A Hotdog, No Relish / U.S. athletes pay high prices for assumptions, as a snowboarder with a large lead makes a crucial error near the finish and the heavily favored women’s hockey team is upset

Miracles on Olympic ice aren’t the exclusive property of U.S. hockey teams, after all.

Inspired by “Miracle,” the movie account of the 1980 U.S. team’s upset of the Soviet Union and subsequent gold-medal triumph, Sweden’s women’s hockey team struck a blow for the advancement of the women’s game. Drawing on the late Herb Brooks’ training methods to fortify their stamina and his philosophy to strengthen their resolve, the Swedes pounced on a rudderless U.S. team on Friday for a 3-2 shootout victory in the tournament semifinals, earning a berth in Monday’s gold-medal game against Canada.

“I’m in shock right now,” said U.S. defenseman Angela Ruggiero, whose team will face Finland for the bronze medal on Monday.

No U.S. player could beat goaltender Kim Martin in the shootout, but Pernilla Winberg and Maria Rooth scored against Chanda Gunn of Huntington Beach, Rooth clinching the victory with a wrist shot from the high slot. The U.S. got a break when Martin moved out of the crease too early on Ruggiero’s unsuccessful first shot, but Ruggiero couldn’t score on her second try.

“We’re going to be replaying what happened over and over,” U.S. forward Natalie Darwitz said. “I don’t think it will kick in until we have to come to practice [today] and we’re not playing in the gold-medal game.”

The U.S. women’s team had never lost to any opponent but Canada since the national team program was established in 1990. In nine world championships and two previous Olympic tournaments, the U.S. and Canada had played for the gold -- but that won’t be the case Monday because of Martin’s 37 saves and her teammates’ tenacity.

“We knew we could beat them, but we hadn’t done it,” said forward Erika Holst, one of two U.S.-educated players wearing Sweden’s bright yellow jersey with the three crowns on the front.

“Tonight, we said, ‘This is our night. We’re going to win. No one can take this away from us.’ ”

It was reminiscent of Brooks’ speech before the U.S.-Soviet game at Lake Placid, when the coach told his players they were meant to be there at that moment, and to win. Sweden’s coach, Peter Elander, said his team had watched “Miracle” repeatedly, leading him to copy a tactic and phrase from Brooks.

After a lackluster effort by the U.S. team in an exhibition against Norway, Brooks kept his players on the ice and ordered them to sprint from blue line to blue line well into the night. It was less punishment than a way to build the speed and jump that would be vital to their Olympic hopes, and Elander said he’d done the same.

It paid off Friday, as Sweden erased a 2-0 deficit on a pair of second-period goals by Rooth and withstood a 39-18 U.S. shot barrage.

“The legs feed the wolf,” Elander said, quoting a favorite Brooks saying that, loosely translated, means that a strong, fast predator can feast on weaker prey.

On Friday, the U.S. was the prey. And Brooks, who coached the U.S. men’s team to a silver medal in 2002 and died in a car crash the following summer, might have found a kindred soul in the Swedes.

“The U.S. had everything to lose. We had everything to win,” defenseman Joa Elfsberg said. “The U.S. had pressure. We didn’t have pressure.”

Previous U.S. teams were 12-0 against Sweden since 1990, but this group was less cohesive than its predecessors and more prone to defensive gaffes. It was also less creative and opportunistic, squandering two five-on-three advantages on Friday.

After a scoreless third period and 10-minute, sudden-death overtime, the teams went to the shootout. Darwitz shot wide and Holst got in too deep in the first round; Martin made a glove save on Jenny Potter by the left post, and Nanna Jansson shot wide in the second round.

Ruggiero missed her two tries before Winberg, 16, beat Gunn with an ice-skimming wrist shot. U.S. captain Krissy Wendell shot wide right before Rooth’s wrist shot found the net and Sweden’s players began jumping up and down in glee.

“We’ve seen ‘Miracle’ so many times,” Rooth said. “We said [Thursday] we were going to make a new miracle. We needed some change at the top of women’s hockey.”

Despite their disappointment, the U.S. women had to agree. “If anything positive comes out of this, it’s great for our sport,” Gunn said before being overcome by emotion.

U.S. Coach Ben Smith, who cut veterans Cammi Granato and Shelley Looney in August, said through tight lips that the team had “plenty of leadership” and did not miss those players. If not leadership, something else was clearly lacking.

“It seemed like it was almost in our grasp tonight,” Smith said, “but Sweden was so determined.”

And that, really, is where most miracles begin.