USA Hockey Blows It On Olympic Stage

After running rough shot through the first round, and first two games of the medal round of the tournament, the US Men's Hockey team couldn't get the job done and bring home a medal at the Olympics. In fact, the US Women had the same trouble in the Gold Medal game against Canada, but we will touch on that in a little bit. The Men's Hockey team had been scoring like crazy through the first four games of the tournament, but in the final two games, when it really mattered the most, they just couldn't get the job done.

The Men's Hockey team had no trouble scoring at all in the first four games they played, scoring 7, 2, 5 and 5 goals respectively. Then they ran into a brick wall in Cary Price and were shutout, 1-0, in the semifinal against Canada. Then they met Finland in the Bronze, looking really snake bitten, getting shut out again 3-0.

Phil Kessel led the tournament in scoring with eight points on five goals and three assists. He and NHL teammate James van Riemsdyk powered the US offense. The team could score at will, but by the time the medal round rolled around they offense decided not to show up at all. Now the goaltending and defense looked good. Jonathan Quick played very, very well in the tournament. Sure Quick was beat a few times in games, but Quick was able to keep the team in the games. Ryan McDonagh too did a very good job at the blueline to keep the other teams off the board, for the most part. And lets not forget about TJ Oshie becoming an unsung hero in the tournament, especially in the opening round game against Russia in the shootout. So going into the game against Canada in the semifinal,. everything looked good for the United States.

Then the wheels fell off. They played pretty well against Canada but were unable to solve Price in the Canadian net. There was a bit of an effort in that game, but it wasn't enough. Then against Finland in the Bronze medal game, the team just plain no-showed. There was no effort at all from anybody. Patrick Kane missed twice on the penalty shots, there was just no real pressure at all against Tuukka Rask, who was in net for Finland. They had their foot on the gas pedal during the early part of the tournament and it was taken off when it matters most, which shouldn't happen. The US needed to keep the pedal on the medal and they didn't do that.

Same thing can be said for the United States Women too, It happened both times for the Women when they played Canada in the tournament, both in the preliminary round and in the Gold Medal game. The US had leads in both games and couldn't hold them, finishing with Silver for the Women. They had the same problem as the guys, they took the foot off the gas and let up. There was no way the USA should have turned their back on a team, which is what they did against Canada. Had they kept Canada back on their heels, it would have meant Gold. But they took the foot off the gas, allowed Canada back in the game and the rest is history.

It was embarrassing for both hockey teams, the way they played on the national stage. Sure they gave their time to represent their country, and sure it's not really about winning and losing. How the US went about trying to finish the job was tough to watch. Had theyr eally left it all on the ice, then I wouldn't have this sour taste in my mouth.