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Gretzky Tries to Whip Canada Out of Hockey Malaise
Lisa Olson New York Daily News
Associated Press
Wayne Gretzky, Canadian National hockey team executive director, takes questions from reporters during a news conference in Kearns, Ut., Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - Considering there was a disincentive to win, that Finland, and not the scary Russians, would be the loser's prize, Mario Lemieux might have chosen to let up. Rest a little, maybe take a breather in the third period, when the defending gold medalists started flying across the slushy ice as if they had wings.
After all, as any Pittsburgh Penguin fan might tell you, Lemieux has been known to yank himself from games. There was precedence.
There wasn't much precedence for Wayne Gretzky to lose his cool. Even when Team Canada was picked apart by its own populace, he had never snapped back.
That all changed Monday night, when Gretzky punctured the nationwide pressure cooker that has threatened to boil over. His team had just scored a late goal for a 3-3 tie with the Czech Republic that set up Canada's quarterfinal matchup Wednesday with Finland, a seemingly much more favorable adversary than Russia. Gretzky, unprompted, began firing away as if he still had a stick in his hands.
"It's comical. It almost sickens my stomach to turn on the TV. It makes me ill to hear what's being said about Canadian hockey," said Team Canada's executive director. "Am I hot? Yeah. I'm tired of people taking shots at Canadian hockey.
"The Americans love our poor start. They love it when we're not doing well. I don't think we dislike those countries as much as they hate us. They don't like us and they want to see us fail.
"Nobody wants us to win but our players and our loyal fans. We're very proud, and I guarantee you we'll be standing tall at the end."
His impassioned tirade was designed to keep at bay a country gnawing hungrily at a 50-year gold medal famine. Already Team Canada had been shot down by Sweden, and, with Lemieux scratched, his troublesome body in pain again, had barely managed to hang on against qualifier Germany.
Canadian newspapers lampooned the team. Politicians readied for another national reform on the sorry state of the skate.
Quebec could secede from the commonwealth, the French could conspire with the Russians, the dollar could equal a nickel, and all of that paled next to Canada's inability to own the game it invented.
After the last, medal-less Olympics, the Ottawa government even formed a hand-wringing task force designed to delve into the country's hockey decay. Dominik Hasek had stoned Canada in the most famous of overtime shoot-outs, when the coach neglected to use the Great Gretzky as one of the shooters, and for that most deleterious of sins was forever banished to Moose Jaw. The country went into a four-year funk.
So forgive Gretzky's impromptu tirade, made after a Joe Nieuwendyk one-timer ripped past Hasek with less than four minutes left. Lemieux, skating upright and powerful, had a pair of goals, including the most controversial of the tournament.
It was a testy, sticks-high affair at the steamy E Center. With less than a minute remaining, Theo Fleury was buzzing around Hasek, at the top of the goalmouth, and for that crime he was checked violently in the back by Roman Hamrlik, Fleury's head snapping, his helmet flying off.
Hamrlik plays for the New York Islanders; Fleury is a New York Ranger. A livid Gretzky warned there would be payback.
"If a Canadian does it, it's big news ... we're goons," he said. "If a European does it, it's OK, because they're not tough or dirty."
After Jiri Dopita scored with 6:43 left to give the Czechs a 3-2 lead, it was Fleury who cycled the puck behind and around Hasek to create Nieuwendyk's tying goal. Breaking free near the right circle, Nieuwendyk wristed the puck past Hasek, who slapped his stick on the ice and gibbered loudly whatever it is he's forever gibbering loudly.
Hasek's a human noisemaker. He didn't say much after Lemieux squeezed a wrist shot past him for a breakout first goal at 9:11 of the first period. Just mumbled and crushed the soft ice, but began gibbering loudly again after Martin Havlet scored twice, both on wrist shots that eluded Martin Brodeur, and gave the Czechs a 2-1 lead.
Working a 2-on-1 with Steve Yzerman at 18:49 of the second, Lemieux shot a hard slap shot at Hasek, who was playing deep. Hasek rolled to his left, across the goal line, and high in the stands, Gretzky nearly fell out of his box. Logic said it was a goal, but instant replay took forever for a desperate, hungry country.
Where was the puck? Trapped against Hasek's chest? In his glove? Maybe he ate it. Gretzky held his hands wide apart, gesturing it was in by a foot. He hadn't felt this helpless since watching that shootout against this same goalie four years ago.
Eventually referee Bill McCreary signaled goal, but not until minutes had turned to hours turned to eons. Or that's how it seemed, to a country in crisis.
---
scott
:cool: :cool: :cool:
Lisa Olson New York Daily News
Associated Press
Wayne Gretzky, Canadian National hockey team executive director, takes questions from reporters during a news conference in Kearns, Ut., Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah - Considering there was a disincentive to win, that Finland, and not the scary Russians, would be the loser's prize, Mario Lemieux might have chosen to let up. Rest a little, maybe take a breather in the third period, when the defending gold medalists started flying across the slushy ice as if they had wings.
After all, as any Pittsburgh Penguin fan might tell you, Lemieux has been known to yank himself from games. There was precedence.
There wasn't much precedence for Wayne Gretzky to lose his cool. Even when Team Canada was picked apart by its own populace, he had never snapped back.
That all changed Monday night, when Gretzky punctured the nationwide pressure cooker that has threatened to boil over. His team had just scored a late goal for a 3-3 tie with the Czech Republic that set up Canada's quarterfinal matchup Wednesday with Finland, a seemingly much more favorable adversary than Russia. Gretzky, unprompted, began firing away as if he still had a stick in his hands.
"It's comical. It almost sickens my stomach to turn on the TV. It makes me ill to hear what's being said about Canadian hockey," said Team Canada's executive director. "Am I hot? Yeah. I'm tired of people taking shots at Canadian hockey.
"The Americans love our poor start. They love it when we're not doing well. I don't think we dislike those countries as much as they hate us. They don't like us and they want to see us fail.
"Nobody wants us to win but our players and our loyal fans. We're very proud, and I guarantee you we'll be standing tall at the end."
His impassioned tirade was designed to keep at bay a country gnawing hungrily at a 50-year gold medal famine. Already Team Canada had been shot down by Sweden, and, with Lemieux scratched, his troublesome body in pain again, had barely managed to hang on against qualifier Germany.
Canadian newspapers lampooned the team. Politicians readied for another national reform on the sorry state of the skate.
Quebec could secede from the commonwealth, the French could conspire with the Russians, the dollar could equal a nickel, and all of that paled next to Canada's inability to own the game it invented.
After the last, medal-less Olympics, the Ottawa government even formed a hand-wringing task force designed to delve into the country's hockey decay. Dominik Hasek had stoned Canada in the most famous of overtime shoot-outs, when the coach neglected to use the Great Gretzky as one of the shooters, and for that most deleterious of sins was forever banished to Moose Jaw. The country went into a four-year funk.
So forgive Gretzky's impromptu tirade, made after a Joe Nieuwendyk one-timer ripped past Hasek with less than four minutes left. Lemieux, skating upright and powerful, had a pair of goals, including the most controversial of the tournament.
It was a testy, sticks-high affair at the steamy E Center. With less than a minute remaining, Theo Fleury was buzzing around Hasek, at the top of the goalmouth, and for that crime he was checked violently in the back by Roman Hamrlik, Fleury's head snapping, his helmet flying off.
Hamrlik plays for the New York Islanders; Fleury is a New York Ranger. A livid Gretzky warned there would be payback.
"If a Canadian does it, it's big news ... we're goons," he said. "If a European does it, it's OK, because they're not tough or dirty."
After Jiri Dopita scored with 6:43 left to give the Czechs a 3-2 lead, it was Fleury who cycled the puck behind and around Hasek to create Nieuwendyk's tying goal. Breaking free near the right circle, Nieuwendyk wristed the puck past Hasek, who slapped his stick on the ice and gibbered loudly whatever it is he's forever gibbering loudly.
Hasek's a human noisemaker. He didn't say much after Lemieux squeezed a wrist shot past him for a breakout first goal at 9:11 of the first period. Just mumbled and crushed the soft ice, but began gibbering loudly again after Martin Havlet scored twice, both on wrist shots that eluded Martin Brodeur, and gave the Czechs a 2-1 lead.
Working a 2-on-1 with Steve Yzerman at 18:49 of the second, Lemieux shot a hard slap shot at Hasek, who was playing deep. Hasek rolled to his left, across the goal line, and high in the stands, Gretzky nearly fell out of his box. Logic said it was a goal, but instant replay took forever for a desperate, hungry country.
Where was the puck? Trapped against Hasek's chest? In his glove? Maybe he ate it. Gretzky held his hands wide apart, gesturing it was in by a foot. He hadn't felt this helpless since watching that shootout against this same goalie four years ago.
Eventually referee Bill McCreary signaled goal, but not until minutes had turned to hours turned to eons. Or that's how it seemed, to a country in crisis.
---
scott
:cool: :cool: :cool:
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