Hockey is a game of battles. In the course of a game, there are hundreds of battles that take place in the corners, in front of the net, along the blue lines, and in the minds of the combatants. Most of these battles result in a benign stalemate as the opposing players both do their jobs and play continues. Sometimes a goaltender bails out a defenseman that was pantsed on the blue line.
More often than not, a lapse in focus or effort signals a lost battle and the puck winds up in the back of your net as the host country’s syrup suckers toast Molson and blast Brian Adams.
Sunday’s gold medal tilt between the U.S. and Canada was a tremendous culmination of two weeks of elite hockey. It sucks something fierce to lose the way the U.S. did. However, winning just wouldn’t be as fun if you weren’t violently kicked in the stones every now and again, would it? Aggie fans live by this credo.[Read More]
