VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Three games for Olympic tournament seeding between blood rivals. They lined them up and played them back-to-back-to-back on what started out as a sunny Sunday in Vancouver. The first puck dropped at noon (Pacific time) and the final horn sounded near midnight.
These games weren't life and death for each team's Olympic dreams. They just seemed that way.
On hockey's "Super Sunday," the rock 'n' roll Russians re-established themselves as a dangerous force (4-2 over the Czechs), the underdog Americans blew their cover (5-3 over Canada) and the defending champion Swedes sent a message to the field (3-0 over Finland).
How did happen? I thought you'd never ask.
To read Hradek's evaluation of the U.S. upset -- and which savvy coaching move helped the Americans win but might cost Ron Wilson when he returns to Toronto -- you must be an ESPN Insider.
E.J. Hradek
Senior Writer, ESPN The MagazineABOUT THIS BLOG
E.J. Hradek
E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.
In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.
Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.
