US jolts Canada 5-3 as Rafalski scores twice
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The Americans didn't believe in miracles. They just believed.
And they pulled off the biggest Olympic hockey upset since the Miracle on Ice, stunning Canada 5-3 on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of an already mixed-up tournament.
Brian Rafalski scored two goals, Ryan Miller held off a flurry of shots and the Americans quieted a raucous, pro-Canada crowd that came to cheer its dream team, only to see it upstaged by a bunch of unproven kids.
One day short of the 30th anniversary of the country's greatest hockey victory — the unfathomable win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid — these underrated Americans were faster, more disciplined and more determined than Canada's collection of all-stars.
Better, too.
"We know we can beat anybody now," Rafalski said.
Canada outshot the United States 45-23 yet couldn't badly dent Miller, the goalie the Americans felt could best stand up to all of Canada's might. He did just that, making 42 saves in the victory of a lifetime.
"It's probably one of the biggest games I've ever played," Miller said. "When things happened we responded. We didn't get nervous or anxious. We kept playing."
When Ryan Kesler scored in the final minute, the few U.S. fans who managed to get seats proudly waved their American flags, all their red, white and blue suddenly visible.
"You look up and everything's red and white — so few American flags" at the start, said U.S. coach Ron Wilson, who also led the 1996 team that upset Canada in the World Cup. "We expected a hostile environment. The intensity of the game helped, too."
When 2006 gold medalist Sweden beat Finland 3-0, the United States was assured of being top-seeded in Wednesday's quarterfinals, something almost no one predicted when the tournament began. Sweden is second, followed by Russia and Finland.
Canada, the gold-medal favorite, was expected to coast into the medal round. But now, after nearly losing to Switzerland and being outplayed on home ice by the Americans, it must win a play-in game Tuesday against Germany to reach the quarterfinals.
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