Sunday, February 24, 2002
Hockey-mad Canada adds to pressure
By BRUCE GARRIOCH -- Sun Media
SALT LAKE CITY -- Tom Poti makes his home in Canada but he's red, white and blue all over.
Preparing to face Team Canada today in the Olympic gold-medal game, the Edmonton Oilers defenceman pointed the finger north of the border when it came to discussing who would be facing all the pressure.
"They're going to get a whole lot more pressure than us. They lose and they're going to have the whole country questioning their every move.
"Hockey is everything to them. They don't have anything else up there," said Poti.
"Sure, people in the United States would be upset if we lost but not to the extent that they would be up there.
"We did pretty well by winning the World Cup in 1996 and we'd like to get the win for the USA (today)."
A Boston-area native, Poti has been the subject of plenty of trade speculation in Edmonton all season.
He knows that every newspaper in Canada and talk show today will be about who is going to win the gold medal.
"I know first-hand what's going on because I play up there," said Poti. "They're definitely feeling the pressure of the whole nation to bring the gold. The people there don't want them to bring back anything else.
"This is going to be a good matchup because this is the game that everybody in the world wanted. Everybody is anticipating this. We're looking forward to playing Canada and we love being a part of this."
For his part, Poti said half-hearted barbs were traded in dressing rooms across the NHL before the games.
"We love to talk about this stuff and we love to say that we're going to beat Canada and they love to say that they're going to beat the United States.
"Really, though, it's all in good fun," said Poti.
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2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
