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LionDen
02-16-2006, 01:22 PM
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Chris Chelios is leading Team USA in an uphill battle for the gold medal at Turin. They face formidable competition from the favorite to win gold, the Canadian team, as well as the Czechs and Swedes.

Gold not a miracle, but still long shot for U.S.
‘It happened 26 years ago, it could happen again,’ says coach Laviolette

TURIN, Italy - Contrary to popular opinion, and despite a surprising 3-3 tie in the opener against Latvia, the Team USA hockey squad can win the Olympic gold medal in Turin.

But no one has to tell the Yanks’ head coach, Peter Laviolette, just how unloved his team has been in the pre-tournament polls.

“Geez, maybe we shouldn’t even go,” said a slightly sarcastic Laviolette, the Carolina Hurricanes head coach, just a few days before his fellow Americans made their way across the Atlantic. “I mean, maybe we should just stay home, you know?”

The Yanks, as Laviolette fully understands, have history and pedigree working against them. They haven’t won the gold medal since 1980, when a ragtag bunch of U.S. college kids and minor-league pros dumped the mighty Soviet Union en route to the championship, an event Sports Illustrated certified as the top sports event of the 20th century. The Americans also lack big-name NHL stars, save for a select bunch of red-white-and-blue greybeards.

“I think there are some pretty good names on that roster,” said Laviolette, who twice suited up for USA Olympic squads, including a tour as captain in the 1994 Games at Lillehammer. “I’m thinking of guys like [Chris] Chelios, [Doug] Weight, [Mike] Modano and Guerin. How many times in your life do you get a chance to do something great? Well, for these guys, it could be their last chance — and I think that could mean something.”

Therein lies the Laviolette sales pitch that he planned to deliver to his troop upon landing at the foot of Olympus. The Americans may not have the experts on their side. Age may be working against them. There are some good young Americans, just not enough of them. But the tournament lasts for only two weeks, and once into the elimination round, a little bit of luck and ample dollops of determination can work miracles — no matter what the odds. For verification, ask Viktor Tikhonov, the legendary ex-Soviet coach, how he enjoyed his fortnight in the Adirondacks 26 years ago.

Without question, the Yanks are at the bottom of the totem pole of medal wannabes.

The Canadians, winners for the first time in 50 years at Salt Lake in ‘02, stand as most everyone's favorites. From there, the perennial powers of the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Russia and perhaps even Slovakia have joined the U.S. as realistic medal-stand possibilities.

[B]Weakest links: Kazakhstan, Latvia, Switzerland, Italy

Here is what we can say with virtual certainty: weak sisters Kazakhstan, Latvia, Switzerland and Italy will not make it out of round-robin play. Latvia and Kazakhstan are in the American draw, a six-team pool, which should be a measure of comfort for Laviolette & Co.

But Laviolette might have known something when he spoke before the tournament about Latvia.

“The Latvians worry me,” the coach said. “They’re always tough, anyway, and they’ve got mostly non-NHL’ers. They’ll be time-adjusted, ready ... and waiting.”

Team Canada, constructed for a second time by team director Wayne Gretzky, has the best blend of youth and talent in the tournament. The Canadians might have been able to suit up a second squad good enough to play the Canadian varsity in a gold-medal final. And that’s without the likes of aging superstars Mario Lemieux (retired) and Steve Yzerman (opted out) having a sweater in the fight. They’re labeled repeat champs with good reason.

Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Marty Turco will block the net for the Canadians. Three reasons right there to rate Team Maple Leaf at the top of the heap. The most angst Team Canada might encounter in Turin is trying to figure out which great goalie to play on a game-to-game basis.

So many No. 1s, and only one 24-square-foot net

The bet here is that the Canadians will repeat as champs, edging out the Czechs (silver) in the gold-medal game. Team USA will return home with the bronze, nosing out the Swedes for the door prize. If Markus Naslund had been able to play (he withdrew due to injury) and Peter Forsberg (groin problems) were in full health, the Swedes might have been able to get a date in the gold-medal game.

Truth is, as Laviolette is well aware, trying to pick the medal rankings is a sucker’s game.

Of the 12 teams in the tournament, any of the seven powerhouses as noted above could win. The Germans rank neither as a powerhouse nor a weak sister, because of their track record as stubborn, consistent, albeit conservative, competitors. They’ll have Caps goalie Olaf Kolzig in their net again, and Ollie the Goalie alone can make it a long night for the best of clubs. They shouldn’t make it beyond the round-robin play-in, but if they do, the Germans could be the ultimate spoilers.

The Swedes always play with intelligence, discipline and confidence.

Swedes almost preternaturally calm

At times, they look almost serene, until one of their skilled forwards pounces on a goal-scoring chance. They’re usually not big. They’re usually not physically tough. What they may lack in size and brawn, though, they more than make up for with skill and intelligence and temerity. Quiet, scary, and often lethal, thy name is Svege.

Slovakia, the Czech Republic's kid brother, rarely makes it on a list of favorites. It’s a mistake. Slovakia is the ultimate sleeper, simply because it is a tiny country in terms of population and hasn’t yet achieved marquee status at the Games. All that could change in Turin. They’re weak in net, true, but very dependable, if not daunting, at defense and especially forwards. In the back, they’ve got the game’s biggest-hitting blueliner in Zdeno Chara. And up front they bring the highly-skilled likes of Marian Hossa, Petr Bondra, Pavol Demitra and Miro Satan.

The Russians, who once owned Olympus, aren’t nearly the threat they were back in their CCCP salad days. It is, at best, a quirky roster they’ve dialed in for Turin. Former NHL superstar Pavel Bure was given the steering hand here when he announced his retirement as a player at the start of the NHL season. From here it looks like at least four more years before the Russian Rocket can smooth out some of the wrinkles the Russians have had building rosters in recent years. The transition from old-world Russia to new-world hockey hasn’t been a smooth one.

Finns deserve some kudos

We probably haven’t given the Finns enough kudos here. That’s not just because we have such a hard time spelling their names. It’s about their net. Had goalie Miikka Kiprusoff not pulled out, due to niggling injuries, they easily could be considered serious medal contenders. As the opening day approached, however, they had Flyer netminder Antero Niittymaki as their only NHL-tested netminder. Niittymaki often has struggled to keep it together on Broad Street this season, and Olympus is a much bigger highway.

For now, until virtually everyone is proven wrong, the gold’s gotta go to Canada.

“You know, that’s what the majority of the world would say,” mused Laviolette. “But you never know. Once into the playoffs, it’s single elimination, one and done. It’s that simple. To write off a club like, say, Slovakia or Finland, that’s just crazy. Hey, it could be Canada-Russia in the quarterfinals and, you know what, one of ‘em is going home without a medal. Everyone’s got Canada No. 1, and the U.S. around No. 7.

“Well, I say it’s an opportunity to do something great in our lives. It happened 26 years ago, and it can happen again, and God forbid we prove the critics wrong.”

Kevin Dupont for MSNBC