2010 Vancouver Olympics: The Road to Gold for Team USA

It may not have sunken in immediately, but after some thought, it has come to me that Team USA should not have much of a problem getting into the Gold Medal Game, which is scheduled for Sunday, February 28th. Last night's 5-3 win over Canada has provided the Americans with a list of benefits, including getting a bye in the qualifying round and an automatic free ride to the Quarterfinals.

Switzerland and Belarus will go head-to-head tomorrow in a qualifying match-up, and the winner, who I am thinking will be the Swiss, will move on to play Team USA this Wednesday in the semi-final game. The Swiss came very close to pulling off an upset over the Canadians last week, but the chances of that happening against the United States are slim. Canada has a ton of pressure on them and entered the games thinking they automatically will finish the tournament with a Gold Medal hung around their neck. The U.S., on the other hand, come in as the underdogs and no one expecting them to make any noise at all.

Team USA handled the Swiss in the preliminary round, 3-1, so why shouldn't they be able to do just that once again in the plaoffs? It seems as if they are getting better and better as each game is played, and they are getting contributions from all angles. In every contest there is a different individual effort that lifts this team to a win, for example, last night was Ryan Miller, even though he wasn't much of a story in the first two games of the tournament.

So if the United States defeats Switzerland, they then go on to play the winner of Finland and the Czech Republic, that is assuming the Czech defeat Team Latvia in the qualifier. This will not be an easy one to win for the United States, no doubt about that, but it should be one in which they are able to get the job done, given their skill power over the Czechs and the Finns. Finland is a good hockey club, do not get me wrong, as they are defending Silver Medal finalists, but are a team that is not nearly as deep as the Americans.

Now it is impossible to predict who the United States would face in the Gold Medal game if they should win the semi-final tilt, as there will be so many tight games in the opposite bracket to keep tabs on. However, I will go as far as to say that the U.S. would more than likely be facing one of Sweden, Canada, Russia, or Slovakia in the championship. All four of those teams are solid contenders that would give the USA a very hard time. Although, as we have seen, the better team on paper is not always the better team when they hit the ice.

Again, last night's win was extremely crucial, and for them Team USA to pull it off was incredible. Though the celebration stops here. This is not the end of the road, as the United States still has three very important games ahead of them if they want to go home as Gold Medalists. The U.S. does have it easier than everyone else being that they pulled off the upset against the Canadians and walked right into the Quarterfinals in the easier bracket. They also, like I have said, gained more respect from all teams after Sunday's victory, something they can use to their benefit in the future, or something that can go against them.
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)