Team Canada

The Canadian Women’s hockey team continued its dominance of the Olympic ice with a 2-0 win over their arch-rival US squad Thursday night in Vancouver.


Spurred by two first period goals from 18 year-old Marie-Philip Poulin , of Dawson College, Canada went on to win it’s third straight Olympic gold medal, following first place showings in both Salt Lake (2002) and Torino (2006).
Team USA is the only other Olympic squad to capture gold, finishing first in the inaugural Women’s ice hockey Olympic tournament at the 1998 games in Nagano, Japan. The US women finished second at the Salt Lake games and a very disappointing third in Torino four years ago.



Team Canada controlled play most of the night, even successfully holding off the US women during a two-man advantage following consecutive delay-of-game minors at 2:35 and 2:58 of the second period. The Canadians outscored their opponents 48-2 in the tournament, while the Americans finished scoring 40 goals and allowing only four.


Canadian Meghan Agosta , a 23 year old law student at Mercyhurst College, led all scorers with 15 points (9 goals, 6 assists); right behind Agosta were teammates Caroline Ouellette and Canadian team captain Hayley Wickenheiser , who both recorded 11 pts totals (2G, 9A). Natalie Darwitz (4G, 7A) and Jenny Potter (6G, 5A) led the US women, also totaling 11 pts each. Wickenheiser is the all-time leading goal scorer in Women’s Olympic ice hockey history with 16.



Finland defeated Sweden in the perennial consolation game. This is the third bronze medal for the Finnish women.

In the back of your mind, you've known this matchup was coming since Team USA shocked Canada last Sunday in the preliminaries, haven't you?

Since then, Team USA has steamrolled two more opponents by a combined score of 8-1.

Meanwhile, Canada, bolstered by a switch at goaltender following its humiliating shootout squeaker against the Swiss and its loss to the United States, has rolled off three straight victories to reach the gold medal game as well.

So now comes the grudge match with all the gold left in Vancouver up for grabs.

What should we expect from Sunday's Olympic men's final?

Well, the United States and Canada have gotten here with very different styles.

For the U.S., Ryan Miller has supplied the best and most consistent goaltending in the tournament thus far.

Team USA has also played with temendous cohesiveness as a team, an amazing fact when you consider that unlike many of the European teams they've surpassed, this U.S. team has never before played together.

The U.S. work ethic has also been phenomenal; on offense when offense is needed and on defense when defense is needed. That is a hallmark of a Ron Wilson team, and it has paid enormous dividends for a squad that on the basis of its talent was regarded as a darkhorse to even medal.

At times, the U.S. has been outplayed and outshot, yet to support Miller's heroics at one end, the U.S. offense has displayed great opportunism in making the most of its chances at the other end.

The one time that wasn't the case, in the quarterfinals against Switzerland, Team USA showed that another great intangible was working in their favor: Luck. Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller stopped all 50+ shots he faced. Yet one of them rebounded forward off his chest and then somehow bounced off the ice straight backward by him and into the net for the winning goal.

On the other side, Canada's high-powered forward group got it going against Germany with eight goals and followed that up with another seven against Russia. Regularly putting 40-45 shots on their opponent's goal, what the Canadians lack as compared to the Americans in efficiency and opportunism they have made up for through relentless pressure.

When Canada isn't sitting on a lead, they routinely dominate play for several minutes at a time, regardless of the opponent, including the U.S. in the earlier game.

Their offense is being aided greatly by their blueliners, particularly Dan Boyle.

Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger have returned to the level that made them considered arguably the two best defensemen in the NHL. Shea Weber is also playing great for Canada. These are certainly blueliners of a caliber Team USA cannot even remotely offer its own comparisons for.

In net since replacing Brodeur, Roberto Luongo has been steady but not unbeatable. What he has had most of all is the good sense to let in goals only when Canada already had leads—big leads. Indeed, since Luongo took over, they have never trailed or even been tied after scoring their first goal of a game. Coaches often talk about getting saves when you need them. That's precisely what Luongo has given Team Canada.

Despite a coach in Mike Babcock every bit as intense and detail-oriented as Ron Wilson, overall, Canada has seldom played with the seamless cohesion of Team USA. Even during their current three-game win streak, lapses and mix-ups among teammates have led to goals against that their opponents didn't earn so much as Canada gave them up.

While they may not have had the luck of the Americans, Team Canada has its own  intangible in its corner: home ice advantage with 20,000 crazily passionate fans.

Two teams from neighboring countries both riding winning streaks into this gold medal game, but by virtue of very different styles.

Two familiar foes playing for the second time in eight days.

It will be strategically interesting, it will be emotionally intense.

I offer no predictions other than this: This will be a game that whoever wins will always remember, and whoever loses will never forget.

The dust has finally settled, and a much anticipated Canada vs USA gold medal game is on.

Team Canada took an early 3-0 lead in their quarterfinal game against Team Slovakia.  While not as explosive as in their game against Team Russia, Canada played a solid game against a very good Slovakian team.  Patrick Marleau opened up the scoring with a goal at the 13:30 mark followed by a Brendan Morrow goal.  Ryan Getzlaf scored the lone goal in the second period.

However, in the third period, things got a bit scary for the Canadian side, as Slovakia threatened to tie the game with just under five minutes left, having scored goals by Lubomir Visnovski and Michal Handzus. 

After withstanding a Slovakian onslaught, Canada managed to escape with the 3-2 victory.  Getzlaf had another good game and continues to be an integral part of Team Canada.  Roberto Luongo started in net again for Canada and faced 21 shots, which was comparable to 28 faced by Jaroslav Halak.

Slovakia had an inspired (and desperate) third period, but it was a bit too late.  They will face Finland Saturday afternoon for the bronze medal.  However, Slovakia has a lot to be proud of and has shown within the past two Olympics that they are a team to be reckoned with.

Team USA beat Finland 6-1 in their quarterfinal game with Chicago's Patrick Kane scoring two goals.  Ryan Miller continued to play strong in net and looks ready to play Canada.

Canada needs to maintain a high tempo game and continue their hard hitting.  If they want to win, they will have concentrated and played a full 60 minutes and not have had a mental breakdown part way through.

Regardless, the gold medal game will give Canadians a much anticipated rematch to avenge their earlier loss to the Americans, and it is sure to garner a lot of attention.  It's hard to believe that out of the 12 teams that started, now only two are remaining.  Both teams are going to have to play hard and leave everything on the ice.

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

Pre-game Notes:

Heading into tonight’s match, both Canada and Slovakia watched Team USA slay Finland in what amounted to a good old fashioned butt-kicking, 6-1 USA final.

Team USA did an excellent job establishing pressure down low in the Finnish zone early and often, as well as taking advantage of the pathetic play from goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff—who looked abysmal all afternoon.

For many, seeing the United States in the gold medal game will be a surprise, but Team USA were full value for their win and remain the only team in the tournament that are undefeated.

Canada (who lost 5-3 to the Americans on Super Sunday), would love nothing more than getting an opportunity to get a shot at redemption by beating the Slovaks tonight, thus earning a berth to the gold medal game where Team USA will be waiting for them with open arms.

There is no doubt in my mind that Canada is not looking past Slovakia. Blessed with great goaltending from Jaroslav Halak and littered with NHL stars such as Zdeno Chara, Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa, and many others, Slovakia is a team to be reckoned with and a legitimate threat to Canada’s gold medal aspirations.

Fortunately for Canada, they are coming into tonight’s game feeling confident and having finally established some much needed chemistry on both their forward lines and defensive pairings.

Slovakia should be able to effectively challenge the Canadians down low but probably won’t, instead opting to play a defense-first system that will rely on turnovers and power play opportunities to create offense—essentially trap hockey.

Slovakia had to work a lot harder to beat Sweden than Canada did in beating the Russians Wednesday night. While I will admit that the day off and adrenaline should be enough to get Slovakia through tonight’s game, we may see a tired Slovak team this evening, which should play into Canada’s game plan of hammering the Slovakian players at every opportunity.

Jonathan Toews, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Shea Weber have easily been Canada’s best players thus far, and they will have to continue to be dominant if Canada is to be successful.

Sidney Crosby has taken a lot of flack for his lack of scoring at the Olympics. Not one to take criticism lightly, expect Crosby to rise to the occasion tonight—I for one, expect to be dazzled.

Games Notes and Highlights:

As expected, the Slovaks came out playing “not to lose”, rarely trying to establish pressure in Canada’s zone, instead, sitting three (sometimes four) players back while putting forth a limited forecheck—a strategy that was similar to the game against Switzerland.

Canada struggles early to penetrate Slovakia’s defense but did manage to get the odd chance. Clearly, Canada has come out a little flat; perhaps a case of nerves?

Early on I find myself asking why Canada had chosen to take Eric Staal off the line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Brendan Morrow has missed two great chances, chances Staal may very well have buried.

With the crowd quieted 10 minutes into the game, Canada starts to establish great pressure in the Slovak zone, putting a greater emphasis on taking the body.

Finally, at 13:30 of the period, Canadian defenseman Shea Weber threw a puck at that net that Patrick Marleau got his stick on, which caused the puck to change direction, eluding Slovakian goaltender Jaroslav Halak in the process.

The play was reviewed for a possible high-stick, but the original call stood up—1-0 Canada—would the floodgates open?

Moments later, Canadian defenseman Chris Pronger (who has been oft criticized at these games) fired a puck at the net, which went off Brendan Morrow, who was screening Halak in front of the Slovakian net. Canada’s second goal comes just 1:47 after first blood—and just like that, you could feel the pressure was off Canada’s shoulders, as they looked good in the early goings.

Despite not scoring until the later goings, Canada dominated the entire period, out-chancing Slovakia by a decisive margin (11-0) and outshooting the Slovaks by a margin of 10-4. Of note: There were no power plays in the period, a very disciplined game from both sides.

Canada came out a little sloppy in the second period, resulting in Slovakia getting some pressure in Canada’s zone, which forced Drew Doughty to take a hooking penalty just 1:29 in.

Chicago Blackhawk teammates Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews combined to do a great job of thwarting the Slovakian power play, which was unsuccessful.

Roberto Luongo was tested often in the early going of the period, but he stood tall, playing with confidence and poise. Overall, Canada just seems to play a much calmer game with Luongo in the nets, something that should bode well for them in the gold medal game versus the Americans on Sunday.

With Canada pressing, Slovakian defenseman Zdeno Chara took a roughing penalty at 6:08 in the period. Slovakia came into tonight’s game with the best penalty kill in the tournament, and they proved why once again, keeping Canada off the scoreboard with a successful penalty kill.

Canada and Slovakia exchanged scoring opportunities throughout the second period, with Canada getting the majority of the better chances. Halak was impressive in net for the Slovaks, keeping Canada off the scoreboard and, in the process, keeping Slovakia in the game.

Sidney Crosby put a beautiful pass across ice with just under six minutes to go in the period, a pass that Eric Staal failed to deposit into the back of the Slovakian net. It was just one example of Crosby’s strong play tonight—he may not be on the scorecard, but he is bringing it.

Canada continued to press, and their hard work paid off with another power play opportunity when Richard Zednik took a penalty for holding the stick at 16:34 of the second.

With Canada now on the power play and Brendan Morrow stationed in front of Halak, Corey Perry shot the puck on net, which resulted in a huge rebound that Ryan Getzlaf deposited into the Slovakian net with authority, 3-0 Canada—all of Canada could smell the rematch with the States in the gold medal game!

With less than two minutes to go in the second, Roberto Luongo (who, despite one goal against was solid all night) made some spectacular saves at the other end, specifically a great save on Ziggy Palffy. The crowd yelped out the now familiar chant of “LOU”, in appreciation for his solid goaltending efforts.

Canada once again dominated the period, outshooting the Slovaks by a margin of 11-5. Canada had now outshot Slovakia by a count of 21-9, leading 3-0 after two periods.

Roberto Luongo got unlucky when Lubomir Visnovsky jammed the puck past him at the side of the net at 11:35 of the third period. 3-1 Canada, Slovakia was on the board.

Slovakia would add another goal when Michal Handzus scored at 15:07—Canada had allowed Slovakia to get into the exact situation they were hoping for, a one goal game, late in the third period.

Patrice Bergeron was flat out beaten on the play and shouldn’t have been out there in the first place. Why is a player who has barely played all tournament long on the ice in this, the most important game of the Olympics with five minutes to go?

Canada was able to overcome a late charge by the suddenly offensively potent Slovakian squad—who gave Canada everything they had in the final minute of play, narrowly missing the tying goal when Luongo made an incredible save on Pavol Demitra in the dying seconds.

In the end, Canada would emerge victorious, defeating Slovakia by a final score of 3-1.

So after a tough loss to the Americans in the early goings before bouncing back and smashing both Germany and Russia, Canada and the United States will now brace themselves for a much anticipated rematch, a game that will surely not disappoint.

For more Olympic and NHL coverage check out my website @ (use link)

http://theslapshot.com/  

(Your source for post-to-post hockey coverage).

AND...For the Gold Medal Game Breakdown, check out my fellow Bleacher Report contributor (Louis Pisano) and I at www.morencysports.com  for our show “GET THE PUCK OUT”—6:00pm-7:00pm, Saturday Night!!!!!!!

We’ll be taking calls all night long, phone in and voice your opinion at 1-866-964-5710

Will Canada get revenge over the United States or will Team USA reign supreme?????

Until next time,

Peace!

It’s late at night and I’m just getting back from the celebration of the Canada vs. USA Women’s Gold Medal Game, in which Canada defeated the US 2-0.

I’m not going to report on what went on in the game, as I know all you good Canadian fans watched and cheered, because I could hear you all over this nation. 

I’m going to share with you my experience from Molson’s Hockey House, which holds about 2,000 people and is located about four blocks west of Canada Hockey Place.

If you wanted to get a seat, you would had to arrive about four hours before the game started and if you didn’t, like some of us who work, well, we stood. We stood and we cheered and we partied! 

There are three giant HD screens so, wherever you are standing or sitting you got to take in what was happening on the ice, on the slopes or at the rink.

In waiting for the gold medal game to start, we were entertained by a Vancouver band called The Odds. The place already had a tonne of energy flowing through it like an electrical current. It was like being at a rock concert. 

People as far as you could see dressed in Canadian jerseys, hats, scarves...you name it, they wore it.

We got to see the Olympic events that preceded the hockey game and some others during it also, like the courageous Joannie Rochette, who skated her heart out to win the bronze medal.

When that was announced, it was deafening in the place, as people were cheering so loud, you couldn’t hear the person next to you speak. 

We got to find out about the men’s curling team that beat Sweden to advance to the gold medal game, the disappointment of the Men’s Aerials fifth-place finish, but the night was all about the Gold Medal Game in Women’s Hockey. That’s what all the people came to see and they were pumped. 

In my life time I have been to a lot of sporting events. Stanley Cup playoffs, Grey Cups, the celebration of the NASL’s Vancouver Whitecaps when they won the Soccer Bowl, just to name a few. But I have never witnessed the energy, loudness, spirit, joy, and emotions like I have felt in these Olympics. 

I also know that I am a part of history that I will never see again in my lifetime and have been witness to medals for the first time in events that Canada has never won before. 

The feeling in Molson’s Hockey House was like being at the game. The goals were greeted with roars that just rocked you back where you were standing.

Boos rained down on the officiating when penalties were called against Canada. There were oohs and aahs as shots came close to the US goal, great passing plays or blocked shots. 

You could just feel the whole crowd behind Canada, as they would break into “GO CANADA GO,” just like at the game and I mean loud. I mean, my ears are still ringing hours after the game has ended.

As the minutes counted down to the end of the game, the crowd counted down with them and when the game ended, the noise erupted like the fireworks that have been going off each night of the Olympics. 

The house DJ slapped on Queen's “We are the Champions,” shut down the feed from the hockey game for a few seconds, and the whole place broke out in chorus and belted the song out at the top of their voices. I’m trying to figure out where mine went, and if I will be able to talk tomorrow. 

Oh, I forgot, it is tomorrow and I have to get ready for the Men’s Hockey final. 

A special treat happened later that night at Molson’s Hockey House that was such a bonus. It was rather surreal.

After the game, the Canadian Women’s team came down to the venue and was introduced by their coach, Mel Davidson. One by one, they came out onto the stage to cheers that continued to grow as they formed a row. 

What happened next was just pure magic. 

I know my pictures didn’t turn out that great because of the lightning but trust me, the women were all on the stage, so I hope you get the idea.

Everyone stood and screamed at the top of their voice, as the words to Oh Canada filled the room, and it just choked me up. The pride that one feels in this moment, is just so overwhelming, it’s hard to put it into words.

I just known I am damn proud to be Canadian and that was a moment I will never forget!

And I am so looking forward to tomorrow, not just to the Men’s Hockey game, but to the rest of the Olympic events, the crowds, the vibes and the special feelings, in the final three days. 

I wish it would never end!

For the third straight time at the Olympics, the Canadian women's hockey team wins the Gold Medal after a 2-0 win over the United States.

CANADA ROSTER—2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

# Name S HT WT Born Hometown 2008-09 Team
# Nom L T P Née Ville d'origine Équipe 2008-09

Goaltenders/Gardiens de but

1 Shannon Szabados L/G 5'8" 147 08/06/86 Edmonton, AB Grant MacEwan (ACAC)
32 Charline Labonté L/G 5'9" 173 10/15/82 Boisbriand, QC McGill University (CIS)
33 Kim St-Pierre L/G 5'9" 156 12/14/78 Chateauguay, QC Montreal Stars (CWHL)

Defence/Défense

3 Carla MacLeod R/D 5'4" 133 06/16/82 Calgary, AB Calgary Oval X-Treme (WWHL)
4 Becky Kellar L/G 5'7" 146 01/01/75 Hagersville, ON Burlington Barracudas (CWHL)
5 Colleen Sostorics R/D 5'4" 168 12/17/79 Kennedy, SK Calgary Oval X-Treme (WWHL)
12 Meaghan Mikkelson R/D 5'9" 150 01/04/85 St. Albert, AB Edmonton Chimos (WWHL)
18 Catherine Ward L/G 5'6" 135 02/28/87 Montreal, QC McGill University (CIS)
25 Tessa Bonhomme L/G 5'7" 140 07/23/85 Sudbury, ON Calgary Oval X-Treme (WWHL)

Forwards/Avants

2 Meghan Agosta L/G 5'7" 147 02/12/87 Ruthven, ON Mercyhurst College (CHA)
6 Rebecca Johnston L/G 5'7" 167 09/24/89 Sudbury, ON Cornell University (ECAC)
7 Cherie Piper R/D 5'6" 167 06/29/81 Scarborough, ON Calgary Oval X-Treme (WWHL)
10 Gillian Apps L/G 6'0" 177 11/02/83 Unionville, ON Brampton Canadette-Thunder (CWHL)
13 Caroline Ouellette L/G 5'11" 172 05/25/79 Montreal, QC Montreal Stars (CWHL)
16 Jayna Hefford L/G 5'5" 138 05/14/77 Kingston, ON Brampton Canadette-Thunder (CWHL)
17 Jennifer Botterill L/G 5'9" 158 05/01/79 Winnipeg, MB Mississauga Chiefs (CWHL)
21 Haley Irwin L/G 5'7" 172 06/06/88 Thunder Bay, ON Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA)
22 Hayley Wickenheiser R/D 5'10" 171 08/12/78 Shaunavon, SK Ekilstuna Linden (SWE D2, M)
26 Sarah Vaillancourt R/D 5'6" 140 05/08/85 Sherbrooke, QC Harvard University (ECAC)
27 Gina Kingsbury L/G 5'8" 137 11/26/81 Rouyn-Noranda, QC Calgary Oval X-Treme (WWHL)
29 Marie-Philip Poulin L/G 5'6" 160 03/28/91 Beauceville, QC Dawson College (CEGEP)

Staff/Personnel

President/Président: Bob Nicholson Penticton, BC Hockey Canada
Vice president, Hockey/Vice-président, hockey : Johnny Misley Vancouver, BC Hockey Canada
Director, Female Hockey/Directrice, hockey féminin: Julie Healy Montreal, QC Hockey Canada
Head Coach/Entraîneure-chef: Melody Davidson Oyen, AB Hockey Canada
Assistant Coach/Entraîneur adjoint: Doug Lidster Kamloops, BC Hockey Canada
Assistant Coach/Entraîneur adjoint: Peter Smith Lachine, QC McGill University (CIS)
Video Manager/Responsable, vidéo : Marco Marciano Laval, QC Hockey Canada
Goaltending Consultant/Consultant des gardiennes: Dave Jamieson Coboconk, ON Hockey Canada
Equipment Manager/Responsable de l'équipement: Robin McDonald Didsbury, AB Hockey Canada
Doctor/Médecin: Dr. Jennifer Hacking Winnipeg, MB Hockey Canada
Doctor/Médecin: Dr. Diane Simpson Regina, SK Hockey Canada
Therapist/Thérapeute: Doug Stacey London, ON London Knights (OHL)
Massage Therapist/Massothérapeute: Domenic Manchisi Oakville, ON Hockey Canada
Strength & Conditioning/Préparateur physique: Ryan van Asten Oshawa, ON Calgary Oval X-Treme (WWHL)
Mental training consultant/Consultant en formation mentale Peter Jensen Toronto, ON Hockey Canada
Coordinator, High Performance/Coordonnatrice, haute performance: Lesley Reddon Mississauga, ON Hockey Canada
Media Relations/ Relations médias: Chris Jurewicz Moose Jaw, SK Hockey Canada

Your local Wikipedia defines a rubber match as "the third fight between two fighters after the first two matches have been split."

It was clear that nothing was going to stop the women of Team Canada from facing Team USA for the gold medal on Thursday at Canada Hockey. It was no surprise, even for the USA fans, that Canada had performed so well at this tournament that it would be nothing a mere formality.

The gold medal favorites long before the first puck dropped, Hayley Wickenheiser and Team Canada completed an undefeated campaign with a 2-0 victory over Angela Ruggiero and the Americans. It was the 15th straight Olympic victory for Team Canada, who have successfully defended their gold for three straight Winter Olympiads. 

The Canadian defense was led by Wickenheiser, Catherine Ward, Tessa Bonhomme and goalie Shannon Szabados. Together, they neutralized Team USA's offensive unit with every shot they dished out. It was a stellar performance off the heels of two Marie-Philip Poulin goals that mesmerized the sellout crowd of 18,810.

As soon as USA showed its inability to get back in the game in the second period,  there was no doubt in my mind that this was going to be Canada's gold.

So now we are all square at one victory apiece, with a possible rubber match slated for this weekend to close out these Games. Canada and the USA, the two North American ice hockey powerhouses, are one victory or defeat from meeting each other once again.

Or it may not happen at all, since the Finns and Slovaks have the skills to derail a finale the fans on both sides of the world's longest undefended border are salivating for.

So what do you think will happen, now that both the United States and Canada have won a hockey game against each other at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games? What's next? Will they both meet for gold? Will they meet from bronze? Or will they not meet at all?

Sound off, and let us know what you think! Keep it clean, and keep it on-topic.

Here is the Team Canada that people have been waiting to see.

Team Canada shuffled the lines after the Team Germany win in an attempt to get more out of their forwards.

It worked.

And it worked so well the Russian Federation and their fearsome hockey team were sent packing.

An unrelenting, nerve-racking, hard-hitting brand of hockey was played by the Canadian forwards and they gave the Russian netminder and his defense fits all night.

Evgeni Nabokov was uncharacteristically bad on this night, overcommitting to shots and letting out bad rebounds. His defense was also questionable at best as wave after wave of Canadian forwards were available to screen and distract the already troubled goaltender.

Regardless of the debate about whether Russia should have pulled Nabokov earlier or whether Ilya Bryzgalov would have been a better choice, the statistics tell the story of the game as Canada outshot Russia 42-28.

Nothing out of Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin on this night—but it didn't matter.

Canada received some valuable "depth scoring" from other players on the team. Specifically, a big night on defense by Dan Boyle singlehandedly matched the offensive output of the whole Russian team with one goal and two assists as he factored into three of Canada's goals early on.

Also of note was the continued excellence shown by Drew Doughty on the blueline and Team Canada finally reaping the benefits of pre-existing chemistry shared by the San Jose line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Dany Heatley and that being shared between Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

Next up is a depleted Slovakian team but a dangerous one nonetheless.

Slovakia boast a skilled defense that is arguably one of the best at the tournament. They also have some of the best re-known snipers in the NHL in the form of Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa.

Canada will have to shut them down the way they did with Oveckin, Alex Semin, Evgeni Malkin, and the other Russian snipers.

And if the Canadian forwards play the way they did last game—they might not need to: they might just outscore Slovakia.

Kaillie Humphries helped make Canadian Olympic history when she became one of the two to win the first ever Bobsled medal for Canada. The prize came in the form of a gold medal on Wednesday, Feb. 24.

Humphries was born on Sept. 4, 1985 in Calgary, Alberta and has been competing since 2004. She has experienced success before, as she won silver in the mixed bobsleigh-skeleton team event at the 2008 FIBT World Championships in Altenberg, Germany and finished second overall in the 2009-2010 Bobsleigh World Cup, winning a gold medal with Heather Moyse in Altenberg, Germany.  

“I’m not really looking at times. I just push my butt off and make it to the bottom,” Humphries said during the Olympics.

Humphries doesn’t focus on her times, though she has set record-times with partner Moyse at multiple tracks around the world. For the 2009-2010 Bobsleigh World Cup season, Humphries and Moyse set or tied the track start record at every track where they competed.   

Start records held by Kaillie Humpries (as listed by Wikipedia):

• Cesana: 5.16 in 2009 with Shelly-Ann Brown (tied by Helen Upperton and Heather Moyse in 2006)
• Park City: 5.20 in 2009 with Heather Moyse
• Lake Placid: 5.46 in 2009 with Heather Moyse (tied with Erin Pac and Michelle Rzepka of the USA)
• Winterberg: 5.54 in 2009 with Heather Moyse
• Altenberg: 5.74 in 2009 with Heather Moyse
• Königssee: 5.25 in 2010 with Heather Moyse
• Igls: 5.50 in 2010 with Heather Moyse

She pushed off strong in British Columbia, running all the way to a gold medal for her country.

Heather Moyse helped make Canadian Olympic history as she became one of two people to win Canada's first gold medal in the Bobsled competition.

However, anybody who has been following Moyse her entire career knows that this is no surprise.

Moyse was born July 23, 1978 in Summerside, Prince Edward Island and has been competiting in the bobsled competition since 2005.

Right from the beginning of the competition in the 2005-2006 season, Moyse showed that her strength along with her partner Helen Upperton. Together they won the Canadian Championship, earned four medals in the World Cup circuit, (including gold at an event in St. Moritz, Switzerland) and set push start records on five international tracks.

This earned them a spot in the 2006 Winter Olympics, where Moyse and Upperton finished in forth, missing bronze by five one-hundredths of a second behind the host Italian team.

Despite not winning a medal, the pair set the push start record for the Olympic track with a 5.16 second start time in their first heat.

Moyse took a one year absence due to educational reasons, though came back strong in the 2007-2008 season as one of the two brakemen for Canada. In the four races she competed in with Upperton, she earned a silver, bronze and two fifth place finishes. In the 2008 World Championships in Altenberg, Germany, she raced with Canada 3 pilot Lisa Szabon and had her worst finish of 11th.

She returned for the 2008-2009 season, despite a serious shoulder injury that occurred while playing rugby. In her only race with Canada 1 pilot Upperton, she won gold in Igls, Austria. Moyse teamed up with Canada 2 pilot Kaillie Humphries for the first time and recorded a fifth in St. Mortiz, silver in Whistler and fifth at the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, New York. Though with her injury, she missed four other races.

For the 2009-2010 World Cup season, Moyse teamed up with Humphries. Together, they finished second overall behind only Sandra Kiraisis, won four medals including a gold in Altenberg, Germany. They also set or tied the track start record in every race in which they were together.

Start records held by Heather Moyse (as listed by Wikipedia):

• Cesana - 5.16 in 2006 with Helen Upperton (tied by Kaillie Humphries and Shelley-Ann Brown in 2009)
• Park City - 5.20 in 2009 with Kaillie Humphries
• Lake Placid - 5.46 in 2009 with Kaillie Humphries (tied with Erin Pac and Michelle Rzepka of the USA)
• Winterberg - 5.54 in 2009 with Kaillie Humphries
• Altenberg - 5.74 in 2009 with Kaillie Humphries
• Königssee - 5.25 in 2010 with Kaillie Humphries
• Igls - 5.50 in 2010 with Kaillie Humphries
• Calgary - 5.60 in 2005 with Helen Upperton (no World Cup race since 2007-2008)

For her success in not only bobsledding but also rugby, soccer, and track and field, she has been honored multiple times.

She was inducted into the University of Waterloo Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, received the Lieutenant-Governor’s Award as P.E.I’s Outstanding Athlete in 2006, was named Prince Edward Island’s Senior Female Athlete of the Year for both 2005 and 2006, and has won seven Sport P.E.I awards in total since 1998.  

Moyse always pushes herself to do strongly in any sport she competes in.

“As much as we want to do well for Canada, Canada can put no more pressure on us than we are putting on ourselves,’” said Moyse.

She lived up to the pressure and pushed herself hard as she had one of her memorable races yet, winning gold for her country.