From time to time, TheIHLC.com will feature detailed recaps and boxscores of some of the most legendary games in international hockey history, considered to be “IHLC Classics.” Today, in honour of the upcoming Olympics, we feature the first of Canada’s four consecutive Gold Medal victories, the thrilling showdown against the United States at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

🇨🇦 Canada 3-2 United States 🇺🇸
Olympic Gold Medal Game
E Center, West Valley City 🇺🇸
Thursday, 21 February 2002

For more than a week, they bore their opponents’ taunts with smiles and silence. They talked instead about how much they respected the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team. They said nothing about the little things that were being done to irritate and belittle them; little things such as having their photographs at the athletes village scribbled on and autographed by the American players.
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