This year’s 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games have been terrific. From Shaun White’s tricks to Shani Davis’ disappointment in the 1500m speed skate, there has always been action. There are however, some impressive achievements so far. In the Men’s Super G skiing event, a downhill race that requires the athletes to pass between gates, Norwegian A.L Svindal captured the gold, while then-gold less Bode Miller captured silver. A quick pace was set by American Andrew Weibrecht, with many athletes barely missing his pace, until Bode Miller bested his time by three hundredths of a second. Miller’s time appeared to be holding up for gold until A.L, or Aksel Lund Svindal stepped onto the course. At the first checkpoint, Svindal was behind Miller’s time by exactly three tenths of a second, but by the end of the race, Svindal had gained nearly 6 tenths of a second from that point to the finish, winning by .28. This victory proved to be a substantial margin. 

A.L Svindal(middle), the winner of the gold medal for Norway in the Men's Super G Skiing Event.

In the Men’s Combined Skiing, Bode Miller finally fulfilled his quest for a gold medal. After finishing seventh in the downhill segment, Miller made a charge in the Slalom event. With the help of the disqualification of A.L Svindal, the leader after the downhill, Bode managed to capture the long sought gold.

The biggest surprise of these Olympics was the shocking 5-3 defeat of Canada by the United States. Led by defenseman Brian Rafalski (two goals) and goalie Ryan Miller, the undefeated United States team claimed the number 1 seed in the tournament. Miller had an outstanding game; making 42 saves out of 45 shots, in a game where the US was terribly out shot, 45-23. The scoring was started just 41 seconds into the game, with Brian Rafalski scoring on assists from Jamie Langenbrunner and Ryan Suter. Canada tied the game at one apiece with an Eric Staal goal, which was assisted by Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews. Brian Rafalski put the United States in front once again on an unassisted goal.

Ryan Miller, a tough goalie to get through. Before entering Team U.S.A he was playing for the Sabres.

Dany Heatley tied the game at 2-2 in the second on a goal assisted by Jonathan Toews and Shea Weber. Chris Drury added a goal assisted by Bobby Ryan and Dave Backes late in the second period to give the United States a 3-2 advantage going into the final period. In the third period, Jamie Langenbrunner scored on a power play goal assisted by Rafalski and Suter to make it 4-2 USA. Later in the period, Sidney Crosby scored on a power play goal assisted by Rick Nash and Duncan Keith. With time winding down and Canada in desperation, they emptied the net, giving Ryan Kesler an empty net goal with the assist going to Zach Parise. While the offense was there for the USA, Miller did make some key stops down the stretch, sealing the US’ first victory over Canada in over 60 years.

Team U.S.A celebrates its victory over Team Canada in the 2010 Winter Olympic Mens Ice Hockey.

Authored By – Dave H.