Canada Beats USA 3-2 In OT To Win Gold
- Sunday, February 28, 2010 3:34 PM
- Written By: Josh Marks
Team Canada defeated the Americans 3-2 in overtime to take the Gold Medal in the final event at Canada Place before Sunday's closing ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Sidney Crosby scored the game winner against goalie Ryan Miller, setting off an emotional celebration amongst the thousands of red-and-white clad maple leaf flag waving Canadians in the stands and streets of Vancouver.
The United States tied the game with 24 seconds left off a shot by Zach Parise, which sent the game into the extra session.
The 14th Gold Medal for Canada in these games set an all-time Olympics record.
The USA's total medal count of 37 led all countries and also set an Olympics record for most medals. The Americans topped Germany's 36 in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
In the consolation game Finland defeated Slovakia 5-3 in a come-from-behind victory for the Bronze Medal.
UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Sunday's epic game was the most-watched hockey game in the United States since the Gold Medal game in 1980 when the USA beat Finland after the "Miracle on Ice" against the Soviet Union. Sunday's game drew an average viewership of 27.6 million and a rating of 15.2. The peak of 34.8 million surpassed the 32.8 million viewers who watched the 1980 game.
The game was also not surprisingly the most-watched TV broadcast in Canadian history.
Buffalo, home of tournament MVP Ryan Miller, was the top U.S. market.
