It's Now or Never

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GOH CHAI HIN/AFP/GETTY

Canada's Cindy Klassen (front), Clara Hughes (middle) and Kristina Groves skate towards a silver in the speed skating team pursuit

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In making up its roster, Canada risked fatigue and injuries by going with tried-and-true veterans, eschewing such younger stars as Sidney Crosby and Jason Spezza. The fiercest competition is likely to come from the Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland. Team USA and Switzerland are both regarded as dark horses, while Russia--a longtime nemesis that hadn't been expected to be a threat--has been playing in Torino as if it has nothing to lose. The Russian team is young, assembled by former NHL star Pavel Bure and led by rising players, including NHL rookie-of-the-year candidate Alexander Ovechkin. That can't be reassuring for the Canadians. In Olympic history, Canada's record against Russia (and the former Soviet Union) is one win and six losses. The Russians don't seem intimidated. "I hear the same thing over and over again--even the Russian people in the stands saying we're no good," says forward Alexei Kovalev. "We don't care about Canada and the other teams. Every team can be a surprise here. You never know what to expect."

If the Canadians prevail, men's hockey gold would cap what is shaping up to be one of the country's finest winter performances ever. There were certainly high expectations. The Canadian Olympic Committee (coc) brazenly targeted third place in the overall medal standings--likely requiring 25 medals, compared with the 17 that Canada took home four years ago. Canada might not make it, especially after several failure-to-convert performances in the Games' opening days. As the unfulfilled expectations initially piled up--as when all four female snowboarders failed to qualify for the half-pipe final, or when Emily Brydon finished 20th in the women's downhill--coc chief executive officer Chris Rudge said he was planning a post-Games symposium of sports psychologists to discern why Canadians crumble under the weight of the five rings. The only early bright spots were the inspirational silver won by Beckie Scott and Sara Renner in cross-country team sprint and Jennifer Heil's gold medal in freestyle moguls.

But last Thursday, Canada suddenly came alive, winning four medals: in speedskating (silvers in both men's and women's team pursuit), women's skeleton (Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards, bronze) and men's figure skating (Jeffrey Buttle, bronze). Buttle's medal was particularly welcome, as he had fallen during his short program. "It's unbelievable," he said. "I would have never thought I could come back." Then came a one-two finish Friday in the skeleton for Calgary firefighter Duff Gibson and World Cup leader Jeff Pain. Gibson, 39, who immediately retired from his sport, has the distinction of being the oldest person to win an Olympic winter gold in an individual event.

But no matter how well Canada does as a whole, it's the performance of the men's hockey team that matters most. That helps explain the passionate sideshows that have flared at Torino. There was, of course, the Gretzky gambling controversy. Then news broke over new legal action against Team Canada star Todd Bertuzzi in connection with an on-ice NHL attack against Steve Moore in 2004. But rather than become distractions, Canada's hockey players say that if anything, the controversies have further unified Team Canada. "Growing up in Edmonton, watching [Gretzky] play with the Oilers, I remember how much fun they had as a group," says forward Jarome Iginla. "You want to be part of a team like that." A gold medalist in Salt Lake, Iginla, a star with the Calgary Flames, now has another chance in Torino. No pressure. Just the country's reputation at stake.

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