VANCOUVER — The U.S. hockey team turned Canada red, white and a very depressing state of blue, beating the host country at is own game 5-3 Sunday night in the Olympic hockey tournament.
Among the prominent instigators of an upset certain to send Canadians reeling was Chris Drury, long beloved by Colorado fans for coming up big in clutch situations. He broke a 2-2 tie late in the second period to put Team USA ahead to stay.
Drury, who now plays for the New York Rangers, jumped on a loose puck and slipped it past Canadian goalie Martin Brodeur, who had sprawled on the ice after a collision in the crease with U.S. forward David Backes.
On the power play in the third period, U.S. captain Jamie Lagenbrunner added an insurance goal, which proved to be vital when Sidney Crosby scored with 3:09 remaining in the game.
Any thought of a miraculous comeback by Canada, however, was ended by an empty-net goal from American Ryan Kesler in the waning seconds.
No medals were determined by the outcome, but the upstart, young American team now has a chance to make real noise in this the one Olympic competition most essential to Canadian pride.
The preliminary-round contest was witnessed by a rowdy crowd painted in a sea of red sweaters, all adorned with a maple leaf. Celebrities on hand included former Avalanche star Joe Sakic, who grew up in a suburb of Vancouver, and Jim Craig, who played a prominent role for the Miracle on Ice team.
Although outshot 19-6 in the opening period, Team USA held a 2-1 lead at the first intermission on two goals by defenseman Brian Rafalski.
U.S. goalie Ryan Miller did not make many acrobatic saves, relying instead on uncanny anticipation and perfect positioning to turn away shot after shot.
Canada delivered more big checks and seemed to seek a physical game, but the Americans were consistently quicker through the neutral zone and pounced on more loose pucks.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
