VANCOUVER — Brimming with pride as Olympic hosts, Canada exploded in a collective spasm of national joy Sunday as hockey hero Sidney Crosby dispatched the United States in a tightrope-tense hockey thriller, capping Vancouver’s Games with a record-setting 14th gold medal.
Downtown Vancouver exploded in a din of car horns and cowbells in the seconds after Crosby put the puck through U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller’s legs for a 3-2 overtime win, avenging the American domination of an Olympic podium Canada originally had designs on owning.
Instead, the host country opted to rent the top floor: Sunday’s triumph set an Olympic record for most gold-medal wins in a Winter Games.
“You’re going to see a lot of kids growing up now wishing they were Crosby scoring in overtime and winning a gold medal,” said veteran Canadian defenceman Chris Pronger.
“That’s pretty special.”
The partisan crowd — a roiling, flag-flapping ocean of Canadian colour, except for the odd island of Americana — shook Canada Hockey Place to its foundations when it was over, an uncharacteristic show of national pride rarely witnessed north of the 49th parallel.
“Before this, Canada only seemed patriotic when there was a beer commercial on TV,” said Tony Sam, 41, who drove to Vancouver with friends from Chilliwack, B.C., to watch the game.
“This is the most exciting thing that’s happened in Canada, maybe ever.”
The dejected U.S. team, which had a fair degree of fan support in the crowd, could only stand and watch as the Canadians scrummed joyously at the other end of the ice. Exhausted and inconsolable, some of the Americans could barely muster a smile as they received their silver medals.
The outpouring of Canadian elation was unprecedented. Few felt the warmth of the moment as closely as the home-team players on the ice.
“The crowd was awesome, the whole country was watching,” Team Canada winger Rick Nash said after the game. “It was unbelievable.”
Someone borrowed a massive Canadian flag from the ever-present fan with the flashing red-helmet light and Maple Leaf cape, and before too long the Canadian players, gold medals around their necks, were passing it back and forth for victory laps around the ice, the crowd cheering their flag-bearing favourites.
Other fans tossed their national emblems on to the ice in hopes of seeing the team parade them around the arena.
There wasn’t a louder ovation in the building than during the medals ceremony, when International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge finally made his way to Crosby, the player with the highest number on his sweater — 87 — and the last to get his talisman.
The pair even shared a laugh when Crosby’s name couldn’t be heard for all the cheering, which reverberated again when the pride of Cole Harbour, N.S., took hold of the oversized Canadian flag.
“I dreamed of this moment,” the 22-year-old Crosby said later. “It’s pretty incredible.”
Heather Robins, 35, had Maple Leaf emblems on her face and a Team Canada jersey on as she watched the game on the scoreboard video screen at Rexall Place in Edmonton, along with more than 3,000 other Canadian fans. She predicted a win for Canada — and a game-winning goal for Crosby.
“It’s just so great to be Canadian, it really is,” Robins said. “I’ve always felt great to be a Canadian, but this is it. This is the icing on the cake.”
Canada’s 14th gold medal gave the host country a storybook ending to its 17-day Olympic epic. It broke by one medal the previous record for gold in the Winter Olympics, established in 1976 by the Soviet Union and tied by Norway in 2002.
It also set a new benchmark for the most gold medals to be awarded to a host nation at a Winter Games, and tops Canada’s golden tally for any Olympics, winter or summer.
Seven silver and five bronze gave Canada a total of 26 medals overall, beating by two its previous Winter Games record set in Turin in 2006. That left Canada in third place in the medals race, behind the United States and Germany.
Later Sunday, Canada bore witness to more flag-waving as the country’s newest sentimental sweetheart, figure skater Joannie Rochette, entered B.C. Place stadium as the flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies. Medal winners wore their prizes around their necks as they waved to the crowd and mugged for the cameras.
Canadian Olympic Committee president Michael Chambers praised Canada’s athletes for winning in their country’s typical fashion, with politeness and enthusiasm.
“They were inspirational for everyone,” Chambers said earlier Sunday. “The Canadian athletes won with a smile on their face. They won with respect for those who had sought to win the same event but didn’t succeed. There was no disrespectful conduct whatsoever. It was just happy enthusiasm.”
Rochette, 24, from Ile-Dupas, Que., won a bronze medal less than a week after her mom Therese died of a heart attack hours after flying to Vancouver for the Games. Canadian chef de mission Nathalie Lambert said Rochette was chosen to carry the flag in honour of her grace and courage under pressure.
