Wherein We Flog a Dead Draft Animal

An excerpt from a piece by the world's best hockey writer... Sean McIndoe... writing about yesterday's gold medal game:

The Linesman

With a faceoff deep in the U.S. zone and six Canadian attackers on the ice, the stage was set for one of the most bizarre moments in recent hockey history. The Americans won the faceoff, but Canada quickly gained control and sent a pass back to the point for Catherine Ward.

And then — and there’s really no other way to describe this — Ward was hip checked by a linesman. Even that doesn’t really do the play justice, because the whole thing actually unfolded slowly enough that you had the chance to mumble, “Wait, what the hell is she doing?” The linesman even looks over her shoulder at one point, but she just keeps backing up, eventually colliding with Ward and giving Kelli Stack a chance to whack the puck out of the zone.

The incompetence was borderline comical, until you realized the puck was still going. And going. And it kept on going, agonizingly slowly, all the way down the ice toward the empty Canadian net and the goal that would clinch the gold medal for Team USA.

Madness Scale: 10/10. I’ve watched that play 100 times and still cannot believe it happened.

The Post

@Guyism

Madness Scale: ∞/10. If you saw that happen in your kid’s peewee game, you wouldn’t believe your eyes. It happened in the final minutes of a gold-medal game.

You really should read the whole thing.  I mean REALLY.

And now it's time to stress-test our poor old heart again... The US and Canada men's teams play in about ten or 15 minutes.  Let's hope the outcome is better today.

USA!  USA!!  USA!!!

Update, 1210 hrs:  It's just not our time... Canada 1, USA 0.  The Canadian defense was too strong for USA's offense and Carey Price was stellar in net.  The best Team USA can do in these Olympics will be a bronze medal... IF they beat Finland.

We shall now adjourn to the verandah for a beer or three and a cigar.  Damn.