantalizing. Surely if you are a Canadian, you have to be sick to your stomach after seeing this. And the urge for revenge will be on the minds of many of a Canuck tonight.

There are a number of hurdles to jump and a lot of opponents that can ruin the hopes for Canadian redemption heading into the medal rounds. There could be one final showdown, two final showdowns, or none at all.

But regardless of how things play out, you can be certain that revenge will be coursing through the veins of the men and women of Canada tonight.