Team USA Routs Finland in Hockey, Guaranteed at Least Silver

On Friday evening, the US men's hockey team defeated Finland by the impressive score of 6-1.

Finnish goalie Mikka Kiprusoff, who plays for the Calgary Flames of the NHL, gave up four goals in the first 10:08 of the first period, an impressive sum for the US and a tough day for Kiprusoff. The average amount of goals per game by both teams combined in the NHL last season was 5.7.

By midway through the second period, Kiprosoff had been benched and Nicklaus Backstrom had taken his place, only to give up two more goals. With the game not even halfway over, the score was 6-0.

Finland scored their lone goal at 14:46 in the third on a power play.

The US is now officially in the gold medal game that will take place at 3 PM on Sunday, February 28. The US has not won a gold in hockey since 1980. This was the year of the famous "Miracle on Ice" in which the US' ragtag team of unknown players beat a Russian team which had dominated the sport internationally by an indescribably large margin. The US' victory had intense political implications for the two countries mired in the Cold War.

On the thirtieth anniversary of this feat, another US team that no one expected anything of has surprised everyone and advanced to the final.

Now, the US is set up to face either Canada or Slovakia in the gold medal game (that game will start at 9 pm EST on Friday, February 26). After the underdog US team stunned the Canadian powerhouse 5-3 in the first round, a Canada-US final would be an incredible moment in hockey: an amazing end to a truly amazing tournament.