Don't blame the officials. Don't blame the post. Don't blame any single player or play in this game.
Just understand the greatness and the awesomeness of how a game like this, on a Thursday, during most people's extended lunch break, played between the two best at what they do, could captivate so many emotions and entertain hockey and non hockey fans alike.
Congrats Canada. It was raw determination and key experience that helped the Canadian women steal this one. They were often called the less skilled/tougher team. But they have a ton of skill. They are a great hockey team. They just won a game that will go down as one of the great moments in the history of hockey in Canada. You don't get to do that every Thursday.
And while the American girls will never be able to get this one back. They themselves, with an average age of just past 23, will have chances to get the next ones. But this one will take time. You can teach a great competitor all sorts of skills but you can never teach a great competitor a way to deal with losing a game like this one. They always sting. Always will.
The cruelty of tournaments is always the same. The reality is whether you are a pro, an amateur, or an 8 year old Squirt player...only one team gets to win their last game in the tournament. Only one.
Everyone else has to lose.
Everyone but one team has to feel the awful feeling the American girls and fans are feeling right now.
Anyone with a kid playing sports knows the helpless feeling of trying to comfort them after they lose in a tournament. There are no words to make it instantly better. Only questions.
Questions like, "Why do we do this to ourselves?"
Because as all hockey fans know we are cursed. We are cursed to think we can be the one next time. The one team who wins the last game and celebrates.
I have been lucky enough to be on the ice for every Stanley Cup celebration since Carolina beat Edmonton. I have seen the excitement the winners feel. It is a combination of joy and relief and it is powerful.
I have also walked into a locker room like the Bruins room last year. A team who had to be thinking they were home free and going to a game 7 before the Hawks late victory. I imagine the USA room is a lot like that room. In moments like that it doesn't matter if you get paid or get driven to the game. It is a terrible ending and it really stings.
I don't want to try and figure out if the highest of highs is enough to justify the many more times you will lose that final game. When I think on it my answer would sound pretty depressing.
And that, to me at least, is why all that crap about "enjoying the journey" exist. Because you sure as hell better enjoy the journey...or sports really make no sense to be involved in.
The journey both these teams gave us was more than enjoyable...I believe it will be game changing for the sport. More and more girls will ask for hockey skates and be given them.
And THAT probably matters more than any of this.