Canadians Are Right on the Money as They Cash In Gold at Right Time

They were singing in Saskatchewan, howling in Halifax, waltzing in Winnipeg.

OK, maybe not waltzing in Winnipeg.

But oh, Canada was partying Sunday night, dancing all over its home and native land, true patriot love flowing from the taps in celebration of a group of brave and hearty souls that just busted a 50-year losing streak.

The men’s hockey team?

No, silly, the E Center ice-making crew.

Shortly after Canada defeated the United States, 5-2, in the Winter Olympic gold medal hockey game, team boss Wayne Gretzky admitted that the hero was not Joe Sakic, but a couple of Joe Schmoes.

Gretzky reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a Canadian one-dollar coin known as a “loonie.”

For the last two weeks here, it had been secretly buried under center ice.

Because--you guessed it--the guys on the ice-making crew were Canadian.

“And they thought it would bring us good luck,” Gretzky said.

When the Canadian women defeated the U.S. women for their Olympic gold medal Thursday, the winners kissed and pawed at center ice as if paying homage to the coin.

Gretzky tried to call the women from the stands on his cell phone to warn them to knock it off before somebody figured it out.

They eventually quit, the coin remained buried, and, Sunday, the Canadian men took full advantage.

After which, Gretzky and his guys pulled out the drill.

“We took it out tonight and we’re going to present it to the Hall of Fame,” Gretzky said, holding the loonie aloft as if it were a religious artifact.

And what of the ice-making crew?

“I don’t know if the guy’s going to get fired now or what,” Gretzky said.

Oh well.

All’s fair in love and desperation.

Whether you are American or Canadian or both, you had to love Sunday that the desperate team won.

“There’s a lot of people singing and dancing in Canada right now,” Jeremy Roenick said. “I’m just proud to be part of it.”

Yeah, Roenick is American. But, yeah, he’s serious. And yeah, it makes sense.

Canada invented hockey. The United States just borrowed it.

Canada hasn’t won an Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey in 50 years.

The United States won one 22 years ago that should be good for another 220 years.

Canada needed this game more than the United States.

So, even at the end of these most patriotic American Olympics, that song arising from the cramped E Center stands late in the third period sounded perfect.

Oh, Canada, indeed.

The best team won. The right team won.

“A great day for hockey,” U.S. defenseman Brian Leetch said. “Looking back years from now, we’ll say it was nice to be part of this.”

Of course, the Americans wanted to win. But they understood when they lost that maybe, at least for these 60 minutes, it was about something bigger than them.

“[The Canadians] have a certain pride about their hockey,” American Chris Chelios said, later adding with a smile, “It might be the only game they’re good at.”

Whatever, they certainly wanted it more than the Americans, showing more speed, more stamina, more life.

On any other day, you would rip the Americans.

But on this day, fighting the good-luck charm and hard-luck history, perhaps nobody would have had a chance.

It was a day to watch The Great One grind in the seats, Super Mario spin on the ice, Martin Brodeur contort in the net.

It was a day when sitting Duck Paul Kariya finally had a shining moment, new kid Jarome Iginla had a breakthrough moment, and Canadian veteran Brendan Shanahan had a funny family moment.

“As soon as the game ended, I was looking up in the stands for my wife,” he said with a grin. “My American wife.”

It was like that for everyone here, the line between countries growing ever blurry, nine NHL teams featuring teammates on opposite sides here, families born in one country and living in another, everyone understanding the stakes.

Everyone playing hard, then realized that it ended as it

should.

“The emotions were different on our side than on their side,” Leetch said. “We wanted to bring home a gold medal. But it was like they were playing for everyone in their country.”

So the Canadians began, as they have this entire tournament, by playing tight.

“We have had a lot of pressure on us,” Joe Nieuwendyk said. “A lot of pressure.”

There was the diving poke by American Doug Weight that skidded the puck down the ice and on to the stick of Tony Amonte, who scored the Americans’ first goal.

There was Brodeur diving to barely stop Brett Hull on a three-on-one break that could have made it 2-0.

“That was our big chance,” Chelios said. “But they got away with it.”

Then, in the final minutes of the first period, the Canadians settled.

There was the wonderful fake by Mario Lemieux on the pass by Chris Pronger that slid past Lemieux’s stick and landed directly on the stick of Paul Kariya.

The Duck stuck the puck into the corner of the net to tie the game at 1-all

“[Lemieux] is sneaky,” Richter said.

The Canadians took the lead on Iginla’s punch-in, the Americans tied it up, then, late in the second period, Sakic stuck the puck past two defenders and Richter for the eventual game-winning goal.

“They won as a team, but sometimes it takes one individual,” Richter said. “Joe Sakic really stepped it up.”

As if he had a choice.

As if anyone in this game had a choice.

“Our country ... we desperately needed to win this tournament,” Gretzky said.

As loonie as that sounds, he’s right.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com