Canada Takes Out Belarus, 7-1

This is the way it was supposed to go for Canada. The top players in the NHL scoring goals to put Team Canada in the gold-medal game, just the way a hockey-crazed country expected. Or rather, demanded.

The Canadians will play the United States for gold after defeating Belarus, 7-1, in the first semifinal game Friday at the E Center. Canada hasn’t won an Olympic gold medal in 50 years.

“It means a lot to the whole country,” Canadian captain Mario Lemieux said. “We are proud Canadians. Hockey is our sport back home. Everybody plays and loves to watch it. For us to have the chance right now to do something special for our country is something we can all cherish for a long time if we win a gold medal.”

Among the criticism Team Canada has faced was that some of the biggest names in hockey weren’t scoring. Scratch that one after Eric Lindros, Jarome Iginla and Simon Gagne recorded their first goals of the tournament. Paul Kariya scored his second goal and wore his first postgame smile as he trekked back to the locker room.

“It’s nice to finally get a few goals and open things up a little bit,” said Kariya, the star of the Mighty Ducks.

When Lindros scored his goal on a power play in the third period, he celebrated by whacking his stick on the ice.

“If you keep hacking in front of the net, sooner or later the tree’s gonna drop,” Lindros said. “We’ve been snake-bit around that net a little bit.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that have done a lot of good things, that hasn’t necessarily shown up in the scorebook.”

Belarus took out previously undefeated Sweden in the quarterfinals, and it appeared as if it might have a little magic left for Friday. Canadian defenseman Al MacInnis’ clearing pass caromed off a skate toward Belarus defenseman Ruslan Salei, who hit a slap shot that beat Canada goalie Martin Brodeur and tied the score, 1-1.

But Eric Brewer put Canada ahead four minutes later, and the deluge began. Canada outshot Belarus, 51-14.

“At 1-1, I’m sure everyone was going, ‘Here we go again,’” Canadian forward Theo Fleury said. “But we got 50-some-odd shots. With the amount of talent in our room, the puck is eventually going to go in the net.”

The Canadians will place better than they did at Nagano, where they lost to the Czech Republic in a shootout in a semifinal. Now, after five decades, they have a chance to end their gold-medal drought.

“It weighs a little bit,” Lindros said. “We’ve certainly thought about it. Four years ago today, we were in shock. Things were rolling around in our favor, everything was going our way. We were playing well. Then all of a sudden we found ourselves in a shootout. It seems like 30 seconds later we were thinking about our travel arrangements to head home.”

Iginla, in his sixth season with the Calgary Flames, did not play in the 1998 Olympics. At times he looked a little overwhelmed in the early rounds, and the NHL’s leading scorer--35 goals through the break--had little impact.

“I wasn’t really too worried,” Iginla said. “Things have worked out really well. We’ve won a lot of close games. Tonight it did feel good to get [a goal] though. It felt good to be able to score one in the Olympics.”

Brodeur, of the New Jersey Devils, is coming through in goal, which was a worry for Canada after Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche decided not to play.

“We had some people who turned us down,” Canadian Coach Pat Quinn said. “The guys that came here hopefully will be rewarded.”

Belarus, which made a run from the qualifying round to the semifinals, can win a bronze medal with a victory over Russia today. Not bad for a team with only one NHL player.

“We did a lot for our country, so I’m really tired,” Belarussian goalie Andrei Mezin said. “We shouldn’t be upset.”

That’s a difference between playing for Belarus and Canada.

“We’re not satisfied,” Canadian center Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche said. “You win the gold medal and then there’ll be relief.”