VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Canada didn’t need a complex game plan to wear down its biggest nemesis or punish Alex Ovechkin. Canada simply needed to be Canada.
The Canadians ended 50 years of Olympic hockey frustration against the Russians, surging into the Olympic semifinals with a 7-3 romp over the world champions Wednesday by going back to the game they play best.
A superpower showdown – one that may have been better suited for the gold-medal game than the quarterfinals – quickly became a super letdown as Canada manhandled the Russians’ star forwards, took control early and never backed off.
It ended 7-3 and, for a while, it looked like it might be 17-3.
“They came out like gorillas out of a cage,” backup goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov said.