2014 Sochi Olympics
SOCHI—Jamie Benn scored the game’s only goal in the second period as Canada defeated the United States 1-0 on Friday to earn a spot in the gold-medal game.In a rematch of the gold-medal game from the 2010 Olympics, the script followed a pretty similar path in Sochi. For the most part Canada was the team in control of play, reflected in the final shot total of 37 to the USA’s 31 but the Americans were kept in the game by solid goaltending. This time it was Jonathan Quick doing all he could.The one time that Quick wasn’t up to the challenge was in the second period when the Dallas Stars’ captain Benn redirected a shot/pass from Jay Bouwmeester to give the Canadians a lead. It was a rewarding moment for Benn, who was one of a few Canadian players who was all over the ice and noticeable from start to finish. Sidney Crosby was outstanding too even without producing a point as was his much-maligned teammate Chris Kunitz.With the way their defense was playing, that one goal proved to be insurmountable.Carey Price recorded the shutout and had to make a few great saves but on the whole wasn’t really tested in those 31 shots. The Canadian defense did an expert job at keeping the United States from generating any form of sustained pressure, it was pretty much all one-and-done for the US in the offensive zone.On the other end, Canada was using its forecheck very well and spending a lot of time in the American end. At times it looked like Canada was on the power play when they weren’t. They nearly had a few more goals than just Benn’s but Quick was in the proverbial zone.The game opened at a frenetic and even pace through the first 10 minutes but when Ryan Suter took the game’s first penalty, Canada seized momentum and never let go of it. The final score was just 1-0 but it was a relatively dominant performance by the gold-medal favorites.Canada will next face Sweden on Sunday for a chance to win the gold again. It’s a matchup of the last two gold-medal winners. The USA will return to the ice on Saturday against Finland with the bronze medal on the line, a game they don’t really want to play.