At 6:30 PM EST what me and Renee have been trading barbs across the 49th parallel about for several months will finally happen.The Clash of the Women's Hockey Superpowers at Canada Hockey Place.
It's the two time defending Olympic gold medalist Team Canada versus the two time reigning world champion and number one ranked Team USA.
This game is also taking place in the shadow of the 30th anniversary of the 'Miracle on Ice' game and the historic men's win over Canada on Sunday.
Interestingly enough, Mark Johnson, one of the major catalysts of the 4-3 win over the Russians is Team USA's coach.Team USA has outscored its opponents 40-2 enroute to this Olympic final with 12-1, 13-0 and 6-0 wins over China, Russia and Finland in the preliminary round and a 9-1 semifinal win over Sweden. It avenged a 3-2 upset shootout loss in Torino that denied Team USA a trip to the 2006 Olympic final.
Canada has been just as dominant on its side of the Vancouver bracket. It steamrolled Slovakia 18-0, Switzerland 10-1 and Sweden 13-1 before posting a 5-0 shutout win over Finland in the semifinals.
It may be your house Renee, but we're coming to spoil the party. We want to do unto Canada what was done unto us at Salt Lake in 2002. Deny them the opportunity to win gold on their home soil.
My two time defending world champion girls won't be intimidated either.
"There's nothing better as an athlete – let alone a hockey player – than to play in a building of this magnitude, to have all the fans screaming," said Angela Ruggiero, who is one of two Americans to play in all four Olympic women's hockey tournaments. "A lot of us were able to see the men win just, if anything, to get a sense of what the atmosphere is going to be like – hostile, fans chanting against you. And that's OK because I think our team thrives off of that."
It's on, Renee. Looking forward to watching my girls win gold, owning your podium and seeing the Stars and Stripes rise high in Canada Hockey Place.
