VANCOUVER — A hockey-mad nation, already brimming with pride as Olympic hosts, exploded in celebration Sunday as national hero Sidney Crosby scored to end a tightrope-tense men’s hockey thriller against the United States and cap the Games with Canada’s record-setting 14th gold medal.
Vancouver’s downtown core erupted in a deafening din of car horns and cowbells in the seconds after Crosby put the puck through Ryan Miller’s legs 7:40 into overtime to make it 3-2, avenging the U.S. domination of the Olympic podium and forcing the Americans to settle for silver.
Overtime wouldn’t have been necessary but for a heart-rending goal in the final moments of regulation by U.S. winger Zach Parise, who tied it at two when he stuffed a rebound past Vancouver Canucks netminder and fan favourite Roberto Luongo with less than half a minute left.
When Crosby scored, the rafters shook at Canada Hockey Place. The dejected U.S. team could only stand and watch as the Canadians scrummed joyously at the other end of the ice, with the capacity crowd — most of them clad in red-and-white Team Canada garb — in a collective spasm of joy.
“The crowd was awesome, the whole country was watching,” Canadian winger Rick Nash said after the game. “It was unbelievable.”
Someone borrowed a massive Canadian flag from the ever-present fan with the flashing red-helmet light and Maple Leaf cape, and before too long they were passing it back and forth for victory laps around the ice, the crowd calling for their favourites.
Other fans tossed their national emblems on to the ice in hopes of seeing the team parade them around the arena.
There wasn’t a louder ovation in the building than during the medals ceremony, when International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge finally made his way to Crosby, the player with the highest number on his sweater — 87 — and the last to get his talisman.
The pair even shared a laugh when Crosby’s name couldn’t be heard for all the cheering, which reverberated again when the pride of Cole Harbour, N.S., took hold of the oversized Canadian flag.
“I dreamed of this moment,” said the 22-year-old Crosby. “It’s pretty incredible.”
The 14th gold medal gave Canada a storybook ending to its 17-day Olympic epic. It established a new record for the most top-tier podium finishes in a Winter Olympics, a record previously established by the Soviet Union in 1976 and tied by Norway in 2002.
It also sets a new benchmark for the most gold medals awarded to a host nation at a Winter Games.
Canada’s total of 26 medals, including seven silver and five bronze, was the country’s best ever at a Winter Olympics. The previous best was 24 in Turin in 2006.
The total of 26 left Canada in third place overall behind the United States and Germany.
But as Canada braced for a night of celebration, the formal portion of the Games wasn’t over yet. The closing ceremonies were set to begin just hours after the hockey game, with Canada’s latest sentimental sweetheart, figure skater Joannie Rochette, set to carry the host country’s flag.
Rochette won a bronze medal less than a week after her mom Therese died of a heart attack hours after flying to Vancouver for the Games. Canadian chef de mission Nathalie Lambert said Rochette was selected for her grace and courage under pressure.
“Yes, it’s been a tough week for me,” said Rochette, a 24-year-old native of Ile-Dupas, Que. “But I want to walk into that stadium as a celebration . . . and a big smile on my face. I want to celebrate with my teammates.”
She surely wouldn’t be alone. The entire country was massing for celebration. Even hours before the first puck dropped, every establishment in the downtown core with a bar and a flat-screen TV had fans lining up outside the door, looking for a place to watch the game.
Thousands of fans gathered around giant screens in downtown Vancouver, gasping at every near-miss before collapsing into a chanting, giggling, flag-waving mass.
Evans Johnson, 30, of Toronto, danced a jig in the street when Team Canada scored its second goal.
“It’s exciting, it’s our country, it’s our pride, it’s who we are,” she said. “I don’t know if there’s a bigger game going on — ever.”
Tony Sam, 41, drove in from Chilliwack, about an hour’s drive from Vancouver, with friends to watch the game.
“Before this, Canada only seemed patriotic when there was a beer commercial on TV,” he said. “This is the most exciting thing that’s happened in Canada, maybe, ever.”
In the only other medal event taking place Sunday, the men’s 50-kilometre classic cross-country ski race, Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont., just missed out on a podium finish, placing fifth. But the race was a story in Canada more for who didn’t participate.
Brian McKeever, who is partially blind, had been billed as the first winter athlete to compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympics.
But the 30-year-old from Calgary learned on Friday that wouldn’t be the case after all, because he wasn’t one of the Canadian team’s four fastest skiers.
McKeever said he was saddened by the choice, but understood the logic, based on the fact the four men chosen ahead of him had already delivered good results.
