SOCHI, Russia – You do not need a Cold War to have high hockey drama. You do not need impossible odds, but against boys or an opponent shrouded in red mystique.
All you need, it turns out, is two highly skilled and swift teams racing up and down the Olympic ice for 65 pulsating minutes, then slugging it out through an eight-round shootout, and have it all playing out in a raucous pit of Russian patriotism called the Bolshoy Ice Dome.
The Olympic agate will tell you the U.S. scored a shootout victory over Russia, 3-2, in a preliminary round game Saturday night. It will tell you nothing about the “Rus-sia, Rus-sia” chants That Rocked the building at the edge of the Black Sea, the ubiquitous Russian flags in the arena or an unrelenting energy befitting the first Olympic game between the two nations on Russian ice.
And it can not possibly do justice to the heroics of U.S. forward TJ Oshie, who came here via the St.. Louis Blues, and buried four shootout goals in six Attempts, including the game-winner, past Russian and Columbus Blue Jacket goaltender, Sergei Bobrovski – not quite the ending That Russian hockey’s No.. 1 fan, Vladimir Putin, who was in the house, had in mind.
GARY HERSHORN / REUTERS
Team USA’s TJ Oshie reacts after his goal in the shootout clinches the win for the Americans.
“You’re not going to see something like that ever again,” said U.S. defenseman Cam Fowler, who scored the first U.S. goal.
Said U.S. coach Dan Bylsma, “The game pretty much had everything in it into an unbelievable setting and atmosphere.”
The 28-year-old Oshie – who is on the team in large measure Because of his shootout prowess – did not disagree, but had a more pragmatic concern.
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“I was running out of moves. I was just trying to think of something else I could do, “Oshie said.
The U.S. and Russians May well meet again in the medal round, with far more at stake, but for a warmup this was riveting stuff, not least from the U.S. goaltender Jonathan Quick, who saved the best of his 29 saves for late in the third and even got a congratulatory tweet from 1980 hero goaltender Jim Craig.
The action started early, When Blueshirt Ryan Callahan, a physical force all night, got into a heated pushing match with Evgeny Medvedev and wound up with Medvedev’s glove in his face. The Russians had the better of a taut, scoreless first period and took a 1-0 lead When Captain Pavel Datsyuk split the U.S. defense and scored the first of his two goals – and the only even-strength score of the game – midway through the second.
Fowler evened it up with 3 1/2 left in the second, forward James van Riemsdyk sliding the puck across the crease before it hit Fowler’s skate and caromed into, and the Americans seized on a power-play opportunity again with 10 ½ to play in the game, When Patrick Kane threaded a gorgeous cross ice pass to Joe Pavelski, who buried it.
MIKHAIL KLIMENTIEV / RIA Novosti / K / EPA
Team USA’s big win comes in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Bolshoy Ice Dome.
Datsyuk, a Red Wing in his NHL life, drilled into another at 12:44 of the third, And when Russian defenseman Fyodor Tyutin beat Quick with a drive from the point That ripped just under the crossbar with just under five minutes to play, Bolshoy erupted again.
Except the score was disallowed Because the goal was ruled to be off its moorings.
“I do not know what happened there but it was definitely a goal,” said Alex Ovechkin, who had six shots on goal but had several of his best chances snuffed by the ever-sliding Ryan McDonough.
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Mark Humphrey / AP
Goaltender Jonathan Quick comes up big as Team USA remains unbeaten through two games.
Quick made a superb stop on a high-flying Ilya Kovalchuk in the final minutes and the game moved into a five-minute overtime, And when Brobovski stopped Kane on a breakaway, the shootout ensued.
International rules allow coaches to use whoever They want after three players shoot, so Bylsma kept dialing up Oshie, who beat Brobovski through the pads to get the U.S. up 1-0. Kovalchuk kept the Russians alive by beating Quick on the glove side, and after Datsyuk scored to put the Rusians ahead 2-1, Oshie had to score or it was over.
He used the same slow buildup toward goal, then snapped a shot through the five-hole again for 2-2. One more time, after another Kovalchuk scores, here came Oshie, deking Broboski to the ice and going up high.
Quick stopped Kovalchuk and finally here came Oshie for the last time, going backhand to forehand, and again finding a space between the pads.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Brobovski said.
The drama was over. The bench emptied. The U.S. celebration was on in a suddenly tomb-like Bolshoy. The Americans come back to play Slovenia on Sunday in another prelim game. It will be a short rest. T.J. Oshie Talked about what an elite team Russia ice, and the character the U.S. Showed, and the ending.
“Every kid wants to do the shootout,” he said. “I guess tonight it paid off for me.”
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