Not quite a miracle, but still great

Tonight the US Mens' Olympic hockey team beat Team Canada on their own turf by a score of 5-3.  I'm very excited about that!  In international hockey competition, Canada is nearly always the main rival of the US.  Getting a win over the likes of Scott Niedermeyer and Jarome Iginla is just superb.  If this US team keeps playing well, a medal could be in store.  Perhaps even a gold medal.

The game itself was quite exciting to watch.  It was very physical, and both goalies had a lot of work to do with all the shots being taken.  It was as good as any Stanley Cup final game I've ever seen.  It really should have been on NBC, but as we've seen this year, NBC can't seem to make any good decisions about anything. 

The 1980 game against the Soviets was the Miracle On Ice, but I hesitate to call this one a miracle.  Both teams are full of great NHL players, the very best in the game.  Canada may have more superstars with brand-name quality, but the US team is younger and has just as much talent.  Not only that, but the expectations for the US team aren't as great as those of the Canadian team.  If the US team plays their game and doesn't mess up too much, they have just as much a chance at the gold as anyone.  Was this a miracle?  No, but it was a really great hockey game that Americans can be proud of.