Monday, February 25, 2002
Roenick: 'Awesome hockey team' beat us
By AL STRACHAN -- Team Sun
SALT LAKE CITY -- One of Team USA's most outspoken players before the game was one of its most gracious after it.
Jeremy Roenick was so excited on Saturday that he said he wouldn't be able to sleep that night.
He said he was confident that the Americans would win the gold medal hockey game against Canada.
Yesterday, as he was intercepted on his way to congratulate the Canadian players, he confirmed that he hadn't slept and that the loss had been hard to take.
"It's disappointing, yes," he said, "but on the flip side, we lost to just an awesome hockey team.
"We're not going to take away from anybody's accomplishments.
"It was a dream matchup, one that all of us were so excited to be a part of. I know I was so very proud to be a part of it. Unfortunately, we didn't come out victorious, but I think if we're going to lose to anybody, to lose to Canada, probably the best team in the world, helps ease it a little bit."
There is a strong American-Canadian rivalry in the United States, but it is built on an underlying respect, a point that Roenick stressed.
"We have a lot of respect for them," he said, "not that we showed it tonight. They played a wonderful hockey game, very smart defensively."
Even though the result was not what Roenick had expected, he was able to look at the larger picture.
"I had a blast being a part of it," he said.
"I respect the players who are on that team. If you had told me years ago that I'd be playing in an Olympic gold-medal game against Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman and guys like this, I would have told you you were out of your mind. So I'm going to store it away and never forget my experience, that's for sure.
"It's unfortunate that we lost, but we didn't lose to a bunch of scrubs. We lost to the best players in the world, bar none."
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2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
