Winter OIympics Diary Day Nine: If Canada win gold in the hockey, the rest doesn't matter

Ice Hockey / Vince Shuley / 21 February 2010 / Leave a comment

Sidney Crosby is Canada's star player and much will depend on him if Canada are to win gold

Vince Shuley tells us why it's been a mixed games for host nation Canada and why a gold in the ice hockey, preferably by beating the USA or Russia in the final, would make it all suddenly seem like a very successful Olympics....

"Breaking the gold medal drought on home soil was a good start, but the Canadians were led to believe they would be leading the competition or at the very least be competing with the US."

We are now over a week into the Games and what a ride it has been. The rain soaked opening weekend seems so long ago now that the usual February weather has returned. Every day helicopters fly over the mountains filming the epic landscape of the Coast Range.

There have been some movements on the medal table. Norway is on the heels of Germany after winning gold in the Super G and the Cross Country 15km pursuit yesterday. South Korea's domination of the short track today (resulting in one gold, two silver and one bronze) has moved them up to fourth place. The USA is clearly out front with 23 medals and no one will catch them.

So where does this leave Canada? Now in fifth place, they are as proud as ever of all their athletes but the expectation was so much higher. The alpine skiers have had a rough week with plenty of crashes and mistakes on the course. Never accused of being a cocky nation, Canada was determined to make this their games. Breaking the gold medal drought on home soil was a good start, but the Canadians were led to believe they would be leading the competition or at the very least be competing with the US.

There are a few more potential gold medals in the next week, but for Canada it all comes down to the Men's hockey. If Canada wins that gold nothing else will matter, especially if they face off against Russia or USA in the finals.

BEST BET:

Men's Hockey Preliminary Round Group A - Canada vs USA
It's Super Sunday in Vancouver tomorrow and all eyes will be on Canada-USA match. While not a medal event, it will be the most watched event in the games so far. With two of the best goaltenders in the NHL on the team and the super star scorer Sidney Crosby, Canada should win at [1.65] but not without a fight from the US.

Tags: ice hockey bets, ice hockey Canada team, Sidney Crosby, Winter Olympics betting