Uh-Oh Canada! U.S. Wins

There was every reason to believe they were sunk. In the second period alone, Team USA had 22 reasons--one for every shot Canada took at U.S. goaltender Mike Richter--to surrender its hopes of winning the World Cup of Hockey for the first time and concede what seemed to be inevitable.

Yet, in an apparent shift in the international hockey pecking order, the United States showed the unflinching resolve Canadians had considered uniquely their own in a 5-2 victory. Spurred by goals from Brett Hull and Tony Amonte within a 43-second span in the third period, the U.S. rallied Saturday at the Molson Centre to dramatically win the third game of a splendid final series.

“I’m really proud of our players. We’ve put to rest what everyone said earlier, that Americans don’t have character and grit,” said U.S. Coach Ron Wilson, the first coach to win a major international tournament since Herb Brooks led the 1980 Olympic team to the gold medal at Lake Placid, N.Y. “We won this game in the lion’s den.”

“It’s incredible to think of. All the Olympic victories were, well, not tainted, but in 1960 [at Squaw Valley] and 1980 they won it in the U.S. Tonight with 21,000 cheering Canadians and maybe 100 cheering for the U.S., we won it in Canada.”

The sellout crowd of 21,273 booed the United States incessantly and roared its support in the second period as Canada bombarded Richter. “It kind of sounded like we were playing against all of Canada,” Amonte said. Despite the patriotic chants, Canada scored only once in that period, on a deflection by Eric Lindros during a four-on-three advantage at 19:54. That matched the first U.S. goal, scored by Hull during a power play at 11:18 of the first period.

“We were like guys running around with cameras on our heads watching their guys shooting pucks at Mike,” said U.S. defenseman Brian Leetch, Richter’s teammate on the New York Rangers.

Richter, voted the tournament’s most valuable player, believed the U.S. would be unbowed when the storm ended. “You don’t think the rest of the game is going to be like that,” he said. “I knew we’re good enough to change the momentum back, so it was just a matter of continuing to play hard. You tell yourself, ‘Just save the next puck.’ ”

When he didn’t save a blue-line blast by Adam Foote at 12:50 of the third period and Canada took a 2-1 lead, the U.S. again might have given in. Instead, Canada seemed to take a victory for granted.

“They went into a ‘We won it mode,’ ” Wilson said. It was anything but over. Hull, a native of Canada never given the chance to play for his homeland, twisted his body to bat down a shot by Leetch and tie the game at 16:42. The goal was reviewed for a possible illegal high stick and was allowed to stand.

Amonte’s goal at 17:25 on the deflection of a shot by Derian Hatcher was also reviewed because it caromed off his skate. It too was ruled legitimate by referee Terry Gregson.

When Canada sent Lindros, Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Joe Sakic and Vincent Damphousse onto the ice in a last, desperate attempt to pull even, Hatcher sent a 150-foot shot into the empty Canadian net for a 4-2 U.S. lead with 42 seconds left. Adam Deadmarsh’s long shot from the left side with 18 seconds left was the last stroke in a masterpiece.

“You wish we could just keep this competition going all year,” Richter said. “The quality of the competition put a lot of heart in our win.”

Now, it’s back to training camp and old rivalries. For Wilson, who now has a lock on the 1998 U.S. Olympic coaching job, it’s back to earth with a thud.

“The tough thing for me is I have to get on a plane [this] morning and get behind the bench for a game,” he said, referring to the Mighty Ducks’ exhibition against the Kings tonight at the Pond. “I’m not knocking Anaheim, but I’m going to be in for a shock after this tempo.”

World Cup Notes

King defenseman Rob Blake, who was hospitalized Thursday for treatment of a severe infection in his right elbow, was released from Montreal General Hospital and permitted to fly back to Los Angeles today. He will be evaluated by the Kings’ doctors to determine whether he must be re-admitted to a California hospital for continued treatment.