Ok, so I know there are plenty of hockey/soccer dads and moms out there reading this.
What is the one thing you always know before the final game of any tournament? The tie-breakers, right? What has to happen to make the next round. I have coached for 5 years and I can honestly tell you I have even grandparents coming up before games and telling me when we need to win by 4 or more goals; or get a shutout, or hope someone else gives up three goals...you get the picture...
Last night, for Team North America to be guaranteed a place in the semi-finals they HAD to win in regulation or be left to hope that Russia could somehow lose to Finland. As a coach that means you go out and take care of what you can control, because scorebaord watching sucks.
Everyone in the Press Box last night knew what North America had to do. I can only assume the TV announcers were discussing it on ESPN and Sportsnet. Heck, my kids knew about it and texted me sad faces when it went to OT. Sweden, yes SWEDEN the team they were playing, knew it. They skillfully played four corners to kill the clock and celebrated on the bench when regulation came to an end.
And yet, unbelievably, the Team North American players and coaches were apparently unaware of the consequences of going to OT. We were all wondering why the Couturier line was playing so much down the stretch with offense needed and everything on the line. Just look at the difference in the late push the kids put up against the Russians and then watch last night's final 7 minutes. When you watch it over again, as I just did, you can tell Team North America was playing conservative, as if they liked their chances versus Team Sweden in the 3 v3 ....and when they won the incredibly exciting OT they reacted like a team that was told they were in.
It was the great and raw emotion of a team with no idea they may had just played their last game together.
What a terrible way to end what was an otherwise incredible experiment putting these youngsters together on this team.
But seriously, how could this happen?