Saturday, February 23, 2002
Road paved with gold
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Ottawa Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- Team Canada has given itself a golden opportunity.
Trying to win gold at the Olympic Games for the first time in 50 years, Team Canada locked up a spot in tomorrow's final with a 7-1 victory over Belarus on what turned out to be an emotional afternoon at the E Center.
Now, exactly 50 years to the day the Edmonton Mercurys won gold in Oslo, this group of assembled NHLers will try to bring home the title.
"We've all played Game 7, we've all played in Stanley Cup finals," said Canada's Theo Fleury. "We've played games all year long. We know how to play in close games. All we wanted was that one chance to win the game and we've got it.
"You look around the room, and any one of our guys could be that guy who breaks open the game. The emotion is going to be high, the butterflies will be there. To be here, and be a part of it is really something special. We always say in a one-game showdown anything can happen."
Unlike the Swedes, who suffered a shocking 4-3 loss to Belarus Wednesday, Team Canada didn't give the opposition much of a chance, with assistant captain Steve Yzerman leading the charge.
He opened the scoring for Canada at 6:05 of the first period, and later added two assists. Belarus tied it at 1-1 when Martin Brodeur couldn't handle a shot from Ruslan Salei, but that's where its offensive thrust was stopped.
Paul Kariya, Eric Brewer, Scott Niedermayer, Simon Gagne, Eric Lindros and Jarome Iginla had one goal each.
"We just keep finding ways to win," said defenceman Rob Blake. "We know what the people are thinking at home and we know the pressure is never away up there until you win. That's what we're focused on.
"We're playing for a gold medal and that's what we wanted. They're going to be pretty excited at home and everybody is going to be behind us. We don't have to change anything. We just have to keep improving."
After starting off the tournament with a 5-2 loss to the Swedes, the Canadians have been slowly, but surely, building. However, they must step it up another notch for tomorrow's final.
"The guys have played together in situations like this a lot and they know what it takes to get the job done," said Yzerman. "This is something that has been building since that first camp in Calgary (in September). We've been moving closer to this.
'GOOD BUNCH OF GUYS'
"This is a good bunch of guys. We're relatively quiet guys we haven't really got any flashy personalities. What we have here are people who want to get the job done. The one thing we did well in this game was score timely goals. That's going to be good for us."
Coach Pat Quinn talked about the passion Canada has for the game and he knows Canada will not be truly satisfied now with anything less than gold.
"I don't know that we'll win (tomorrow), but we'll be there," said Quinn. "That can be an awful albatross carrying the hopes of our nation because somehow in Canada, we expect more. It's nothing but gold.
"That's the way it is in Canada. If we can somehow get the job done, then it will be a terrific thing for the country and all the proud Canadians, but more importantly for these athletes because they're the ones doing the job."
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2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
