See Kevin’s latest story on the game, just published this morning.

Check out our pre-game interviews with Roberto and Ryan as well.

Roberto Luongo

An obviously emotional Roberto Luongo was fighting back tears as he spoke with inGoal’s Kevin Woodley after the Gold Medal Game.

inGoal: How does it feel to be an Olympic Champion?

“it’s unreal. You work your whole life for a moment like this and it’s great to get rewarded.”

inGoal: What happened with the Pavelski shot in overtime?

“He got the puck in the slot and I knew he was going to shoot it right away by the spin-o-rama move he made. I was able to get an elbow on it and it stayed in front of me and kept the play going.”

inGoal: This was your first chance to be the go to guy on such a big stage?

“Right now there is so many thoughts going through my head, and thinking about so many people that helped me out along the way and it’s just a great feeling.”

inGoal: What did you think of Ryan Miller’s performance?

“He played unreal, he’s been playing unreal all year, giving his team a chance to win every night and as a goaltender that’s what you have to do.”

inGoal: What now?

“I just want to get back to the locker room and enjoy it with teammates and can’t wait to see my family.”

Ryan Miller

inGoal: How are you feeling now?

“I’m just very frustrated. We got ourselves in a position to win from two goals down and sudden death kind of stings, especially in this situation.”

inGoal: You had a great tournament though…

“I was happy, proud, the way I handled myself these two weeks.”

inGoal: Despite how it ended, you must be leased with what your team accomplished?

“We have every component to win, it just came down to OT.”

inGoal: What happened on the wining goal?

“The puck got caught up in the ref’s feet or somebody’s feet against the half wall and that spun our guys around for a second. Sidney as walking out as a lefty there and I thought he had his head down for a second but he got his head up right as I was going to make him make a decision. I’ve been aggressive all tournament and I wasn’t going to change my game just because we were in overtime.”

“I knew we lost. You just feel like s—.”

Before meeting with Kevin, Roberto also met with the general media group answering questions from the “scrum.”

What was that like?

“That was real fun. Not the last 20 seconds of the third, but the feeling that goes through your body when Sid scores like that, it’s unreal.”

Did you see Crosby’s goal?

“I didn’t know for sure. it was a sharp angle. But I’ve seen that release before and it’s hard to pick up, obviously when you shoot it quick like that it’s hard to close it.”

Were you surprised it was Sidney?

“It was fitting that Sid would get it. I couldn’t think of someone better who could put this in for us.”

What were you going through during the tying goal?

“It was disappointing. I thought we were so close to getting it there. It was bang-bang play. I made the first save and the puck ended up on his stick. He banged it home. But once we got back in the locker rooom, it was important to refocus. Not only for myself but for my teammates. We did that and played a great overtime.”

What was it like putting on a gold medal?

“It’s unreal. I worked hard my whole life for something like this and it’s nice to get rewarded. This medal is not only for myself but it’s for Canada and the people of Vancouver and the fans who have supported me since the first day I got here.”

The Americans, including your teammate, said you were fighting the puck. Did you feel that way?

“I’m wearing gold, I really don’t care what they think. Are you kidding me?”

What does this do for your legacy?

“I’ll leave it up to you guys, you guys can be the judge of that. But I got a gold medal around my neck and nobody can take that away from me.”

What about the skate around the ice during the medal ceremony?

“I had to pay a little bit back. They’ve been supporting me these two weeks. Obviously, they’ve been tremendously loud every time I touched the puck. I just wanted to give back a little.”

What’s next?

“I’m going to go and enjoy in the locker room with my buddies here who i’m going to have a bond with the rest of our lives. Then I’m going to spend some nice family time with all the people who came to see me.”

“What’s this week been like?”

“I had a blast this whole week. I think I came in with the right mindset and I enjoyed every minute of it. To have win it in overtime is an unreal feeling.”

See also – inGoal interviews with Roberto Luongo and Ryan Miller

Luongo’s Interpretation of IIHF Rulebook may have resulted in game-saving stop on Demitra

Roberto Luongo’s sprawling glove stab off Slovakia’s Pavol Demitra on Friday night may yet go down as the stop of the Olympics for Canada, a game-saving act of desperation that left an entire nation holding its breath and put them into the gold-medal game.

As nice as Luongo’s save was – a mirror image of the egregiously soft sharp-angle goal that made it necessary – it came with an unlikely assist.

Turns out Luongo might not have made the stop, and Canada might not be playing for gold, if not for an odd International Ice Hockey Federation equipment rule that forced him to swap out his usual Reebok glove for an earlier model.

Only his puck-stopping peers may have noticed this, but Luongo has switched from the Reebok P3 glove he wears with the Canucks to a P2 with Team Canada.

The Reebok P3 - Luongo's preferred glove that he was not permitted to use at the Olympics due to the one piece cuff.

The Reebok P2 Luongo was forced to switch to this model for the Olympics because it has a separate cuff

When inGoal magazine asked Luongo about the switch after practice Saturday, he said it was because IIHF rules mandated a separate cuff on the glove, which the new one-piece P3 does not have. And while a review of the IIHF rulebook didn’t make that clear beyond showing a picture of a cuffed glove – after all the pads they showed were from the late-90s and would have worked only for Martin Brodeur – Luongo’s interpretation may have saved Canada.

You can see the P3 here in the first game Luongo wore the new gear he intended to wear in the Olympics

You can see clearly the P2 in action here

How? Because the one-piece P3 cuff curves down from the thumb towards the bottom of the wrist, while the P2 cuff runs straight across from the cuff. So where did Luongo point when he was asked Saturday where Demitra’s shot hit him? To the top of the cuff, near the thumb, a space that wouldn’t have been filled by his usual P3 blocker.

Did it make all the difference? Tough to say, but looking where Luongo pointed and considering how little he got of that shot, it seems likely.

“Yeah, it was a reaction,” Luongo said of the save. “After the first save, when I looked over I saw one of their players and I just tried to get as much as I could across. Luckily, it hit the cuff of my glove.”

Luck – and a fateful interpretation of the IIHF rule book.

USA, Canada get inside scouting reports on Luongo, Miller

American forward Patrick Kane fired the first salvo at Canadian goaltender Roberto Luongo as early as Friday afternoon, saying after scoring twice in the U.S. romp over Finland, “that’s a goaltender I wouldn’t mind facing again.”

Kane, of course, scored three times to knock Luongo and the Canucks out of the second round of last year’s playoffs, a loss that added to a can’t-win-the-big-game reputation for the Team Canada stopper, who took months to get over it.

In fact, Luongo may not be over it yet.

“If he’s got a book, good for him,” Luongo bristled when Kane’s comments were relayed after the win over Slovakia. “I’m just going to play my position.”

Exactly how both Luongo and U.S. counterpart Ryan Miller play their positions was a big topic of conversation on the eve of Sunday’s showdown for gold. The U.S. exploited Canadian legend Martin Brodeur’s old-school stand up style with shots along the ice in a 5-3 win a week earlier, thanks in large part to the scouting of current and former Devils teammates Brian Rafalski, Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner. One of Luongo’s teammates sees a similar possibility.

“He has a couple areas I think we can exploit and I’m sure not going to keep any secrets,” Canucks and U.S. forward Ryan Kesler said of Luongo, who isn’t always at his best on plays from along and below the goal line. “It looked like he was cheating on the one, so maybe we’ll be throwing sharp-angle shots at the net.”

As for Miller, it’s clear the Canadians, whose coaching staff includes his Buffalo Sabres bench boss Lindy Ruff, plan to get a lot more bodies in front of and on top of the slightly built U.S. star. And while that may seem like a standard NHL response to any goaltender on a hot streak, in this case it’s driven by a scouting report that Miller likes to play aggressively out of his crease, and has been using the larger IIHF blue ice to do so even more.

While many goalies use a “heels out” philosophy (heels of the skates on the edge of the crease) to establish initial depth, Miller takes it out even further. And that is something the Canadians want to target by pushing him back towards his goal line, just as they did to Slovakia’s Jaroslav Halak on Friday by getting bodies to the net, eliminating his reaction advantage by making it tough to see and making him play down to his 5-foot-10 size with tips and deflections.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re real strong in our own net and then we’ve got to go get him,” said Canadian coach Mike Babcock. “We need traffic and we’ve got to go get him. We have to be at the net, we have to get more second chances. We didn’t have enough hard chances against them (in the last game against the U.S. last Sunday. We never got into their D enough and spent a lot of time around the front of their net. Just make it harder. The chances we had looked like good chances, but on good goalies when they are in the zone, you are not going to score unless you have traffic or second opportunities.”

Canada’s Babcock not shying away from Luongo’s defining moment

Rather than try to ease the pressure of erasing Luongo’s not-a-big-game-goalie reputation, Canadian coach Mike Babcock wants his goalie to embrace it.

“Lou’s got to be good tomorrow, he knows that,” said Babcock. “It’s interesting, we all have these opportunities in our careers to make a name for ourselves and he has that opportunity. Some people might think that’s pressure. I think it’s just the opposite. Why wouldn’t you want to be great? He’s a great big man, this is his home building, he’s got to love it when they go “Loo” like that. I would. I think he’ll be great. Be good tomorrow, have fun, just enjoy the opportunity.”

"I'm less than 24 hours away and I'm just excited and getting ready to go."

What about the early start?

“It’s an early start so it’s a bit different, I’m going to get up early have a nice breakfast and pretty much head to the rink right away. Not much time to sit on it, so that’s a good thing. Get to the rink early and start preparing. Making sure, once the puck drops I’m ready to go.”

Will you see your wife?

“Not tomorrow morning for sure. Probably after. In a moment like this, it’s such a big opportunity you have to make sure your intentions are on the game and you’re fully focused.”

Have you thought about that last save Friday night on Pavol Demitra?

“Yeah, the fact that it’s Demo makes it so much better. I can’t wait to see him on Tuesday (laughing). It was great, it is for moments like that you play the game. When you’re a kid in the streets you play for moments like that. You try to imitate those moments and I’m happy something like that happened.

Why were you laughing with Demitra at the handshake?

“That’s the whole thing. I didn’t know it was him. That was my reaction when he told me he was the guy who shot that puck. I was kind of surprised and that’s why we started laughing there.”

What are your thoughts on facing a sizzling Ryan Miller?

“He’s playing great, but I’m not worried about Ryan Miller, I’m worried about their forwards and their D-men. That’s my job, to make sure I stop those guys. I can’t control the way Ryan plays. He’s been playing great. We got to make sure we do a good job on him tomorrow.”

What Challenges do the US team present?

“They play a North American style. They go north-south, they will throw some pucks and bodies at the net, point shots, screens and tips, all that kind of stuff, it’s NHL style hockey and obviously it’s something I’m used to.”

Do you understand the magnitude of this game in Canada?

“Right now, it’s like you are in a bubble. You don’t realize certain things. But for me personally, I’m excited to play. It’s a great game. It’s a lot of fun, it’s an unbelievable stage. This is what you work your whole career for.”

What did you think of Marty being the starter when this began?

“Like I said the first day I got here, I’m here to help the team the best way I can and that’s been my mindset all along.”

Are you shocked it’s you now?

“I didn’t expect anything coming in here, I just wanted contribute to the team. There’s always a possibility, you know in the past, I’ve been on Team Canada before and twice there have been injuries and I had to go in. So, you just have to stay ready and never know what can happen. At the end of the day, I had the right mindset coming in and hopefully after tomorrow it all works out.”

You’ve called this fun — have these tense moments always been that way?

“Those are the best moments. Those are what define goaltenders in a way. Being such a big stage–the Olympics at home in Vancouver–the whole setup is what made it so much fun.”

What’s it like stepping out on the ice to that sea of red sweaters?

“It’s fun. You come out on the ice and you see everyone screaming, wearing red. It gets the guys going even more. It’s fun to be part of something like that, in an experience we will probably never get to live again. So I’m just looking forward to tomorrow and the craziness of the building.”

Ryan Miller caught the same flight to Vancouver with his Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff, and even bought him a McDonald’s sausage ‘n egg mcmuffin at the airport. But the friendliness ended there.

“I told him that was the last favor I was going to do him,” Miller said. True to his word, he was the difference in the preliminary round as he stopped 42 shots en route to a 5-3 win over Ruff’s Team Canada. He’ll need to be on top of his game once again to lead the U.S. to gold in the final against Canada.

Here are the rest of Miller’s thoughts on the day before facing Canada for gold:

You grew up and now live near the border, so do you know more about rivalry?

“All the guys in the U.S. room, we’ve all been there, we’ve all played in Canada. I remember as a kid going into tournaments and you are 11, 12, 13 years old and (pauses to laugh) you got the Canadian parents yelling at you.”

What role will the last game against Canada play in this one?

“It was a turning point for both teams. We got some extra positive energy from it, maybe got some confidence. And it kind of jolted them awake and they smoked two really solid teams and held on against a very talented Slovakia team.”

What is your approach to such a big game?

“It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s a big game but it doesn’t change the way we play. It’s a hockey game, it’s ice, it’s a puck, the kind of stuff we’ve done for years. Just going to go out and hopefully tie my skates on the right way and play a hockey game. It’s something we do every day. I’m just going to try and have fun with it. It is a great chance.”

What do you think of all the back and forth about who is favored?

“I don’t think anyone is picking for this one, are they? I guess things have changed a little bit but we’re not going to have a whole lot of fans here in this country. We’re working to something no one thought we could do. I just like how it all kind of spins around in circles. It’s really funny. They’ve played some good teams and won, we’ve played some good teams and won. It’s the end of the tournament and I don’t think anybody should be underdog or overdog.”

You’re listed as weighing 175 pounds, but that seems high?

“It’s less than that for sure, especially this tournament. I’m like 170, 172. In the summers I’m not bad, like 176, 177. If I really pushed it, I could really get up there, but what I do doesn’t really line up. All those fad diets, just throw 25 pounds of gear on and work out for three hours a day, you are going to be skinny. I stopped worrying about it. My body works for what I do. I’m in pretty good shape so I’m not worried about being thin, being skinny. If I get pushed around I know how to survive and I am strong enough to do my job and if anybody if coming at me or hitting me I know how to survive out there. I’m never going to be a big person. I’m always going to be tall and skinny so I need to maintain my body that way. It’s been a slow thing. Every year you find something that works for you and you tweak it.”

Luongo talked about having fun, that it wasn’t like Stanley Cup run?

“In a way I’m not sure quite how I feel. Whatever happens is going to happen. You have to accept that. It doesn’t mean I don’t try my hardest. I put my best out there and accept that at end of night if I’ve done my best I can feel good. I think that’s what he is getting at. He’s just going out, playing the best he can and whatever happens, happens. He’s having fun with it and I feel that to a degree. Just trying to enjoy every moment of it.”

Where does your calm demeanor come from?

“I’m getting older I guess. As much as is made about a goaltender stealing big games, playing well in a tournament, a goaltender really does reflect his team and if you guys really sit down and break down our film, you can see our team is playing really well. Prime example is last game against Finland. We’ve cleaned up some of the neutral zone stuff, the rush stuff was basically our forwards were getting anxious and trying to make plays. We’ve got a third guy who has been more responsible and we’ve had a lot more puck control. We’ve done well in our D zone, we’ve been desperate, our penalty killing has been good. So the poise comes from having a group of guys. It’s been a lot of fun to play with and we keep it very positive from the top down, from management to coaches. So you just kind of come in and it just feels good to go out and play.”

Did you play this game as a kid?

“I don’t know, there were all kinds of different games, Game 7 Stanley Cup, Michigan State University, CCHA championships, and the Olympics was obviously big. I got to watch a few of those as a kid. It’s exciting to be in it.”

Can you compare this to the Stanley Cup playoffs?

“I don’t know, we’ll see. So far it’s just been a lot of fun. I don’t know why, I’ve just felt really comfortable that things are going to work out the way they are supposed to work out and just going to go out and play hockey and do my job. Sometimes in the past for me it’s been playoffs are every other day and you play three, four good games you are barely through a series. This environment it is a little bit more night to night so it’s hard to predict how it’s going to shake out so you just kind of let yourself go and say whatever happens, happens and now were are here in the final game and you try to carry that feeling forward.”

There is lots of talk about getting more traffic, do you rely on teammates to stop it?

“Even they can’t really stop it nowadays. We’re not getting interference calls now. It’s up to the referees to watch the crease. We’ll see how the international rules affect it because they can be in the crease and get a warning and if something happens it’s not necessarily a waved off goal. We’ll see how they handle things. I’m sure the ref will be well aware of what’s going on because they came hard to the net in all their games.”

How important is this game, this rivalry, for the sport in the U.S.?

“It’s great for the sport. They are two countries with a lot of interest in the game and obviously in Canada it can define the sports culture. In the United States we are hoping to grow the game and a situation like this is a prime example of that. We have a venue, we have the attention, we’re going to try to make the most of it, not only for ourselves but because USA Hockey has a chance to expand and reach new households and create some more fans and maybe kids take interest and want to play.”

Last night’s semi-final was looking like it would be a relatively easy win for Canada – the Slovaks only threw nine shots at goaltender Roberto Luongo through two periods as Canada grabbed a 3-0 lead. But Luongo had to come up with a remarkable desperation glove save on Canucks teammate Pavol Demitra in the final seconds to preserve Canada’s 3-2 semi-final win and move his team into the Olympic final on Sunday.

The two embraced in the hand shake line, obviously recounting the play that will get talked about for some time in the Canucks locker room. “Oh, man! I can’t believe he made that save,” Demitra said, minutes after the finish. “I was sure it was going to go in.”

Asked what went on between them Luongo added, “He said a couple of words that I can’t repeat. I can tease him about it once it’s all said and done.”

Tomorrow, Luongo will face Ryan Miller and the Americans getting an opportunity for payback in a couple of ways.

It may not have been Luongo in net when Team USA beat Canada in the preliminary round but you can bet he and his teammates want to avenge that loss.They’d love to win what coach Mike Babcock was calling “the rubber match” yesterday. “They won the World Juniors, we won the women’s gold and here’s the rubber right here. They have a young team over there and they’ve done a good job and their goaltender is outstanding. I was asked a long time before this tournament, who are you nervous about? I always say the best goalie always makes you nervous. And I think that kid has been really good for them.”

But for Luongo personally, it is also a special opportunity. Rightly or wrongly he is getting the tag of a goalie who has yet to win the big game. Tomorrow gives him that the chance to do just that, while extracting a bit of personal revenge. He’ll face down American Patrick Kane who had his number scoring on three of four shots as Kane’s Chicago Blackhawks eliminated Luongo’s Canucks in game six of the Western Conference Semi-Final last spring.

But now isn’t the time to dwell on the past. Luongo was none too pleased and left quickly when asked if Kane had anything on him – “If he’s got a book (on me), good for him.”

Kane, on the other hand, was happy to talk about the last time the two faced each other in a big game – perhaps even offering a nice quote for the Canadian locker room as motivation, “I’ve had my luck against him, personally. So he’s a goalie I wouldn’t mind facing.”

Less than 24 hours from now we’ll see who gets the last laugh.

If you have visited Molson Canadian Hockey House during the Olympics, you’ll see some giant “elephant masks” with Hockey Canada and IIHF themes there. They are dramatic to say the least – and are the creation of Gerald McLaughlin of VOODOOAIR Airbrushing.

Gerald produced a video to detail the creation of these giant masks – it’s realy interesting and gives you an idea of how artists work on actual goal masks – all be it on a very different scale. The film is professionally done and well worth a look.

Members of the Canadian men’s and gold medal winning women’s teams have been signing the masks – and they’ll be auctioned off for charity. Check out this EBay Auction to see how you can get your hands on one – I can’t imagine a better addition to your man-cave at home, your local arena, or as I imagined – as a head board for my goalie-obsessed 3-yr old son.

You’ll see Gerald’s work elsewhere in the Olympic Games – on Canadian Skeleton racers Melissa Hollingsworth and Jeff Pain’s helmets. Pain’s in particular has become a real trademark  - the sight of the raging Canadian Beaver flying down the track is well known in sliding circles. It’s nice to see the individual styles we have come to love on goaltenders over the years beginning to take hold in other sports as well.

In fact, Gerald is the only artist licensed to paint catcher’s masks for Major League Baseball. They want much tighter control over the designs used and their image than is currently possible in the wide open NHL (think Ray Emery / Mike Tyson mask!).

Check out VOODOO AIRBRUSHING to learn more about Gerald and his sports work – and to see more about his other fine art he also operates SMOKINART.COM.

All images courtesy of VOODOO AIRBRUSHING.

For more Olympic Goalie Masks check out our roundup.

Jaroslav Halak has had a terrific Olympic tournament so far, entering the semi-final tonight with a 1.97 GAA. He has taken down the Russians and now the Swedes – and Halak is hoping to make it a hat trick with tonights game against Canada.

We have seen lots of attention drawn to his Olympic mask – so we have a few great shots for you tonight. We first found it, and a description of its imagery on a fan board  HF Boards:

“One side features Vladimir Dzurilla, perhaps the greatest goaltender in the history of Slovak hockey. The other side is Juraj Janosik, a Slovak folk hero, along the same lines as Robin Hood.”

and on the back:

“The High Tatra mountain range.”

We haven’t yet tracked down the artist – if you know, please leave a note in the comments. Turns out the mask was done by inGoal friend David Arrigo. We hadn’t heard back from David during the Olympics as he was busy working on an Official Olympics mural in Vancouver for the week – adding every Canadian Gold Medallist which meant the last few days must have been crazy!

The Vancouver Sun today has a nice piece on Halak and also refers to the design on his Olympic helmet. In it they note that,

“There is no question that Halak, 24, has been oppressed in his brief pro goaltending career — and there’s also no doubt he’d like to invoke the spirit of the now-deceased Dzurzilla and shove another bagel down the collective throat of Team Canada in tonight’s Olympic semifinal game.”

Thanks to s.yume for these and so many other fantastic Olympic Hockey photos, used with permission.

Just in case the permanent grin plastered across his face didn’t say it already, inGoal Magazine asked Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo Thursday if this really was the most fun he’s ever had between the pipes.

“For sure, I’m having a blast,” he replied with a wider smile. “It’s kind of sad to think there’s only two games left. They’re going to be two great games and I’m just going to enjoy them as much as I can.”

From the very real twinkle in his eye to the noticeable excitement in his voice, it’s been clear Luongo is relishing an opportunity he’s waited his whole career for, a chance to finally step out of the long shadow of Martin Brodeur after the living legend stumbled against the U.S. last Sunday. Luongo has been careful to say there will be plenty more chances to win championships and insists his career won’t be defined by this. But with a salary-capped NHL, he also knows there may never be a better chance, a better supporting cast to help shake a reputation – fair or not – for not winning the big games.

The best news for a nation counting on him to do just that may be the way Luongo is embracing this pressure-packed opportunity.

“I’m trying to stay indoors as much as I can because the couple of times I have been out I haven’t been able to walk too far, but it’s fun,” Luongo joked of being mobbed while trying to soak up Olympic atmosphere. “I’m sleeping great. Obviously the nerves are there the whole day, so by the time the game is done you are pretty much gassed anyway. It is all part of the big scheme of things here and there’s only a few days left. So we are going to enjoy them and we are really looking forward to (playing the Slovaks).”

As for the danger of a letdown after such a big win against Russia on Wednesday, Luongo said the situation and the crowd makes it hard to lose sight of the more immediate task at hand, refusing to entertain questions about a possible gold-medal rematch with the Americans. The same deafening roars inside the building he calls home with as the Canucks captain should also help deal a patient counter-attacking style that saw Slovakia score on three of four shots in the second period against Sweden Wednesday. New York Rangers stopper Henrik Lundqvist indicated after the game that he lost his early rhythm while the puck was in the other end – “I never saw the puck. I only saw it in the net” – but Luongo isn’t worried about losing focus.

After a great start, Lundqvist's Quarter-Final was an unexpected disappointment

“It’s not a problem,” he said. “The adrenaline is going the whole game and obviously I’ve been in situations this tournament where I haven’t seen much action, so you know the emotion takes over and that’s what keeps you focused and sharp. If not, the fans will keep you into it. There’s a gold medal on the line and that’s what we’re all focused on. They’ve got skill, and even though they don’t get a lot of shots, they’ve got guys that can put pucks in the net.”

Luongo has said in the past that getting out and playing the puck more is one way to stay in a game where he doesn’t see a lot of rubber, but made it clear Thursday he doesn’t prepare any differently for a slow night. In fact, he doesn’t even consider the possibility.

“I don’t go into a game expecting one thing or the other because you never know what can happen,” he said. “I didn’t expect a six-goal lead (against Russia) either so you just go in and worry about what makes you successful and what you do to be on top of your game.”

That includes finding a balance between the excitement created by a raucous home crowd and not using up all his energy early.

“You try to be as relaxed as possible during the day, even though that’s sometimes a bit hard knowing what is at stake,” Luongo said. “You try to take it easy and whether you are nervous or not by the time the game starts you are at full throttle and ready to go.”

Kevin Woodley is a rec-league target and former contributing editor of the Goalie News magazine. He has written about the Vancouver Canucks and NHL for The Associated Press, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and The Hockey News for the last decade, and is currently at the Olympics for AP.

Photos thanks to s.yume

The big headlines went, appropriately, to Swiss standout Jonas Hiller on Wednesday.

Which is fine by his American counterpart Ryan Miller, who has quietly – literally and figuratively – backstopped the United States into medal contention in Vancouver.

As easy as it could be to overlook Miller’s 19 saves on an afternoon when Hiller stopped 42 – including several in spectacular fashion – don’t discount some of the tough early stops Millers was forced to make.

Playing behind a U.S. team that looked jittery in its first game as the unquestioned favorites, Miller threw out a blocker on Julien Sprunger’s labeled shot from the slot after a bad turnover just 3:30 in, and made another point blank stop off Raffaele Sannitz less than a minute later, allowing the Americans to finally settle down and into a game they would go on to dominate for prolonged stretches in the other end.

“With a goalie like Ryan Miller, just like Hiller, you expect the big saves,” said U.S. coach Ron Wilson.

It’s that calming influence U.S. teammates cite first when asked about Miller.

“Sometimes I wonder if he even has a heartbeat back there,” said U.S. forward David Backes. “He’s a cool, calm and collected guy. Even after a 42-save performance against Canada (on Sunday) we might have got half a smile out of him. He just went about his business, stretched and started preparing for the next game. To have that backbone and that leadership is huge for our club.”

Several other players echoed those thoughts, talking about how quiet and focused Miller gets before every game, and the confidence his intense concentration generates on the youngest team in the Olympic tournament.

“When he gets to the rink, he’s pretty business like,” said Zach Parise, who scored both U.S. goals – one a third-period deflection that angled up and over Hiller before taking a favorable and agonizingly slow bounce into the goal, and the other into an empty net. Between those two goals, Miller also flashed the glove on a blast off the rush from the top of the circle. But don’t think that is the only flashy thing about Miller.

Despite all the talk about his quiet focus at the rink, the Buffalo Sabres standout has been doing plenty of talking away from it, including a recent stint on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show that included conversations about his actress girlfriend Noureen DeWulf.

“I’m not in a bubble,” he said. “USA Hockey only has so many opportunities to promote so we end up doing a lot in a short period of time. It’s something we don’t normally get and something where a lot of people listen across the nation so it’s about different subjects. They touch on the hockey but they wan to know more what’s going on.”

For the versatile, deep-thinking Miller that means a wide range of hobbies – from landscape photography to playing guitar in a rock band – but right now his focus in primarily on winning a medal. The possibility of it being gold has already led to the phrase like “Do you believe in Miller-acles” being thrown around in cyberspace.

“We got a long way for that,” Miller cautioned. “People can start believing if we put another solid game together. I believe in this team, but we have to get the job done.”

Miller will be a big part of that, in large part because he has learned not to try to do too much. Ever since starring as the hometown hero in Michigan State, Miller has worked hard with his long-time goalie coach Terry Barbeau to improve the efficiency of his movements. Even while he was winning American Hockey League Goalie of the Year during the NHL lockout, Miller was working to get to save positions faster, trying to eliminate his college habit of sliding into shots and moving into shooting lanes. He continued to focus on it this summer – arriving to each new position fast, square and set – and cites it as a big reason he is among the NHL leaders in most goalie categories.

That efficiency is certainly not lost on his Olympic teammates, who feed off his subtle, no-scramble movements on the ice as much as his cool, calm demeanor off it.

“He’s a big solid guy. He’s not all over the place. He’s very in control of his body,” said veteran defenseman Brian Rafalski, who has quickly emerged, alongside Miller, as a leader of the U.S. squad. “He’s got a good demeanor about him. He doesn’t get too upset if a goal gets scored, he bounces right back and that’s a really good quality in a goalie.”

~ Here are more thoughts from Miller after the 2-0 win over Switzerland:

- On the job the American defense is doing: “I think our D are doing a great job. I think we’ve done a great job pressuring up ice and our neutral zone has been pretty good. They didn’t have a lot. We moved the puck really well. We got up ice. They play a frustrating neutral zone and we were able to spend some time in zone. We knew we didn’t want to make it a three-quarter game and get cut off at the line. We did a pretty good job from our backend of getting the puck up and helping out. The Swiss are really organized and they’re very frustrating so we’re happy to get through this one.”

- On the youth of the U.S. showing a little in stretches: “In a way, I guess you could see it maybe a little bit in the second period. But the first period was very strong. I thought we could have had some goals. One good one off the post. Hiller made a couple of spectacular saves early. Then in the second period, we got some open looks and Hiller got a piece of a few of them. If we keep creating chances, we’ll be good. I think the guys were close to getting frustrated, but we held tight and we kept with the game plan.”

- On whether he got a look at the Swiss no-goal: “I spun around. He kind of shot it from right on the goal line. It hit my stick, so I was a little concerned about it. They have those cushions pushed back so far, and it didn’t appear to hit any webbing. I had a good feeling it wasn’t in, so I got a little lucky on that one. I was trying not to get my stick in the way. It was an impossible shot – or a great shot – and I was trying to get my stick out of the way.”

- On having two cracks at a medal now: “It feels good but obviously the job is not done. We know how tough the teams are coming up. Finland, I watched a little of the first two games. I was impressed with their blue line. It’s just a great tournament. We had a tough game today and we’re really happy to learn something.”