Summit Meeting

After two weeks of international competition among 77 countries, the last contest of the 2002 Olympics has turned into a neighborhood get-together.

It’s Canada vs. the United States for the men’s hockey gold medal. Two countries that share a border. Two countries that differ on the little things (such as how to pronounce “organization”) but generally collaborate on the large issues (such as wars).

And two groups of hockey players with so much talent, who know each other so well that they probably would put together a great game under any circumstances.

“I was going to ask Herbie [Brooks, the U.S. coach] this morning if we could find a backyard rink someplace and let the two teams go at it,” Canada Coach Pat Quinn said.

There’s too much corporate involvement to hold this anywhere but the designated venue, the E Center today at noon Pacific time. NBC expects a ratings blowout. The NHL loves the fact that two rosters filled with its players will have the sporting world’s attention. United States forward Jeremy Roenick might have been talking about more than just the highly paid players when he said: “There’s a whole lot of money on that ice tomorrow.”

And national pride.

“In Canada, this is all they think about is hockey,” Roenick said. “If they don’t get the gold medal, then they’ve fallen short of their goal. On the flip side, we’re on our own ice surface, we’re in front of our fans, we haven’t lost here in [24 Olympic] games on U.S. soil.”

Said Team Canada Executive Director Wayne Gretzky: “I think there’s a sense of a North American championship here. I think it’s going to be great for hockey. One of the greatest things that’s happened for the NHL in a long time. It’s going to pit the best players in North America against each other.”

Canada is 9-2-3 against the United States in the Olympics, including a 4-1 victory in Nagano in 1998. But for all of its greatness, Canada hasn’t won a gold medal since 1952, before the Soviet Union rose to dominate the sport on the international level for 40 years.

Desperation isn’t too strong a word. You can see it in Gretzky’s facial reactions in every game. You could hear it in his voice during his the-world-is-against-Canada news conference last week.

Mario Lemieux, the owner and star of the Pittsburgh Penguins, has jeopardized his team’s NHL playoff chances to keep his aching hip as fresh as possible for the Olympics.

“I’ve talked all along the last couple of months that the most important thing for me was to play in the Olympics and to try and help this team achieve our goal, which is winning a gold medal,” Lemieux said. “That’s why I skipped a lot of games with Pittsburgh. I didn’t play any back-to-back games. Whatever happens after Sunday is something I can’t control. Hopefully my hip is going to get better over the last couple of months of the season and try to help my team get into the playoffs. [The gold-medal game] is my priority right now.”

The Olympics have featured top performances by the game’s top players. Even players who have won Stanley Cups are going all-out to get a gold medal.

“We’re all competitive people,” said U.S. goalie Mike Richter of the New York Rangers, one of 25 players in this game who have won the Stanley Cup. “Anytime you have a chance to play against the best in a tournament like this, like the NHL Stanley Cup is or the Olympics is now, guys want to play as well as they can and prove themselves. I think there’s not a lot of coasting. Everybody’s giving their best effort and they want to come out on top. It brings out the best in all the athletes.”

And Brooks’ coaching has brought out the best in the American team. He hasn’t had much time, with only a two-day mini-camp in September and one practice with the full team here in February the day before final-round competition began.

“We’ve had a lot of give and take,” Brooks said. “I’m smart enough to know that the key thing in any communications is to ask questions and listen.”

Forward John LeClair of the Philadelphia Flyers said, “Coach Brooks has been very open to everything we have to add. There’s some guys that have played a lot of hockey in our room. They know quite a bit about the game. Between everybody, we figure out a good game plan for each game.”

Some of Brooks’ questions are designed to make his players change their thought process. The day before they played Germany, he asked them how many games are in an NHL season.

Mike Modano of the Dallas Stars answered: “82.”

Brooks turned to John LeClair from the Philadelphia Flyers and said: “Do you agree?”

LeClair said “I’m going to say no, because I think you want something else.”

Brooks told them the correct answer was one--times 82.

During a desperately needed timeout in the third period of Friday’s semifinal, after Russia had chopped the United States’ 3-0 lead to 3-2, Brooks simply emphasized a word he first used at the September camp: rebound.

“There are key words that will trigger a thought process and reaction,” Brooks said. “I just mentioned that one word.”

Said Richter: “He’s a good reader of people. Because of that, he’s able to push the right buttons.”

Brooks has said all along that this tournament is about the players. And no team has more great NHL players than Canada. The roster consists of the North American all-star team from earlier this month at Staples Center.

But some observers believe the best player in this tournament has been the United States’ Mike Modano. He speeds the puck into the offensive zone, he makes passes as precise as laser eye surgery and he gets back on defense to reach in and swipe away the puck.

“I’ve had a chance to play with Mo on a bunch of U.S. teams,” LeClair said. “He’s always been our best player. He’s incredibly talented. When you play with him, you really have an appreciation for what he does on the ice. I don’t think there’s anybody better at both ends of the ice than him.... He’s on the top of everybody’s list. I’m sure of it.”

The defense and goaltending have allowed only five goals in five games. LeClair leads the Olympics with six goals. Brett Hull is getting off a tournament-high 4.6 shots a game and has scored three times.

Throughout its five games, Canada progressively managed to impose its style of play despite the international playing rules and wider rink. That means dumping the puck into the offensive zone, then going in to knock someone over and get it back.

Brooks differs from that philosophy, saying, “I think the game is a little more profound than that.”

Forward Doug Weight said, “We’re going to try to control the tempo. We’re going to play our game the way we’ve been playing the whole tournament. That’s very disciplined as far as staying out of the [penalty] box, as far as playing our system. We want to hit too, but we want to make sure we’re not going out of our way, we’re not wasting energy, we’re not creating openings behind us on this big ice.”

All of the NHL connections make the relationships a little too intimate for genuine hatred. Richter, for example, will try to keep Ranger teammates Eric Lindros and Theo Fleury from scoring. Brooks scouts for the Penguins, which makes Lemieux his boss.

But anything goes for the gold-medal game.

“I have my Mario Lemieux bobble-head doll; I’m sticking pins in his hip,” Brooks joked.

Roenick discounted statements attributed to him that the Americans would kick Canada’s butt. “To say that we’re going to kick their [butt] would be crazy,” Roenick said. “But the desire to is there.”