The USA-Russia hockey game was an instant classic. It truly had it all – some chippy moments, great pieces of individual skill, controversy, and an epic shootout. After the score was tied at 2-2 after regulation and overtime, the shootout went to sudden death . From there, it turned into T.J. Oshie's moment in the sun. As Russian stars Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk battled Jonathan Quick, the St. Louis Blues star was repeatedly sent out to do battle with Sergei Bobrovsky. Finally in the 8th round of the shootout, Oshie scored after a Kovalchuk miss and Team USA won the shootout 4-3. Oshie scored 4 goals in 6 attempts against one of the top goalies in the world and became an instant American hero.
The American and Russian calls provide the soundtrack to the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
Here's the American call from Doc Emrick on NBCSN…
And his Russian counterpart, who sounds strangely similar to Hawk Harrelson after the White Sox lose on a walk-off home run…
Time will tell what kind of ratings this game does for NBCSN, but judging from social media feeds this morning it was the most captivating moment of these Sochi Olympics thus far. And just think, this was only a preliminary round game! We need more international hockey games in our sporting lives. Come to think of it, we need more international events in everything.
[Vines via Ken Fang & Tim Burke]
