Tony Amonte drew first blood in the final game of the 2002 Olympic hockey tournament, giving the Americans a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. Paul Kariya tied the game a few minutes later on a brilliant play by Mario Lemieux. Chris Pronger passed Lemieux the puck, and he made the motion to one-time a shot. But, instead of shooting he let the puck go past him and onto the stick of Paul Kariya. Kariya had a wide-open net as goalie Mike Richter had positioned himself to stop Lemieux’s shot. Jarome Iginla put Canada up 2-1 late in the period, and the lead lasted most of the second.
Brian Rafalski tied the game for the USA late in the second, but Joe Sakic gave Canada a lead it would never relinquish when he scored another late-period goal. In the third period, Iginla and Sakic broke the game open with late goals, sending Canada to a 5-2 victory. Despite its tremendous history of hockey success, this was the first Olympic gold for Canada since 1952, exactly half a century earlier.
In almost every Canadian city, fans with flags took to the streets to rejoice in a way Italian fans celebrate a World Cup soccer win. The gold in Salt Lake City was not only a sports success. It was a win that boosted the collective spirit of an entire nation. The 1952 Edmonton Mercurys were no longer the last Canadian team to win an Olympic hockey gold medal. Finally, a drought that lasted 50 long years was over.
FHD15:27
2026-02-14 15:00
