Olympics: U.S. blitzes by Finland, 6-1, into final
-
U.S. forward Ryan Malone, right celebrates the first goal with Phil Kessel, left, and Joe Pavelski Friday.
Share with others:
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- This was supposed to be the Olympics in which the United States hockey program achieved little more than a fresh start.
Management had put together the tournament's youngest roster and set a modest goal of finishing in the top four. And the players themselves, as had been explained by babyfaced forward Patrick Kane, were here "to have a lot of fun and do as well as we can."
How does gold sound?
The Americans blitzed Finland for six goals in the opening 13 minutes, two of those by Kane, en route to a 6-1 rout in the semifinals Friday at Canada Hockey Place. And their reward was a place in the championship game, 3:15 p.m. Sunday, against Canada, a winner against Slovakia in the other semifinal later in the evening.
As Al Michaels once famously spoke: Do you believe?
"Our guys are young, excited, and there's good chemistry," goaltender Ryan Miller said. "There are a lot of positive feelings with this group right now. We don't have a lot of experience, but we have a lot of talent. And when we push like that, we're a tough team to hang with."
Latest: 
"We came into this tournament believing in what we have," forward Jamie Langenbrunner said. "And we don't care what anyone else thinks."
To be sure, there is nothing miraculous about this: The U.S. is 5-0, the only team with a perfect record, the only team that has yet to trail in any game, the only one with a scoring disparity as large as 22-6, the only one to have beaten the favorite Canada and, maybe most important, it has steadily raised its level of play each step of the way.
First Published February 27, 2010 12:00 am
