gusman
02-25-2010, 09:05 AM
By Gary Mason, The Globe and Mail
One game was never going to define Roberto Luongo's career. But he knew that his performance against Russia in Wednesday night's quarter-final game had the potential to open it up to glorious opportunities.
Play solid. Win. And it was likely going to mean he would be one stop away from a chance to play for the gold medal and all the hockey glory that entails.
He did just that.
Playing in a building where the chants of "Louuuuuuuuu" regularly rain down from the rafters during the Vancouver Canucks' NHL season, this was the biggest game of Luongo's career. He'd performed in Stanley Cup playoffs before and had represented Canada in the last Olympics and in other international competitions, but never had he been the goaltender in a game with so much meaning.
He would be playing in front of a hometown crowd. And a whole nation would also be watching.
It didn't get any better. Or more scary perhaps.
At the beginning of the men's Olympic hockey tournament, Martin Brodeur, the certain NHL Hall of Famer and gold medallist in Salt Lake City, was expected to be the goalie Canada would ride into these Olympic playoffs. But when he faltered against the U.S., letting in four goals, the door opened for Luongo, and fans in Vancouver couldn't have been more pleased.
But Wednesday night, Luongo would only be half the goaltending story. The Russians had one also. By the end of the night they would have two.
Evgeni Nabokov, the goalie having such a stellar season with the San Jose Sharks, was swamped by an unrelenting Canadian attack. One goal was quickly two and then three. He was finally, mercilessly, pulled shortly into the second period after the sixth - the first time the Russians had yanked their goalie in international competition since 1998, we're told. He was replaced by Ilya Bryzgalov, but by then the game was effectively over.
Who would have imagined? Now, any goalie will tell you that it's much easier to play with a lead than without one. It certainly doesn't guarantee anything but it allows you to breathe in a big game when all you feel like doing is passing out from the pressure. And when Canada jumped to an unexpected 3-0 lead you could almost see Luongo's shoulders slump a bit - in a good way. It was the tension seeping from his body.
When the Russians scored with just over five minutes left in the first period to make the score 3-1, it produced the game's first "Oh, oh" moment. These were the Russians after all. And they were icing one of the most prolific lineups in the country's glorious hockey history. You knew they were going to score goals. The question for Canada was always going to be how many it could limit them to.
Luongo obviously didn't have to be brilliant in this game, but he did make some key saves early and then a couple of spectacular ones late when, admittedly, the game was already in the bag for Canada. Still they can only help give Luongo confidence moving ahead. And the many Vancouver Canucks fans in the crowd didn't mind having something to crow about either.
There is certainly no question who plays in goal for Canada in the semi-final game tomorrow. If the score had been 7-5 or 7-6 there might have been.
But it wasn't, and now Luongo gets to forge on, in his home rink, with all the familiar pressure that comes with it.
"I've worked my entire career for this opportunity," Luongo said before this game. "This is what you want as a goalie. That big stage and big game." He has it. And now the stage and spotlight only gets bigger.
At the end of the game, the Canadian players, as is Olympic custom, gathered in the middle of the ice and raised their sticks in a salute to the crowd. Luongo had taken his helmet off by this point and you could see the smile on his face from the nosebleed seats.
And then it started again, just as it had at so many points during the game.
"Louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu."
The audience serenaded him right off the ice.
One game was never going to define Roberto Luongo's career. But he knew that his performance against Russia in Wednesday night's quarter-final game had the potential to open it up to glorious opportunities.
Play solid. Win. And it was likely going to mean he would be one stop away from a chance to play for the gold medal and all the hockey glory that entails.
He did just that.
Playing in a building where the chants of "Louuuuuuuuu" regularly rain down from the rafters during the Vancouver Canucks' NHL season, this was the biggest game of Luongo's career. He'd performed in Stanley Cup playoffs before and had represented Canada in the last Olympics and in other international competitions, but never had he been the goaltender in a game with so much meaning.
He would be playing in front of a hometown crowd. And a whole nation would also be watching.
It didn't get any better. Or more scary perhaps.
At the beginning of the men's Olympic hockey tournament, Martin Brodeur, the certain NHL Hall of Famer and gold medallist in Salt Lake City, was expected to be the goalie Canada would ride into these Olympic playoffs. But when he faltered against the U.S., letting in four goals, the door opened for Luongo, and fans in Vancouver couldn't have been more pleased.
But Wednesday night, Luongo would only be half the goaltending story. The Russians had one also. By the end of the night they would have two.
Evgeni Nabokov, the goalie having such a stellar season with the San Jose Sharks, was swamped by an unrelenting Canadian attack. One goal was quickly two and then three. He was finally, mercilessly, pulled shortly into the second period after the sixth - the first time the Russians had yanked their goalie in international competition since 1998, we're told. He was replaced by Ilya Bryzgalov, but by then the game was effectively over.
Who would have imagined? Now, any goalie will tell you that it's much easier to play with a lead than without one. It certainly doesn't guarantee anything but it allows you to breathe in a big game when all you feel like doing is passing out from the pressure. And when Canada jumped to an unexpected 3-0 lead you could almost see Luongo's shoulders slump a bit - in a good way. It was the tension seeping from his body.
When the Russians scored with just over five minutes left in the first period to make the score 3-1, it produced the game's first "Oh, oh" moment. These were the Russians after all. And they were icing one of the most prolific lineups in the country's glorious hockey history. You knew they were going to score goals. The question for Canada was always going to be how many it could limit them to.
Luongo obviously didn't have to be brilliant in this game, but he did make some key saves early and then a couple of spectacular ones late when, admittedly, the game was already in the bag for Canada. Still they can only help give Luongo confidence moving ahead. And the many Vancouver Canucks fans in the crowd didn't mind having something to crow about either.
There is certainly no question who plays in goal for Canada in the semi-final game tomorrow. If the score had been 7-5 or 7-6 there might have been.
But it wasn't, and now Luongo gets to forge on, in his home rink, with all the familiar pressure that comes with it.
"I've worked my entire career for this opportunity," Luongo said before this game. "This is what you want as a goalie. That big stage and big game." He has it. And now the stage and spotlight only gets bigger.
At the end of the game, the Canadian players, as is Olympic custom, gathered in the middle of the ice and raised their sticks in a salute to the crowd. Luongo had taken his helmet off by this point and you could see the smile on his face from the nosebleed seats.
And then it started again, just as it had at so many points during the game.
"Louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu."
The audience serenaded him right off the ice.