The Hockey News - Greatest Games (USA)
2004 USA VS. CANADA
‘U.S. GETS FIRST WJC GOLD’
Igaagtoh,earnidntHhelspilnaknie,tF’sinbleasntdu, ntoTd’eSr-1250FhRoIGcIkDeyWpINlaTyEeRrsS cmoimghpteyteRuinsstihaen2s0h0a4veWwoorlnd tJhuenipoarsCthtawmoptioounrsnhaimp.eTnhtes yaenadrsthseinCczecahsNtoorothk tAhme etwricoabnefsoqrueatdhast.ruItckhagsoblde,enbustevtehne 2iTn0hH0e4eAlsmWineJkCricpoafincfeksrehsdatvbheyenmceoovnsettripnwueonnndt’itsthsbeteowsftoinrhalodllpyjeudnionioitra.sTlbohunetgyabtrirminvege. a talented group led by star forwards Zach Parise, Patrick O’Sullivan and Ryan Kesler, with Ryan Suter, Matt Carle and tJaomgeetsheWr isnntieerwnastkiioonnaldlyefoernsye.aMrso. st of the team has played Before the World Junior Championship,
MIKE EAVES: (Team USA coach) two years before, we chhaadmwpoinonthsheiwp owriltdhubnadseicra-l1ly8 tpghoeeionpsgaleminketnogetrwhoeuwptoeouhfrabndoayamspe. rSneott,ty good team, and we didn’t sneak up on anybody. People underhstaodobdetehnattothgetghreoru, wp hoaf tptlahyeers hmaadkseoump ewraess, paencdt.I think we nOour eaxspoenctwathiyonwweacsa,nt’htewrein’s
RYAN SUTER: (Team USA defenseman)
idto. Wneebkenfoewre,itbhuat dwneeavlesor bkenenw othfautswheadhapdlaayegdootodgtetahmer. Aonlot different teams when we were calloisttel-ekbniit ygorouunpge. r, so we had a I remember someone saying
ZACH PARISE: (Team USA left winger)
sfaovmoreittheisngoaibnoguint tuostbheintogutrhneaymoeunrto. Bwunt myoinuda,lwthaeyRsuthssiniaknisn Caraengaodinangsto bveioreuasllyagroeogdo. iTnhge to be good.
PATRICK O’SULLIVAN: (Team
Canada’s beTsthpelamyaejrosrwityeroef
USA left winger)
18-year-olds. When you turn tohninthgethTaVt ecvoemreysyoeuart,othf eBofibrst McKenzie’s mouth is, “It’s a f1o9r-ytheearm-oolsdttpoaurrtniatmise. Inpt.”laAyned uinnthilrteheeWthJiCrsd, oande aitnwdaIswn’ats 19 itnhawt hI afetlIt coumldpldeoteolyutcothnefirdee. nt tThheefpavooinrtitbe,ewineg,awll ikthneuws,b“eIfinthgis comes down to what we think it’s going to come down to…”
Team USA lives up to its billing in the round-robin, outscoring opponents 21-4 in four games. rTohuendC-aronbadiniangsamaleso, owuintsceovreinrgy opponents 25-4. Both nations earn byes to the semifinal. The U.S. scrapes by Finland 2-1 while Canada pummels the Czechs 7-1, setting up an epic gold-medal game. Despite being the favorites, it’s tough for the Americans to ignore what the Canadians did in the semifinal. They boast surpoeurniodr sNtaHrLpdorwaeftre, einsclJuedffinCgafirrtsetr-, Ryan Getzlaf and Mike Richards at center and the reigning No. 1 overall draft pick, stud goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
With Canada there’s always…not nerves, but they’re
SUTER:
athlwesaeystotuhrentaemamenttos.bWeaetkinew, if ewnedwuapnbtedattiongwtihne, mwe. ’d need to able semWifeinhaal dgaamneunagbaeilniesvt
EAVES:
Finland in their own country, hbuadt iCt awnasda wtwaor, daanydstlhaetenrw. e Tabhoeuret’pslalywinagysCapnpardeah, ethnesion tshhtiiseltlyouhrnyap,dtrhoaevhierenchkaistottofhraeyt.teWimameew,. aWenrede hTahderteowclaims nbothfeaetlminoguonftoavine.rconfidence at all. last year. TYohueylohoakdabtetahte nlinuesup
PARISE:
tyhoeuykhnaedw. Eavlletnhaetsethgautypsowinetr,e going to be stars in the NHL. So regardless of how the roundrobin went, you still knew these guys were going to be really, really tough to beat. It’s waes’rne’tinasthifewgeoltdh-omuegdhat,l “gOahme, wsteil’lr,e“Wgoei’nvge ntoevdeortwhiosn.” Itthwisas wbeofnorae,baundchth.”e Canadians have
Adding to Canada’s mystique: a budding phenom named Sidney Crosby, who made the team at just 16 and is already being aswttaernmtieodn bdyeisnpteitrenatbieoinnagl mmeodriea than a year away from NHL draft eligibility.
a handfulIohfatdimskeas,tebdutwIidthidhni’mt
PARISE:
really know much about him other than that he was ripping up the Quebec League at the time. I didn’t have a book on him or anything.
There are
BLAIR MACKASEY: (Team Canada
voef rtyhefewoprldayjeurnsioinrsththeahtihstaovrey
director of player personnel)
btheoeungahstyhoeufnitginaswSeidlln. Heye. Ididn’t Whaevewteorebne’taldoomkiningafnotrphliamyetro. dbeidaqduoitmeiwnaenlltinplhayiser.oBleu.t he
He was playing the lgianme,eanindatnhdeyo’udtmoof vtheehfiomurth
EAVES: up and down. He was such a talent, it was undeniable, but wplasyihnigs obnestthfait gstoaingeg,twohberfeor athnadt wteatmch?eSdoowtheewr gearemceusrtious saenedwhohwerehehewwoualsdgfoitining atondplay fhoerlpusthweamtc. hItinwgahsiamn asdvweenllt.ure
The puck drops on the goldmedal game. Canada’s Nigel Dawes and Team USA’s Dan Fritsche
I DON’T THINK THERE WAS A GUY IN THE ROOM THAT THOUGHT WE WERE GOING
TO STORM BACK AND WIN – Patrick O’Sullivan, Team USA
trade goals in a tense first period, but the Americans mostly struggle to generate scoring chances early.
Going into the Fgavmoer,itwee? Mknaeywbewoenwpearpeerg.oBoudt.
O’SULLIVAN:
on game day, we were nervous. That’s why we started the way wthaayt wupeudnidti.l the championship. even trailIedoin’tatghaimnkewalel thhaed
PARISE:
Sf ortuhsa.tWweaswaerdeinff’etrgeenttiwngriankle lot of offensive-zone chances. aWdevehrasditny’turnetaillythfatcegdamaeto. n of
Parise has been the tournament’s most dominant player, but
Canada glues physical shutdown defenseman Dion Phaneuf to him. ing game for me. I was going wPAaRs IoSnEt:hIet wicaes, Pahfarnuesturfawt-as against Dion, and any time I rP, ltahyeiynghadgasionmsteGbeitgozluatf,tChaertee. guys. Our line just couldn’t get anything going.
The Canadians pull away in the second with Dawes’ second goal of the game and another
from Anthony Stewart. They lead 3-1 after 40 minutes, one period away from ending a seven-year gold-medal drought. Things look bleak for the Americans as they retreat to their dressing room.
I don’t think theartethwoausgahtgwuyeiwnetrhe groionmg to O’SULLIVAN:
sNtotrmagabiancskt aCnadnawdian. Tthheagt’asmthee. Imt’esntoatl tehdegreetahsomseugcuhyasshiatve. puslaeydintog bagea, binusttiCt’asninadtiamiindathtiantg ktoidusrntoadmaeyn, th. Iefyywououwledrpertoba-sk aTbhleyytecallnyboeu othverswamheelmthiingg.to ypolauy’raegnaointsetx. pYoeuct’reeddtownin3-1, gthoatltgeanmder, etshpeeychialdly. with the ahseewlse. hWaWedheinawdoentrh’teeprllapayayerindtsgaoosfnwthoeeullr
EAVES:
Ttwoheuartnecsaapmneecbntetcd,oatmnhdemiptaltorotookmfedtuhlceihk.e cathhgeailhnleisntgoaertyweaohmfeCnlaiyknoeaudC’iraenaphdlaoaycaiknegdy. Swoeanfttienr, tahnedstehceonmdepsseargioedwwaes, “bsBeeottnyesor, utwhreabnkensthtoihwso. wTckheecya. Lnheaptv’lesanyg’ot out and show them.”
Mike Eaves looked at mftrooebnaetnwodfastyhaibedet,te“taZemar.”c.hHI,weyootounl’dnt efmoeredgient
PARISE:
that. And he was right.
It was just the familiarity of their relationship.
O’SULLIVAN: I’m not sure the coach of Team Canada can ever really do that, because how well do syaoyuinregatlhlyatktnoo?wNtohtethgautyiyt’osus’ore tworboengretaollsyaysutrheayt,obuu’rteygoouingeed otof sgoemt tehbeordigyhift yreosupsoanystehoaut to Itth’semou. rItb’setshtepglaoyledr-.medal game.
He got right in my face, and it was great.
PARISE:
igtu. yMsi,kaenEdawveswHisoeutrhledealrbleyesptuocsnohdaectdho
O’SULLIVAN:
I ever had, including anybody I had in the NHL.
Eaves juggles his lines, splitting up the trio of Parise, Brady Murray and Stephen Werner, pairing Parise with Ryan Kesler and bumping Drew Stafford up to play with O’Sullivan and Patrick Eaves – the coach’s son.
I remember the feeling was, “We can do this.” You have SUTER: to have that feeling. When I’m pfeelearlyioliindkge, i,tfo“yIdfoawuy’,ersectihdllio,pwinanwt,hayeyotuahtird this and we play our way, we’ll
BOYS, WE KNOW WE CAN PLAY BETTER THAN THIS. THEY HAVEN’T SEEN OUR BEST. LET’S GO SHOW THEM – Mike Eaves, Team USA
find a way to get back into this sthaimnge.”feHeolinegsbtlayc, kittwheans.that
cienngtefr)oYrothuadtrteam absoauktipdlayn-d
SIDNEY CROSBY: (Team Canada
gwoianlnsignogignogldin, taontdhteothbierdup etw- o grioodd, ysohuapthe…ink you’re in pretty
The third period begins, and Crosby almost ices the game for Canada. He gets sprung for a juicy chance on a 2-on-1, but U.S. goalie Al Montoya robs him with a glove save. Shortly thereafter, Montoya stops Getzlaf on another golden chance in the slot.
EthAoVsEeSs:avIfehs,etdhoeegsanm’tem’saokveer…
BoruthArleMe ountboeylaiemvaabdle stwavoes tehaernlytihnetnhewthliirndepceormiobdi,nan-d stipoanrsks. eemed to give us a little
Team USA starts to push the Canadians back on their heels. Four minutes into the period, O’Sullivan takes a cross-ice feed from Stafford and pops the water bottle with a wrist shot behind Fleury to make it 3-2. The U.S. gets a surge of adrenaline.
PthAeRyIeSaEr:bWefeotrael,k(ethdeaCboanuat dhio-w, agnasi)nwstetrheeinRua ssiimanilsarwshiteuraetion wthietyh wtheenlteiandtoanthdeetnhdired puepriod Ilot swinags ainmtheentgaoliltdy-mofe, dyaoluggaemt e. othnaetgcohalnagneds tahlleodfyansaumdidceonf tuhpegwethtoinleggthame oen. We,eanedndoendce mthoemteeanmtusmco, rthesenanthdegye’rtse the ltehaindk, tinhgeya’breoubtapckrointgecotfifn,ganthde cgahleltaonifncaethss.uedzdoenne wanedwgertesaobmle to
Less than three minutes later, Kesler crashes the crease. He jams a rebound into Fleury. The puck pops into the air, directly above his head, and drops into Canada’s net. It’s a tie game, 3-3.
andFlietusroymweahsopwaddledown,
PARISE:
bsuodudnecnedouovrebrehnicmh.hAalsl ogfoat all that momentum and all that jianmg faonrdtheenoetrhgey,rasnidei.tA’sfdt erflattlehgast, amnadgeicvaelrly,oynoeu’sfignodinygouanr d tghoeinogt,haenrdtewaem’reisbturyzizninggt,oand hang on.
Now we’re tied, and that’s not something that
O’SULLIVAN:
happens to Canada. They don’t blow two-goal leads, and they knew it, and I think they were shocked.
With just over five minutes remaining in the third period, O’Sullivan receives a stretch pass and splits Canadian defenders Braydon Coburn and Brent Seabrook.
I have at least half a step on Seabrook. So
O’SULLIVAN:
I’m thinking, at the very least, I’m gonna get a pretty good scoring chance, maybe even a breakaway if I can get inside position. Then I get hooked and get turned around, but I know tjuhsetpcuocnkt’isnugoininggtoslporwe,ssourIe’mthe ptoudcaky, ’ms gaaymbeed, trhaawt’sa preonbaaltbyl.yIna penalty shot.
O’Sullivan can’t corral the puck, but he keeps chasing it aggressively as it slides toward Fleury.
amnaykwe asuy,rbeeycoauYuosdeuo,’nrfer’tatlnrekytiluyn,pgIitno
O’SULLIVAN:
tchainnmk makoesbt egtotaelriepslabyeslitehvaenthey they’re capable of when they have to play the puck.
At 14:48 of the third period, it happens: one of the most iconic moments in World Junior Championship history. With little time to think, Fleury tries to onetouch flip the puck out of the zone…and clears it right into Coburn. It ricochets backward into Canada’s net. Team USA takes a 4-3 lead.
How in the hell did that even happen?
PARISE:
I looked down at (assistant coach) John Hynes
EAVES:
almost in disbelief, like, “Did that just happen?” It’s amazing. and the NHoe. 1reo’svethraelbl pesictkg…oaitlie
PARISE: was unthinkable that an error like that was going to happen at that time of the game.
With Marc-Andre, it
BRAYDON COBURN: (Team Canada
was just unlucky. I don’t even
defenseman)
know how to explain it. It was just one of those things that happened.
It’s kind of funny, because I look like a jackass
O’SULLIVAN:
IcethleoburgahtitntghethpeuwckayhIitdmide,.bIuf t you watch the replay, I’m facing our net for the second or two that Fleury actually shoots the puck. It starts to go in, and I’m turned around, so I didn’t see. I had no idea he had hit Coburn.
GIVE THE AMERICANS A LOT OF CREDIT. ONCE THEY SMELLED BLOOD, THEY KEPT GOING – Brent Seabrook, Team Canada
lIe’mg alinkde,w“Oenhtminytghoedn, eitt?h”it my wit ew’lelntatkiInewtitha.es wjuasyt int dshido,cbkuthat
SUTER:
It was fast. Once it
BRENT SEABROOK: (Team Canada
sintagr, tbeudtdyowu’nvheigllo, tittkoegpivterothll-e
defenseman)
Americans a lot of credit. They shmadelalegdrebalot oteda,mth.eOynkceptthgeoying.
As a coach, no matter hinocwhamrugechoyr oyuoufeienlfyluoeunacreea EAVES:
ppoeifofr-nsico-entngraeamlinoeir,nlwgin,itethoupswtorinartadeigceyhtaomr tshaipt’sthoeurteo’sf aylowuarycsoanntrXo-lf.aTchtoisr wofaosuorucroXn-tfraoclt.oWr thheant iwt’sasyourt time, it’s your time.
Ecstatic after the goal, the Americans have to refocus. They have five minutes of clock to kill before they can call themselves gold medallists. ample of situaTtihoants’soaunr etexa- m
O’SULLIVAN:
koneowurhsoywstteomh.aWnedlken. Wowe wreely dhaevf engsuivyeslyw. AhogauryelirkeealJlaykgeood Dtaokwe eallf,ahce’osffgoifnwnea ngeoeoduitt.aKnedspleori’nstg.oPiantgritcokpElayveastwloitllaptltahya. t
It’s nerve-racking. It’s exciting. Everyone is trying to
PARISE:
get in the way of every puck, not trying to let anything get to the net and just being as smart as you can.
We knew that we couldn’t score like Canada
O’SULLIVAN: bcooudlyd, wsdceiotfhereno,udbtauastdwoeullbkatn.seOwancwye-e we get up in that game, we skynsotwemw. e’re going to play our nisont ewvaenr tmYtoouvmitnohgvi.neIk.tBjtuhstetwcdliothecks PARISE: the ebxecnictehmatenthtethpaottwenatsiaolnof owfrfohamesrueudswdbeenwinlegeraeddoaiwnllgnotf3ha-i1ssugtodamdaeleln, , owuhta, twevee’rrewgoeicnagntododotoitc.lose it
The final seconds tick down. The Americans have done it. They’ve captured their first World Junior Championship. It’s a frenzied scene as the bench clears. The U.S. players pile onto each other at breakneck speed.
You’re just that oexvceirt,etdh.eYaodureenmalointieo.nDsutraikneg the
PARISE:
pile-on, the last thing you’re thinking about is being gentle or being careful with anyone.
I remember Hynes and I coming together on
EAVES:
the bench, but it was almost gliokienag carlamzyn, ebsust. Tashea gcouaycshare it’s a different feel than a psolaeymero, btieocnaaul,saentdheyopularyegleatse that emotion by throwing your dignlootwvhenes.aTainrhdearnsedt’iscjukamlsmaponisndtghauecplamalmentd-s “nWeses’vaemaocnhgiesvtetdhewchoatcwhess, elitke, ehovuetgrtayonbdoody.”yo’Ausnhgdaonyodouu.t gtoatshhearkaend that yoYuoauc’trueaallbyictasmureprised
O’SULLIVAN:
obfacwkhaonydodui’dreitp,lmayaiingly. Tbheecause mCathmaen,oyaiuthdnwatv,aoteshfiejrnuetassemtprpneouacutrtnieyotojnoouafyl.hrlyea…svpefoefcrotr
As overjoyed as the Americans are, the Canadians are just as devastated, especially losing the way they did.
We really couldn’t beltiheevewwayhaitthjuasptpheanpepde.
NIGEL DAWES: (Team Canada left nItetdooaknda
winger)
biti.tWofetwimereetoathaolnoesstlfyorgewtoorvdesr wanadyvitewryednits.appointed with the
All of a sudden, dthisinagpspotuinrnteqdu. Yicokulyd, oan’dt kyonuo’wreif
CROSBY:
iytoaug’laligne. t an opportunity to do
That loss, of all my years as a coach or
MACKASEY:
itnhvisodlvaeydf…oirtwsthilaltheuvretrsrmeaesoton. Atyeonlulyyacooluoa,tcthlhoeonrlgoemsrsatenhsaasgnteatryhwewiwiltlhins sdwoom,naentohdnetethwcisaomofnoeelulohpwatsio.nAmgfyteearanrwdse, swaoidn, t“wConygeraartsuilnataiornosw, y,”oaund wthaesf,i“rSsht othuilndg’voeubteoefnmthyrmeeo.”uth ANnicdho(HlsocnkseayidCatnoamdae,C“EJuOs)t Bgeotb ihta, vtheaat’hsafordr stiumre. gettoivnegroitv.”erI
It’s time for Team USA to celebrate the championship victory, and every minute the players and coaches have is precious on the last night in Helsinki.
as a grouI pre, pmaermenbtesr, cuosagcohiensg, EAVES:
Wademwineirsetraabtloersto, tgeeatmtodaocrteosr-s. ataruoruanndt atolgitettlehears ajunsdt jtuhset cmooreve gganrooodudhpmu, gjou,msatnetdnotc.hhNaaottbwaoandsdyaswhreaaanreltleyd tsboteacgyaoutpsoeabwsehldoe.nYngoyuaoswuyawonuetnecdtotutooldb,ed and woke up the next day, it osivgenri.fTiehdetnheaxttthdeaymito’smaentewas sdtaayr.tYloivui’nvge aggoatitno. move on and
Ost’aSyUeLdLwIViAthNu: sTthheeceonatcihre snight. bWite, saanwd theiCr acnoadchaegsucyesratalinttllye Awnedre, nfr’at ngkolnyn, ianwmaonstttcoadsoest,htahte. coaches shouldn’t. But for us, tMhiekwe Eayaviteswfaosr…aIyleivaerd. Awliotthof our guys from Minnesota had goor npelatyoehdigahgasicnhsot oelatcohgoether in high school. So there was just that element to it.
I don’t think anyone ended up going to bed. Everytoontehwe
PARISE: epnlatnreig. hWt etohtahdeabruesa,lrlyight good time celebrating. last tournameTnhtawt’hsekrienydoouf’rthee
O’SULLIVAN: btjuouspttlfpaolyra. ytYhieneaghmb, ogesuctaypusasaerrteynodourbalofotdveyed’s, ywbboeihtueobn’r’edesfoipsgrtlneaileyltdehadaykteiindtto.,tWudhreeneNhapmHaddLeoKnwateln,sibt.lteulret And you haven’t been beaten
down by the business side of tahneygoafmtheaot rstcuefrft.ain coaches or
The 2004 WJC tournament changes things permanently for the winning program, and the olofstihneg cornaez,ytfionoi.sThhies freipltpfloereyffeeacrst to come.
It gave credibility to the program and helped USA EAVES:
Hockey have another avenue taotodpev- enlodpptrhoegirapmla, ybeurtst. hIte’sre are many, many ways to develop hockey players in the aUvneinteude.SYtaotue’sv,eagnodt thies UwSaHs Lo,ne all the junior leagues, but the PNraotgiornaaml TweasmstDilel vtreyloinpgmteonbte urenctoilgtnhiezyedwfonr wsohmatetiht iwnagsl,ikaned itnhaqtu, eitswtioans .always going to be
If there was one paptootisnhittiinvagensdfrfrodomemcildoaescidrniwgti,ecwanleesletoadonekde-d MACKASEY: atondoa tlhititnlegsbaetltiettrl,eanddiffietrpeanitdly ionffagrooinwgafsorawcaorudn.tWrye. Mwaoynbfeivief we dwoin’thdaot a2n0y0t4hitnogu,rwnaemjuesntt, wswteainyaarsseta,mtduaosnqy’tuagosoawfnoedrwd, hoaa.rpdpaynads It’s the woIrtl’ds jhuenairotrbsr,eita’ksitnhge.
COBURN:
ptoinunghacpleillotfojusnwiaolrlohwo,cbkueyt.oInt’es aof trthhigeohstehaitwnhgiansygyisos. uSyoleuiatmrwnoaivsneahpogaocskotedy twheinggoftoarnuosthretrucrrnaicnkgagtuiyt.sItfheaetl sorry for the guys who didn’t.
I don’t think you think babefoourtet.hYaotui’tr’es jnuesvtehrabpepeyntdoone
SUTER:
win, and after it’s all over and you’re back with your other teaalkmin, gthheonwyoitu’shneeavreervbeereynone done before, and then it sinks itnh.aItttweams f,uthnetofirbset atepaamrtforof m tnhioerUs.SL.otokwining tbhaeckw, oitr’lsdpjrue-tty special, and I feel like it helped ipnutterthneatUio.Sn.aolnptlahye. map for
THEN YOU HEAR EVERYONE TALKING HOW IT’S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE,
SAINNDKTSHIENN IT – Ryan Suter, Team USA