Olympic gold still the goal

Eric Staal and Tim Gleason got a glimpse of each other Sunday morning in the Olympic Village in Vancouver.

"I saw him at breakfast. I said, 'Hi,' " Staal said.

That's it? The two are teammates on the Carolina Hurricanes, they're both at the Winter Olympics, and all they can manage is a quick nod and a "hi"?

"There wasn't going to be a long sit-down," Staal said Monday, chuckling. "That's not going to happen when you're playing each other."

Not Sunday. Not with Staal and Team Canada going up against Gleason and Team USA - finally. Canada Hockey Place was packed, mostly with Canadians, the tension was thick, and all that was left was to drop the puck and go at it.

"It was probably the best atmosphere I've ever been a part of - the whole day, in the building," Gleason said by phone Monday. "It was fun for everybody."

Certainly for the Americans. Team USA, despite being outshot 45-23, skated and hustled and beat Canada 5-3 to cause even more hand-wringing and consternation among the millions of Canadians expecting a victory Sunday and the gold in Vancouver.

But Brian Rafalski scored twice for the U.S., Jamie Langenbrunner scored what proved to be the winning goal, and Ryan Kesler made a diving attempt to knock in an empty-netter to finish it off with 45 seconds left.

And there was Ryan Miller in goal. With 42 saves, having turned back a relentless Canadian assault in the third period, Miller was the biggest U.S. hero.

"If it hadn't been for Ryan Miller ... " Gleason said. "He was just great for us. To win championships, to win gold medals, you need a great goalie."

Staal scored in the first period on a redirection, tying the score 1-1 and causing the building to shake. But the U.S. quickly answered and never trailed in the game, with Gleason and other U.S. defensemen doing the gritty work.

"It was fun, a great game," Staal said in an interview. "Miller was pretty good, and we didn't bury our shots. We had a ton of chances."

Asked about his line about Miller being "pretty good," Staal chuckled again.

"Really good," he said.

The American victory was hailed by some as another "miracle," something akin to the U.S. stunning the Russians at Lake Placid in 1980.

"I'm not sure about that," Staal said. "It was two pretty good teams playing each other.

"I like the way we played. We had a lot of opportunities to get it tied. But they played well, played hard and capitalized on their breaks."

Instead of a bye into the quarterfinals, Canada now must beat Germany today to reach the quarters. Awaiting the winner: Russia.

By losing to the U.S., Canada now is in the position of possibly having to go through Russia, Sweden and then the U.S. to win the gold.

"It's a different road," Staal said. "It's not the road we wanted to go on, but we're still alive.

"I like our group. I really think we're getting better every game, getting more comfortable, with better chemistry. We took over [Sunday's] game in the second and third period but couldn't capitalize."

The U.S. team had Monday off and will resume practice today. Undefeated in the preliminary round and the top seed, Team USA faces the winner of today's Switzerland-Belarus game on Wednesday. It will be broadcast on NBC at 3 p.m. EST.

"There was so much talk all week about us and Canada, there was pressure on both teams to win," Gleason said. "I'm glad we can move on and concentrate on what's in front of us."

The U.S. topped the Swiss 3-1 in its opener, then saw Switzerland ride the hot goaltending of Jonas Hiller to a near upset of Canada.

"The Swiss have a really solid team," Gleason said. "They're quick, they're smart, they're physical.

"If we do play them, we have to be prepared. Regardless of who we play, we don't want to get this far and not be prepared."

But beating Canada was worth celebrating. Gleason said his family and fiancée went out for a long dinner after the big victory, and his parents proudly wore their "USA" jerseys in the restaurant.

"If it had gone the other way, they probably would have had to take 'em off," Gleason said, laughing. "They were taking some heat. But it was OK, all in good spirits."