The numbers that will be in every American's head are 3:30. The US Women's hockey team was 3 minutes and 30 seconds away from a gold medal up 2 goals on archrival Canada until Brianne Jenner netted a goal for our neighbors up north and gave them some life. The Canadians then pulled their goalie with about a minute and 30 seconds left and then just a few seconds later a shot from US forward Kelli Stack hit the empty net post and was a matter of inches from clinching the game. Marie-Philip Poulin stole the show and tied the game up with 55 seconds to play. She was the hero last Olympics for that Gold Medal-winning team. The game went to OT and after a few chances that the US couldn't convert they found themselves down 2 players and trying to kill a Power Play opportunity by the Canadians. With some excellent passing, Poplin struck again and sniped a game-winning shot. It was a devastating loss for the US women and they played their hearts out, but Canada just found a way to win. US fans were torn up about this loss, while the Canadian fans were ecstatic. The Canadian/US hockey rivalry will be renewed tomorrow when the men's teams take each other on.
Finland vs. Sweden
7:00 AM
These two teams have been rather impressive and stirred things up in this tournament. Everybody expect Russia to be here instead of Finland, but the Finns upset the fan favorite Russian team. The Finns did well in group play, losing just one game to Canada. They are lead by Boston Bruins' Goalie Tuuka Rask. Rask has played great throughout these Olympic Games. Possibly the best player on this Finland team and the player to watch is Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks. In the win against Russia, Selanne had a goal and an assist. Despite being the #1 seed, this Sweden team has gone under the radar even though they were in a very deep group. Henrik Lundquist has been very consistent this tournament and is tough to score on. This team has been devastated with injuries and has still been playing terrific hockey. They have missed Henrik Zetterberg and Henrik Sedin. However, the Swedes have the other Sedan twin, Daniel. They have gotten a great impact from Carl Hagelin and Niklas Kronwall. This should be a low-scoring affair, and I expect Sweden to pull it out.
Canada vs. USA
12:00 PM
This is a very intense rivalry and when these two teams take the ice it is always extremely intense. This has the makings to be a truly historic game. Canada has relied heavily on Shea Weber this Olympic Games and he has delivered. He has one of the hardest snapshots in the world and will make you pay if you try and block his torpedo of a shot. The hero of the tournament so far for the US has been TJ Oshie. He came up big in the win against Russia scoring 4 times in the shootout to anchor this team to a gutsy shootout victory. This is a revenge match for the US after Canada took the gold from them in 2010 in Vancouver after a Sidney Crosby GW-goal in OT. Crosby is the captain of this Canadian team. This game should be extremely tight and I believe it will come down to goaltending. If it does indeed come down to goaltending, I will take Jonathan Quick (US) over Carey Price (CAN).
