2014 Sochi Olympic Items Now On Display at Hockey Hall of Fame

Future great seeing great women in hockey @HockeyHallFame 2014 Olympic display #IWD2014 @HockeyCanada @couellette13 pic.twitter.com/oIvQsbfrHG
— Kelly Masse (@KellyHockeyHall) March 7, 2014

Sochi Last Olympics For NHL?

There has been lots of speculation that the National Hockey League will pull the plug on allowing it's players to participate in the Olympics after 2014.

In fact, it is not even speculation - the writing is definitely on the wall. The NHL is now a $4 billion dollar industry that shuts down for two weeks, loans out its key assets and makes not even a single buck in immediate return. Throw in the fact that the soonest the Olympics may return to North America is 2026, you can't blame the NHL and the NHLPA for looking for better options.

The better option has been discussed at length by the NHL and the NHLPA and that is the return of the World Cup of Hockey. For all it's mismanaged history, the World Cup offers immediate revenue that the Olympics do not. The NHL can reap the television money, the ticket sales and the sponsorship money all to themselves.

But where you can blame the NHL is in lack of seeing the bigger picture. And ultimately the bigger picture means far more money than the World Cup can provide.

Ken Campbell of The Hockey News had some interesting numbers in THN's Olympic preview magazine.

• Olympic hockey at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics had audiences of 1.5 million viewers in Brazil and 1.6 million in Australia.
• Canadian television committed 102 hours of hockey coverage in 2010. Italy committed 251.
• More people around the globe watched Olympic hockey in 2010 than the Super Bowl or UEFA Champions League.

The World Cup will be a nice tournament for hard core hockey fans in North America and in traditional markets in Europe. It will never capture global attention like the Olympics have. The NHL would rather try to milk the same fans of their money rather than tapping into hundreds of millions of new fans in Brazil or Australia or Italy. Surely they can figure out a way of getting t-shirts and jerseys in stores in Melbourne or Venice, could they not? It would take one heck of a die-hard hockey fan in Brazil to even know a World Cup of Hockey game is being played.

Over time winning over new fans worldwide at the Olympics will bring the league so many more riches than going after the short term but sure dollars at the World Cup. It's an easy decision, except for one fact.

Most of the NHL's owners are not interested in the league's fortunes 10+ years from now. Many owners look to flip their investment by then. In fact, by the time the Olympics possibly return to North America in 2026, most of today's owners will have moved on. They want to reap in whatever cash they can now, and then sell their holdings presumably at significantly improved valuation.

Likewise, the NHLPA and by extension the players themselves really aren't that worried about the bigger picture either. As much as the players love participating in the Olympics, they realistically are only interested in financial security of their own generation. That means take the sure thing now - the World Cup - and include it's revenues in the salary cap formula in the immediate future. More quick, sure money means a higher salary cap and bigger contracts now.

It may be highly possible that the Sochi Olympics will be the last featuring NHL players. That would be a huge loss for hockey fans all around the world, whether they are watching from Regina or Rio de Janeiro. 

It would also be a loss for the International Olympic Committee. Losing NHL players in the Winter Olympics' most valuable property would be a huge blow, with loss of sponsorships, ratings and television contract dollars to match. Perhaps the IOC will bend their rigid stranglehold and allow businesses like the NHL and NBA and soccer bodies around the world to share the pie so that everyone can win?

Don't count on it. The IOC lacks the same foresight the NHL does.

Canada Wins 2014 Sochi Olympics Gold Medal!

Having the two best big-game players in the world often helps. And even though neither player had scored a goal in the entire 2014 Sochi Olympics, leading the offense for Canada in the 3-0 gold medal win vs. Sweden was Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby.

Just like in the gold medal in Vancouver in 2010 it was Jonathan Toews opening the scoring in the gold medal game in Sochi. At 12:55 of the first period, Jeff Carter centered the puck for Toews to redirect past Swedish goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Sidney Crosby stripped defenseman Jonathan Ericsson of the puck and headed in on a clear breakaway. He deked to his right and deposited the puck past Henrik Lundqvist at 15:43 of the second period to extend Canada's lead to 2-0. Canada controlled the game physically in that period, establishing their cycle game and wearing down the Swedish defense.

Sweden really activated their blueliners early in the third in an attempt to get on the board early in the third but Canada, as they have done all tournament, made the quick adjustment. The more the Swedes challenged the more Canada responded with dangerous odd-man rushes the other way.

Chris Kunitz put the final dagger to the Swedish heart with an unassisted marker in the third period.

Carey Price continued his incredible play. He seemingly swallowed up every rebound all tournament long and ended the games with a shutout streak of 164 minutes and 19 seconds. Unbelievably Team Canada surrendered only 3 goals against in the entire 6 game tournament, including only 1 goal in the three medal round games. Price had two shutouts, while Roberto Luongo had another in his only game of the tournament.

Canada's MVP just might be Mike Babcock and Canada's coaching staff. They identified a perfect big ice game strategy and then, just as importantly, got every player to buy into the game plan. It worked perfectly, and all in less than 2 weeks.

Sweden had to play this game without their top center. Niklas Backstrom, who had excelled with Daniel Sedin and Louie Eriksson, was unable to play. Initially it was reported as an ill-timed migraine headache, but reports are now swirling that he failed a drug test after taking some cold medicine. With Sweden also missing top centers Henrik Sedin and Henrik Zetterberg the top line was centered by Jimmie Ericsson - the only non-NHLer on the Swedish roster.

For Canada it was their 10th consecutive game won dating back to the beginning of the medal round in 2010. Canada becomes the first team to repeat as gold medal champions in the NHL era at the Olympics. Canada has now won three of the five NHL Olympics, including three of the last four.

Canada also becomes the only team in the NHL era to win the gold medal with an undefeated record.

For Canada it is their 9th mens Olympic championship.

Top Stories of the Sochi 2014 Olympics

Hockey tournaments like Sochi 2014 are memorable for the various storylines. Sometimes those stories are well hyped, but often the best stories come out from nowhere.

The ultimate story has to be Canada's back-to-back gold medal championships for both the men and the women. Canada becomes the first team to repeat as gold medal champions in the NHL era at the Olympics. Canada has now won three of the five NHL Olympics, including three of the last four.

Let's take a look back at the top hockey stories of the Sochi 2014 Olympics.

The 2014 Sochi, Russia Olympics were supposed to be all about Alexander Ovechkin and the Russian hockey team. But it did not turn out that way. Even though he went home with a bronze medal, Sochi was very much about the great Teemu Selanne.

Teemu almost certainly played his last Olympic game. He retires with hockey records for most Olympic appearances (6 - tied with countryman Raimo Helminen) and most points in the modern era (24-19-43 in 37 games). He is the oldest hockey player to a) score a goal and b) win a medal. He is one of only 7 hockey players to win 4 medals in his career.

Selanne is one of the most respected figures in all of hockey history. In his international swan song he showed why, playing with passion and excellence. He was named as the Olympic MVP by the media.

The Americans fizzled out of Sochi, but the early star of the games was Warroad, Minnesota's T.J. Oshie. He shot 6 times in the shootout, scoring 4 times and singlehandedly defeated the Russians in the most memorable game of the tournament even if it was in the preliminary round. You know the story. Everybody knows the story. For a moment he transcended the game with that shootout as everybody in America was talking about him. It was all for not with USA's medal-less exit.

The best game of the medal round pitted bitter rivals Canada and USA. It was a narrow 1-0 victory for Canada, but by no means was this game even close. Canada dominated throughout but their lack of offense continued to amaze. Jamie Benn scored the only. One of Canada's more anonymous players, Benn's excellence has been a real revelation in Sochi

Latvian goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis - a guy pretty much nobody had ever heard of before - introduced himself to the world in emphatic fashion - holding Canada to a 1-1 tie late in the quarter-final before finally allowing a Shea Weber shot to get by and allow Canada to escape . . . barely. He stopped 55 of 57 shots - many of them in spectacular fashion. He earned the respect of the hockey world with that performance.

The most unfortunate story of the 2014 Olympics was the failure of the homeland heroes. Under great pressure to reclaim hockey supremacy, the Russian hockey team never fully got untracked and was knocked out of the quarterfinals by Finland. It is terribly disappointing that Alex Ovechkin - who was very much the face of these games - never challenged for the gold medal. Moreover, it seems just wrong that Russia and Canada never played a game. Canada has never brought it's best players to play in Russia since 1972. The long suffering Russian hockey fans deserved the anticipation of hockey's eternal showdown.

In many ways the top hockey moments in Sochi came not from the NHL stars but from the top female players in the world. In fact, the women's gold medal game very plausibly could be declared the best hockey game played in Sochi. Canada's stunning comeback, thanks to hero Marie-Philip Poulin, to tie the score late and win in overtime, was one for the ages.

The women's tournament was also memorable memorable for the marked improvement of the other nations. Criticized as a two-nation sport as only Canada and USA contend, Sochi saw strong performances from Finland, Sweden and especially Switzerland, who was led by the amazing Florence Schelling.

2014 Sochi Olympics Award Winners

The media love two things - Teemu Selanne and a good story. So it comes as no surprise that the media named Teemu Selanne as the 2014 Sochi Olympics mens hockey tournament MVP.

Selanne captained Finland to the bronze medal in his sixth Olympics.

Other individual awards, as selected by the directorate of the tournament, went to Canada’s Carey Price as Best Goalkeeper, Sweden’s Erik Karlsson as Best Defenceman and the USA’s Phil Kessel as Best Forward.

The media-selected All Star team featured Henrik Lundqvist in net instead of Price. Karlsson was joined by Drew Doughty on defense while Selanne and Kessel were joined by Mikael Granlund up front.

Whoa Canada! Sochi Gold Medal Preview

Wait just a moment Canada.

Yes, Team Canada convincingly defeated the United States. And yes that very much felt as good as winning the gold medal.

But here's the thing - that was just the semi-final. Team Canada has not won the gold medal just yet. Even though it seems everyone is willing to crown them already.

That's the sense I get on Twitter and in conversation with other fans. Canada will beat Sweden no problem. It's in the bag. We will party on Sunday. 

But the problem is Sweden is not exactly going to cooperate

It's funny because prior to the USA game there was no sense of superiority and confidence. If anything there was a hidden sense that we would have concede victory to a very impressive USA squad.

As it turned out, however, that was not the day we had to do that. And that's the funny thing about single game elimination tournaments. A team is only as good as they are on that day - all the previous performances do not matter.

So don't count your gold medals just yet, Canada. Sweden likely will surprise you. They are the number one ranked seed for a reason. They have won every game and in regulation. They have quite potentially the most difficult goaltender for Team Canada's starved offense to solve yet. And they are masters of big ice hockey. And to them this gold medal game is more important than the Stanley Cup. 

Canada does look good heading into the gold medal game. But so does Sweden. And the gold medal isn't decided until 60 minutes after the puck drop. This is no easy task. 

What To Expect

• A Slower Game. The Canada-USA game was played at an amazing pace, largely because the Americans kept trying to push the pace early. Canada obliged, but seemed to better understand the big ice on that day. Sweden appears to have the best adaptation to the big ice, and will hold that distinct advantage over Canada. Canada better expect a return to slower games that they struggled with prior to USA. Sweden will happily take their chances with a tight game because they have arguably the best goalie in the world.
• Sweden's blue line is the only blue line that can challenge Canada. They have two set NHL pairs in Johnny Oduya/Niklas Hjarmalsson of Chicago and Niklas Kronwall/Jonathan Ericsson of Detroit. Granted they are both second pairing units but their built familiarity is a huge advantage. Their top pairing features Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson along side Alex Edler, a favorite of coach Per Marts. In fact they are so deep on the back end that Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who I consider to be Sweden's best defenseman other than Karlsson, did not take a single shift in the semifinal against Finland. Canada still has the advantage, but it's not nearly as significant as compared to everyone else they have faced.
• The line of Daniel Sedin-Niklas Backstrom-Louie Eriksson was the stars of the semi-final win. Canada will have to keep them quiet. With Henrik Sedin and Henrik Zetterberg injured Canada needs to exploit their advantage down the middle. Crosby, Toews, Getzlaf and Duchene 

Enjoy the game everyone! Join me on Twitter @HockeyLegends for in-game commentary and features.

Latvia's Vitalijs Pavlovs Fails Drug Test

Latvian forward Vitalijs Pavlovs was sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee due to a doping violation at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Drug tests revealed the presence of the prohibited stimulant methylhexaneamine (dimethylpentylamine). Pavlovs said he does not know how the stimulant entered his body but admitted he had been taking food supplements upon the recommendation of the doctor of his club team Dynamo Riga of the KHL.

The IOC disciplinary body will now exclude him from the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and his Athlete’s diploma for the 8th-place finish shall be withdrawn.

The IOC will now allow the International Ice Hockey Federation to make appropriate mention of the above in the record of the sports results, and to consider further discipline.

Teemu! Finland Wins 2014 Sochi Olympic Bronze Medal

Is there a more respected man in hockey than Teemu Selanne? On both sides of the Atlantic he is loved and revered. It impossible not to like the Finnish Flash. True, he's not quite the same player he once was, but it's always good to see him flash that easy grin.

The Finnish Flash was flashing his trademark easy smile a lot on Saturday as Teemu Selanne paced Team Finland to 5-0 bronze medal win over Team USA.

The Finnish captain led the way with 2 goals including the game winner. Jussi Jokinen, Jusso Hietanen and Olli Maatta also scored for Finland. Tuukka Rask got the shutout.

Finland wanted this game in large part because everybody knows this was Teemu Selanne's last Olympic game. We can likely include Sami Salo, Kimmo Timonen and Olli Jokinen in the same boat too.


Selanne, playing in his sixth Olympics, now has 1 silver and 3 bronze medals in his jewellery collection. He exits as the modern day all-time leading scorer in Olympic history with 24 goals, 19 assists and 43 points in 37 games. He extended his own olympic record as the oldest hockey player to scorer a goal (43 years and 234 days) and now surpasses Igor Larionov as the oldest hockey player to medal at an Olympics.

Selanne and Timonen join Russia’s Vladislav Tretiak and Igor Kravchuk, Czechoslovakia’s Jiri Holik, and fellow countrymen Jere Lehtinen and Saku Koivu as the only male hockey players to have won four Olympic medals.

For Finland it is their second straight Olympic bronze medal and sixxth medal in the last eight Olympics dating back to 1988. They are 4-0 in bronze medal games.

For the Finns bronze is a prized accomplishment.

"It's not gold," said Selanne. "But I'd rather win bronze than lose the silver."

The Americans, still dejected from a hard loss the day before to Canada, never seemed interested in this contest. Patrick Kane may have been their most dangerous player. Twice he was denied on penalty shots. The high scoring Americans failed to score a goal in their final 2 games.

USA vs Finland: Sochi Bronze Medal Preview

The bronze medal game is a game no one really wants to be in, at least not immediately after losing a semi-final matchup and a chance for Olympic gold.

But that is exactly where Finland and the United States find themselves. And the team that appreciates the opportunity before them the soonest is likely to win a bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Since the NHL era began at the Olympics Finland has won the most medals - three, including 1 silver and 2 bronze. Canada is guaranteed to match that on Sunday, so Finland will be motivated to keep that title and add another bronze - especially considering this may very well be the last NHL Olympics.

Moreover Finland will want to win for Teemu Selanne. Selanne - the 6 time Olympian and modern day Olympics all time leading scorer - will almost certainly be playing in his last international match. The Finns will want to make sure he exits on a winning note.

Will USA recoup in time for Saturday's match? They were emphatically and dramatically denied by Canada, devastating the Americans. Can they return to their high octane offense? Can they push the pace against a Finnish team that is the master of the big ice?

If Finland was healthy I'd like their chances. But they are still missing their top 3 centers - Valterri Filppula, Aleksandr Barkov and Mikko Koivu. 

I do think the Americans are more likely to regroup and fight for gold than the Canadians with their flawed gold or bust mentality. So I expect the bronze medal game to be a top notch affair.

Canada Shuts Down Americans; Will Play For Gold

"The Price Is Right" for Canada as Carey Price got a 1-0 shutout over Team USA in Friday's semifinal.

Price got a lot of help from his teammates. Despite scoring only one goal, Canada played a textbook hockey game. Offensively they spent a lot of time in the Americans zone, grinding down and tiring out the US defense. Defensively they were air-tight, essentially writing a how-to manual on how to always support teammates.

The scoreless first period was an electric exchange of scoring chances for both teams. The Sidney Crosby-Chris Kunitz-Patrice Bergeron line was dangerous all night, while the Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry-Jamie Benn line gave America all they could handle and then some with their size down low. America responded with good speed on the transition but Canada adjusted by the 10 minute mark and eliminated that from their game.

Canada controlled the game from that moment on. In fact for a narrow one-goal victory, this game wasn't really that close.

Jonathan Quick was strong all night. But even he was unable to stop a Jamie Benn deflection at 1:41 of the second period. Jay Bouwmeester feigned a point shot and made an excellent hard pass for Benn to tip in.

It was the only goal Canada would need. The USA rarely had quality scoring chances in the second and third, with Paul Stastny coming the closest by jamming a puck through Price’s five hole but it rolled wide of the far post.

The key to the game was the play of each nation's blue line. Canada, with 4 Norris trophy candidates and 2 very strong rearguards, played with great composure all night long. They controlled play in their own zone and pinched with impunity in the American zone.

USA seemed to tire under constant pressure and cycling from the large Canadian forwards. They were down a man with Paul Martin out due to injury. Martin had been average 18 minutes per game for USA - the third highest total for the team. And therein lies the ultimate problem for USA: Their third best d-man can not compare with any of Canada's 8 players available. In fact only Ryan Suter would make Team Canada if he were available.

Canada now plays Sweden on Sunday for the gold medal (7am ET/4am PT). USA will play Finland for the bronze on Saturday (10am ET/7 am PT)

Sweden Advances To Gold Medal Game

Sweden advanced to the 2014 Sochi Olympics gold medal game on Sunday by defeating Finland 2-1.

The 2006 gold medallists now await the winner of the Canada-USA semifinal played later today.

Loui Eriksson and Erik Karlsson scored for Sweden. Olli Jokinen scored for Finland.

The game got off to a surprise start with Finland's top goalie, Tuukka Rask, unable to play due to the flu. Kari Lehtonen played admirably in tough circumstances. Finland had already lost centers Mikko Koivu, Aleksandr Barkov and Valterri Filppula in the tournament.

The game was not exactly another classic in this heated Scandinavian rivalry. The game was slow and tactical. Daniel Alfredsson termed it "a chess match."

If that was the case then Swedish goalie Henrik Lundqvist is the chessmaster. With the win Lundqvist becomes the 2nd winningest goaltender in Olympic history, trailing only the legendary Vladislav Tretiak.

Sweden’s bid for its first gold medal since 2006 continues. The only other Swedish Olympic gold came in Lillehammer in 1994, where Peter Forsberg scored his iconic one-handed goal in the final shootout to defeat Canada.

The loss seemed hardest on Teemu Selanne, the 43 year old all-time leading scorer in the modern era of the Olympic Games with 41 points. He played as if he was years younger, always wanting the puck on his stick in an attempt to tie the score.

Selanne will have a chance to end his glorious international hockey career with a medal here in Sochi. Finland will play on Saturday in the bronze medal game vs. the loser of the Canada-USA semifinal.

Canada vs USA: Sochi Olympic Semi Final Preview

The United States men's hockey is getting exactly what they wanted at the 2014 Sochi Olympics - a rematch of the 2010 gold medal game vs Canada.

In Vancouver, Canada defeated the U.S., 3-2, when Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby scored the famous "Golden Goal" in overtime. 

The Canadians also defeated the U.S. in the 2002 Salt Lake City gold medal game. And now the American men, many of whom were in the stands to witness it first hand, will also be looking to avenge the USA ladies loss to Canada in the women's gold medal game on Thursday.

But it is the 2010 loss that stings the most for this American team, many of whom were on the ice in Vancouver and had to endure the heartbreaking loss and subsequent medal ceremony. They are determined to erase that memory.

The Americans are primed and ready to overtake Canada, but it certainly will not be easy. The Americans have basically rolled right through the competition at Sochi. Canada, on the other hand, have struggled to find goals and, despite dominating play, are eeking out victories.

The Americans were a young team in 2010 but they have grown together and are ready knock off the Canadians.  It is safe to say that Canada has certainly not inspired a lot of confidence from their legion of followers, but I do believe that the team themselves remain a very confident group. People forget that they have played very well in Sochi, and their best game has not been shown yet.

Canada will have to contend with USA's so-called Meat Line of David Backes, Dustin Brown and Ryan Callahan. This physical threesome will be looking to soften up Canada at every chance, and have been scoring well, too. Also watch for Joe Pavelski with James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel. They have torn up the competition in Sochi so far.

Canada is hoping their unmatchable defense pairings will be the difference maker. Whether they throw out Duncan Keith and Shea Weber, or Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester or Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Drew Doughty, Canada's rearguards can match up against anybody. The Americans have not had to face anything like it yet.

Canada's defense has keyed their pop-gun offense so far, so expect the American forwards to watch the point men very closely. Canada will likely have to try and win the 3 on 3 cycle game down low.

The winner of the game will face the winner of Sweden vs. Finland, a rematch of the 2006 gold medal game, in Sunday’s championship. Meanwhile, the losers of the two semi-finals will play for the bronze medal Saturday.

The game between the U.S. and Canada is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT. It will be shown on NBC in the United States and CBC/CBC Online in Canada.

Sweden vs Finland: Sochi Olympic Semi Final Preview

Here's a friendly reminder to North American hockey fans - there is a second Olympic semi-final in Sochi on Friday.

While we all anxiously await the Canada-USA showdown (12pm ET/9am PT), eternal rivals Sweden and Finland face-off in the other semi (7am ET/4am PT).

The game promises to be a low scoring affair. With Henrik Lundqvist in net for Sweden and Tuukka Rask for Finland this game features arguably the two best goaltenders in the tournament. Both teams - especially Finland - employ especially stingy defensive game plans.

Both teams are decimated at center by injuries. Sweden is missing Henrik Zetterberg and Henrik Sedin as well as winger Johan Franzen while Finland is missing Valtteri Filppula, Aleksandr Barksov and brothers Mikko and Saku Koivu. 

Sweden has only won Olympic medal since 1998 when the NHL era at the Olympics began. But it was the gold medal in 2006 in Torino. That victory came at the expense of the Finns.

The Finns have had more podium finishes since 1998 than any other hockey nation winning that silver and two bronzes. 

But, as Finnish coach Erkka Westerlund said, "That's history. We must write a new history."

Expected lineups: Finland

Forwards
• Mikael Granlund—Jarkko Immonen—Teemu Selanne
• Tuomo Ruutu—Olli Jokinen—Jussi Jokinen
• Lauri Korpikoski—Petri Kontiola—Juhamatti Aaltonen
• Antti Pihlstrom—Jori Lehtera—Leo Komarov
Defensemen
• Kimmo Timonen— Sami Vatanen
• Olli Maata—Sami Salo
• Sami Lepisto—Juuso Hietanen
• Ossi Vaananen—Lasse Kukkonen
Goaltenders
• Tuukka Rask
• Kari Lehtonen

Expected Lineups: Sweden

Forwards
• Daniel Sedin—Nicklas Backstrom—Loui Eriksson
• Alexander Steen—Patrik Berglund—Daniel Alfredsson
• Gabriel Landeskog—Marcus Johansson—Jakob Silfverberg
• Jimmie Ericsson—Marcus Kruger—Carl Hagelin/Gustav Nyquist
Defensemen
• Alexander Edler—Erik Karlsson
• Jonathan Ericsson—Niklas Kronwall
• Niklas Hjalmarsson—Johnny Oduya
Extra: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Goaltenders
• Henrik Lundqvist
• Jhonas Enroth

Drama Queens! Canada Beats USA In Overtime For Women's Hockey Gold

In one of the greatest comebacks in Olympic hockey history Team Canada beat Team USA in the gold medal game of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Marie-Philip Poulin scored in the dying seconds to tie the game, and then scored again in overtime to win the game 3-2.

The win is the 4th consecutive gold meal for Team Canada, and 20th consecutive win at the Olympics.

The young and the relentless American women's hockey team has emerged as the dominant team in women's hockey in recent years, but they have not been able to defeat Canada at the Olympics. They had won four of the previous five world championships and dominated Canada in the pre-Olympic exhibition matches. They seemed prime to finally take the Olympic title.

Meghan Duggan and Alex Carpenter - daughter of NHL legend Bobby Carpenter - scored for USA. The Americans seemed to control the game much of the time, especially when given power play opportunities. Canada's rookie defender Tara Watchorn took three minor penalties, including on what appeared to be on Carpenter's heart-breaking goal.

But the defending champs refused to give up, storming back to force overtime in dramatic fashion.

Brianne Jenner revived Canadian hopes with a late goal with just 3:26 left to play, starting a comeback of Olympic proportion. 

Canada pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker, only to see the linesman accidentally interfere with the play, allowing the Americans to clear the zone. The puck, seemingly in slow motion, flittered down the ice only to the hit the post, keeping Canada's slim chance alive.

On the very next play Marie-Philip Poulin scored to force overtime, shocking most observers who were ready to write off the veteran champions.

The Americans stormed out to feverish start of OT only to see Shannon Szabados with spectacular saves to keep Canada in the game. Enough can not be said about Szabados' excellent play on Thursday.

The Americans kept the pressure on and eventually something had to give. British referee Joy Johnston called a 2 minute cross-checking penalty on Catherine Ward, giving the Americans 4 on 3 power play with lots of room on the big ice. 

Jocelyne Lamoureux would be called for slashing only 6 seconds later, allowing for an incredibly rare 3 on 3 play for nearly 2 minutes.

The three one three play was highlight by a clear breakaway for Hayley Wickenheiser who was then hauled down by Hilary Knight. The referee did call the penalty on Knight, but incredibly did not award the penalty shot.

Canada regained their composure and went to work on the power play where Marie Philip Poulin scored again.

You have to feel bad for American veteran Julie Chu. This is her third and quite possibly last Olympics. Only Angela Ruggeiro has played more games for USA than the five time world champion Chu. But she was unable to add the gold medal to her jewellery collection.

Top Women Honoured In Sochi

Let's wrap up our coverage of the 2014 Sochi women's hockey tournament with a look at the individual honours.

Swiss goalkeeper Florence Schelling was honoured three times being named Most Valuable Player, Best Goalkeeper and All-Star Goalkeeper. The bronze medallist was an amazing story and perhaps best player in Sochi.

Finland's Noora Raaty challenged Schelling as top goalie but it was two other Finns who won other individual awards. Jenni Hiirikoski was named Best Defenceman and Michelle Karvinen, the scoring leader before the medal day, was named Best Forward.

Sochi marks the first time ever the three individual awards went exclusively to Europeans. At the last three Olympics only American and Canadian players were selected.

Hiirikoski was also selected as Best Defenceman in the 2012 and 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championships while Schelling won a Best Goalkeeper award in 2012 when Switzerland won Women’s Worlds bronze.

The Media All-Star Team featured Schelling in net, Team USA’s Megan Bozek and Hiirikoski on defense, and Americans Amanda Kessel and Hilary Knight and Canadian Meghan Agosta at forward.

Wickenheiser, Ouellette, Hefford Make History

They have been mainstays on Canada's women's national team seemingly forever. They have been through good and bad. But mostly good. Lots of good.

Hayley Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford and Caroline Ouellette have won gold medals in 2002, 2006, 2010 and now 2014. And that makes them history makers!

With four straight gold medals in women's hockey Wickenheiser, Hefford and Ouellette joined Soviet biathlete Alexander Tikhonov and German speedskater Claudia Pechstein as gold medallists in four consecutive Winter Games.

They are also Canada's most golden girls, or boys for that matter. They are the only four-time gold medallists in Olympic history.

It is quite likely that all three have played their final Olympic game with the Canadian national team. Wickenheiser is 35 while Hefford and Ouellette are 34. Can they return in 2018 at age 39 and 38? Not likely given Canada's stream of young female players.

Switzerland Women Win First Olympic Hockey Medal

The Swiss women defeated Sweden 4-3 in the women's bronze medal game today

It is the first medal for Swiss women's hockey ever. In fact, it is the first medal for Swiss hockey entirely since 1928.

They also become just the 5th nation to win a women's hockey Olympic medal since being accepted as a sport in 1998, joining Canada, United States, Sweden and Finland.

The game ended in a wild finish with Switzerland scoring all four of their goals in the third period, erasing a 2-0 deficit. Alina Muller's empty-netter unexpectedly proved to be the winner

Sweden valiantly tried to come back only to run out of time.

Switzerland's other goals were scored by Jessica Lutz, Sara Benz and Phoebe Stanz. Sweden replied with tallies from Pernilla Winberg, Michelle Lowenhielm and Erica Uden Johansson.

"We never gave up," said star Swiss goalie Florence Schelling. "We never stopped believing. A huge change for us was beating Russia in the quarter-finals 2-0. And then going into the semi-final and only losing to Canada 3-1. We won the second period in that game and tied the third. That was incredible for us to make us believe today we could win the bronze medal."

8283 fans witnessed the thrilling game. 

While it is great to see the rise of the Swiss women's game Sweden continues to struggle. They won Olympic bronze in 2002 and silver in 2006, but they have not won a medal of any kind in any international event since 2007.

Hayley Wickenheiser Elected To IOC Athlete's Commission

Canadian women's hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser has been elected to the International Olympic Committee's athletes commission.

The commission is a 12 member board that consults with the IOC specifically about the athletes concerns regarding athletics as well as travel, accommodation and security.

Wickenheiser and Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen were elected by peers from all nations for 8 year terms today. They replace Canada's two-time cross country skiing medallist Beckie Scott and Finnish hockey player Saku Koivu.

Canada vs USA - Women's Gold Medal Preview

The 2014 Sochi Gold Medal women's hockey game sees the young and the relentless United States take on a veteran Canadian team that is the three time reigning Olympic champions.

To win a fourth straight Olympic gold medal, the Canadian women's hockey team must leverage its big-game experience up front to overcome the superior speed of the United States.

Canada's dozen forwards have a combined 18 previous appearances at the Winter Olympics among them compared to seven among the American forwards. Three-time gold medallists Caroline Ouellette, Hayley Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford, as well as third-time Olympians Meghan Agosta-Marciano and Gillian Apps lead the way for Canada. 

Coach Kevin Dineen will rely heavily on his leadership group. 

"There's a lot of people in that locker-room that have a pretty special jewellery collection."

But the hungry Americans are primed to reclaim Olympic gold - something they have not done since 1998.

Canada may have won the round robin showdown a week ago, but the U.S. beat Canada in four of the last five world championship finals. The last title match came in Ottawa last year, before a sold out stadium of Canadian fans. Many of today's Olympians were on that team, and that should help fill any experience gap.

While Canada holds a heavy experience advantage up front, they do not on the blue line. In fact Catherine Ward and Meaghan Mikkelson are the only two defenders among the six who played in Vancouver, and Mikkelson was unable to play in the game vs. Switzerland for unknown reasons. She will be in the lineup against the Americans, but it is the blue line that the Americans will look to exploit with their speed. 

The line of Amanda Kessell, younger sister of Maple Leafs forward Phil, Brianna Decker and Kendall Coyne is the most impressive line in women's hockey today and are lethal with the puck. They also the key to the red hot power play, which operates at 35% compared to Canada's 20%

Expect Jessie Vetter to play in net for the Americans. She was a constant in those four world championships is arguably the best female goalie in North America right now. 

Canada's goaltender of choice remains a mystery. Whether Dineen chooses Charline Labonte, who got the win against USA in the round robin, or Shannon Szabados, he will get strong goaltending.

Whatever happens on Thursday will go down as another epic chapter in the game's most fierce rivalry. 

Kristers Gudlevskis Brickwalls Canada

Every Olympics has it's amazing stories. In hockey we've already seen T.J. Oshie's shootout heroics and the Slovenians playing so well.

Then there is Kristers Gudlevskis. A $55,000 minor league backup goalie brick-walled Team Canada and their $149 million worth of NHL salary in the quarterfinal on Wednesday. Oh Canada won the game, 2-1. In fact they dominated the game. But Gudlevskis became an instant hero and almost knocked off the defending champions singlehandedly.

Gudlevskis was a surprise starter, even. Veteran Edgars Masalskis has been Latvia's top goalie all tournament long and was absolutely fantastic against Switzerland. But due to exhaustion the Latvians went with their backup.

It was the right move. Gudlevskis - who is a prospect for Steve Yzerman's Tampa Bay Lightning - stopped 55 of 57 shots and kept the score tied at 1-1 late into the third period.

Shea Weber finally solved Gudlevskis at the 13:06 mark of the third period. Patrick Sharp scored in the first period. Lauris Darzins replied for Latvia.

All of Canada tips their helmet to Gudlevskis and the Latvians. There is a party of every true hockey fan - even Canadian fans on this day - who were cheering on Gudlevskis at some level. His story was just too good of a story to not cheer for.

Canada moves, guaranteed to play for a medal. They play USA on Friday to determine who goes to the gold medal final.

USA handle Czech Republic 5-2 today. They have rolled through pretty much everybody in this tournament and have to be considered the favorite against Canada.