Against all odds, Germany’s men’s hockey team will advance to the Olympic gold-medal game after topping Canada, 4-3, in Friday’s semi-final. This marks the first ever chance at gold in the sport for the Germans, and only their third medal after winning bronze in… 1932 and 1976. This means they’ve already secured their best ever finish in hockey, and on Sunday, they’ll play Russia for gold.
It’s a pretty cool hockey story for the Germans, even if it comes as a bummer for Canadians. Betting odds from Oddsshark had the Germans at +6600 to win gold – for context, Canada was given the second-most favorable odds of winning at +275.
Of course, the story would be completely different if NHL players were around for the Olympics. Without NHLers, the playing field is obviously levelled, and this benefits underdogs such as Germany in their pursuits.
It may not be a faithful test of hockey superiority between nations, although it is always neat to see the game continue to grow internationally. This means far more to the Germans than it would’ve for the Canadians.
Even still, Canada outshot Germany, 14-1, in the third period, and 31-15 for the game. They came close. Now, they’ll have to settle for a chance at bronze against Czech Republic on Saturday. This rules them out of gold-medal games in men’s and women’s hockey as well as men’s and women’s curling now, which surely comes as a massive bummer for Canadians.
That’s okay. A national identity bound to hockey and curling is kind of constraining, and let’s not forget that with Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada has all of the heroes it needs.
(H/T: OddsShark)
