'02 all over again?

The year is 2010. 8 years after the 2nd biggest win in Canadian hockey history. (Number 1 is 1972.. no question about it). 8 years later....yet almost the same scenarios.

And I`m sure I`m not the only one having a case of deja vu all over again. 8 years ago I was 11 years old and watched the Canadian men`s hockey team win the gold medal in a dramatic way. Their first in 50 years. Dramatic as hell.

Now I`m 18, and I`m having flashbacks to Grade 5 again. Here are some of the similarities that have been noticed.

-Canada was expected to win at the beginning of each tournament:

Even though Canada was not `ranked` first(Russia was), they were everyone`s choice to come out on top this year. And that`s the way it usually is at international hockey tourneys. Back in `02, it was no different as the team from Canada was widely expected to win from the beginning. In other words...PRESSURE!!!

-Canada barely beats a shit team in the Round Robin...panic ensues:

In `02, Canada is lucky to escape with a 3-2 win over talentless Germany in the round robin. In`10, Canada is lucky to escape with a 3-2 shootout win over almost talentless Switzerland. And each time, the fans went nuts and completely ripped the team.

-Canada loses to a great team in the round-robin and hope looks bleak:

In `02, Canada is embarrassed by a gold medal contender, Sweden, 5-2 in the round robin and people question whether this team can compete with these elite teams. In `10, Canada loses to the United States 5-3 in a round robin game, and again the questions about the team pop up.

-Canada`s starting goaltender becomes a sieve and costs them dearly.

In `02, Curtis Joseph starts the Sweden game and showed us all what happens when you`re the starting goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs, which he was at the time. Joseph gets yanked in the next game for Martin Brodeur and the rest is history. Ironically in `10, Brodeur is the one who embarrasses himself by diving around and shooting pucks to the other team. Brodeur gets yanked in favour of Roberto Luongo and the rest is history?

-Canada`s star power forward plays like garbage

Eric Lindros and Joe Thornton...what more can I say?

-Canada plays a surprise team in the semi-finals.

In `02, Belarus somehow managed to sneak into the semi-final before Canada manhandled them. Now Slovakia is ABSOLUTELY NOT Belarus, but nobody expected Slovakia to be in this position either.

-Canada USA final

As I`m writing this, America is drilling Finland 6-0, so it`s safe to say that, barring a Slovakia upset, it will be the `02 gold medal game all over again.

Now with all these similarities, there`s one more interesting occurrence in `02 that could potentially happen in `10. The home team loses the gold medal game. In `02, the US lost 5-2 in Utah and here we are, 8 years later with Canada playing at their arena in Vancouver. Which similarity will we add to this list on Sunday?

Will Canada win gold just like they did in `02 or will they blow the game at home just like the US did in `02?