An Olympic Hockey Quarterfinals for the Ages

Oh. My. God.

What a day of Olympic hockey. The top teams, Canada and the USA, were each a goal away from not advancing past the round of 8.

The Canucks went down 1-2, tied it up, but then found themselves down again 2-3 late in the third period. It was looking grim, but Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens, with a brilliant tip, tied the game with some 3 minutes left. Not long into overtime, much-maligned, so-called playoffs no-show Mitch Marner scored the game winner with an absolute beauty of a backhand.

Team USA had a similar experience against Sweden, where their own Olympic future would be decided by a single goal. With about 90 seconds left in this 1-0 game, the Swedes tied it up and took the game to overtime. But in this case, 'Murca ended up bagging the winning goal. Hats off to young superstar D-man Quinn Hughes!

I'm currently watching the replay of the FIN SUI game, but it feels fairly certain that we're going to see another CAN USA gold medal game this weekend. I'm not super-invested in the rest of the quarterfinals results.

Star of the week for me is MACKLIN CELEBRINI !
This 19-year-old kid has had a season for the ages, and he's gonna be a mainstay on Team Canada for many years to come. He's incredible. He leads the tournament with 5 goals and is the youngest player to score a goal for Canada in an elimination game. He fits right in with veteran superstars Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. It's a special treat to see the three Mc/Mac/Macks on the ice at the same time.

Women's final is tomorrow, but I don't like our chances. The States have been absolutely dominant this tournament. But, one never knows. Anything can happen. The Canuck boys were on the brink in the round of 8, after all. Let's see !