Canada’s Win Is Huge Relief

They could exhale, finally. They dropped their sticks, screamed for joy and raced to the net, squeezing each other so hard the net gave way.

Danielle Goyette waved a Canadian flag. Kim St-Pierre draped herself in one. Becky Kellar and Colleen Sostorics did a victory lap with one.

On behalf of a country that would accept no less, the Canadian women’s hockey team won the Olympic gold medal Monday, with a 4-1 victory over overmatched Sweden.

Hayley Wickenheiser, considered the top player in women’s hockey, said she was equally delighted and exhausted -- delighted by the gold medal, exhausted by the burden put on the team by its hockey-crazed constituents.

“I’m happy it’s over, and I’m happy we won,” said Wickenheiser, who had two assists. “I’m happy we can land in Canada with people smiling and supporting us, instead of feeling like we let the country down.”

The Canadians won their second consecutive gold medal, winning all five games by a combined score of 46-2. The anticipated challenge from the United States never materialized, Sweden having stunned the U.S. in the semifinals.

Canada and the U.S. dominate the sport, and even the Swedes weren’t about to proclaim themselves on even footing with the Americans.

“It’s tough to say when it’s just one game,” Swedish forward Erika Holst said. “If we played the U.S. 10 games, they probably would win nine of them.”

But that one victory here guaranteed the Swedes their best Olympic finish, so what if the Canadians blew them out with four goals in the first 30 minutes?

“There is nothing wrong with getting a silver medal,” Swedish forward Danijela Rundqvist said. “To be the second-best team in the world is great.”

The Canadians would gag at such a sentiment. Canada can be second-best at something else, but not at the national sport.

“Nothing but gold is acceptable back home,” Canadian forward Katie Weatherston said. “But we put more pressure on ourselves than anyone else can put on us. We look at their pressure as support for us.”

As the final seconds ticked away, Weatherston said, “I got the tingles.”

And, as the buzzer sounded, forward Cheryl Pounder finally screamed the words she had waited four years to say.

“We did it,” she said. “There’s a truly amazing feeling when you can say those words for the first time. I’ll be saying them for another two weeks, at least.”

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MEDAL WINNERS

WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY

GOLD

* Canada

SILVER

* Sweden

BRONZE

* United States