Its been four long years since the Vancouver Winter Olympics, when Sidney Crosby broke the hearts of every American hockey fan when he scored the game winning overtime goal on Ryan Miller that gave Canada the Gold Medal, and handed the U.S just the silver medal. It was much of the same for the Women's team. They also fell to Canada in the gold medal game four years ago, as Canada won 2-0 in a very hard fought game by both sides.
It's no secret that the Canadian Men's and Women's teams have both had the upper hand on team USA in recent Olympics. Not only did Canada sweep in the goal medal games in 2010, they also did the same in 2002 in Salt Lake City, taking the gold over the Americans in both games.
Motivated by the past and potential talks that this will be the last Olympic games to feature professional hockey athletes, both teams will look to upgrade from silver to Gold medals in what's sure going to be a memorable Olympic tournament.
On the Men's side, team USA is placed in group A with Russia, Slovakia, and Slovenia -arguably the toughest group in the tournament. Outside of a tough group A and rival Canada, Sweden, and the Czech Republic all have the talent to compete for the goal medal. The Americans have to deal with Russia who will be a tough outing, especially with the fact the Russians will have the home ice advantage. The Russians may have a weak defense compared to other teams in the tournament, but they are locked and loaded up front on offense. Whoever the goalie will be for the Americans in that game, it will take a tremendous effort and consistency out of the USA defenseman, to contain the Russian snipers. Slovenia and Slovakia are also two tough teams that will not be easy to get by. On paper, team USA has the much better roster in both these games, but these games will be must wins if the Russian game on home ice proves too much to handle for the Americans. If the United States can finish top 2 in the group, they will earn a berth into the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they could possibly play Canada at any point.
Team USA will be lead by Captain Zach Parise of the Minnesota Wild, alongside others such as Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) Dustin Brown (Los Angeles Kings) and Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild). The team also consists of three New York Rangers with Ryan Callahan, Derek Stephan and Ryan McDonagh. The strength of team USA looks to be in the net. The pairing of Jonathan Quick and Ryan Miller will be a huge advantage for the U.S if they have any chance at the gold, especially early in the group stage to try and stop the high offensive powered Russians. The gold medal is something the U.S players can certainly achieve. Head coach Dan Bylsma is a very intelligent coach, who makes the most of his players. With him leading a team that's hungry for gold into battle, it's almost expected of the Americans to make it out of the group stage as contenders.
Schedule for team USA Men
Thursday Feb 13: USA vs Slovakia (NBCSN) 7:30 AM
Saturday Feb 16: USA vs Russia (NBCSN) 7:30 AM
Sunday Feb 17: USA vs Slovenia (NBCSN) 7:30 AM
With the women's team, team USA is as usual, considered as one of the top teams to compete for the gold, along with rival Canada. The American girls have come out swinging to begin the tournament, with two wins over Finland (3-1) and Switzerland earlier Monday morning in a 9-0 effort. The big test has yet to come to these american girls. Team Canada is also placed in group A with them, and the two will be playing each other this Wednesday, with the winner most likely to win the group and have an easier opponent in the cross-over stage. Obviously this game is more than just a group game with two points on the line. The rivalry between the Canadian and American women is just as fierce as the rivalry between both men's teams. They flat out hate each other. In fact the two women teams played each other in a preparation Olympic friendly match back in December... and let's just say that it wasn't very friendly. The game ended up in a brawl and with a U.S. 4-1 victory.
There is a very good chance these two teams ease through the Semi-Finals and meet for the Gold medal once again.
The U.S women's team has not won gold since 1998. If it were ever an opportune time to end their Gold drought the may have to take down Canada twice in the process. They are lead by Head Coach Katie Stone, who is the first female to coach the U.S Olympic Hockey team in any Olympic competition.
NBC has shown great coverage of the games so far, and with the best yet to come with the Hockey games, it will be a exciting finish.
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