Jim Souhan: Crosby answered nation's call as Canada waited to exhale

VANCOUVER - When the United States beat the Soviet Union in Lake Placid in 1980, Al Michaels asked, his voice rising with emotion, "Do you believe in miracles?"

When Bobby Thomson hit The Shot Heard 'Round the World in '51, Russ Hodges hollered, "The Giants win the pennant!"

When the Canadian hockey team scored an overtime goal to beat the United States in the Olympic gold medal game, 3-2, Sunday, one TSN announcer declared, "And a nation ... is relieved."

"Honestly," Canada hockey General Manager Steve Yzerman said, "it's an incredible relief."

After Sidney Crosby beat U.S. goalie Ryan Miller 7:40 into overtime at Canada Hockey Place, Crosby screamed and a nation exhaled.

Canada's biggest home-grown sports star had scored the biggest goal of his career to capture the gold medal his country wanted most -- one available every four years, and achievable on home ice once in a generation. "I'm glad," teammate Chris Pronger said, "that Sid was born in Canada."

In an country where ambition is accompanied by guilt, Crosby tried to downplay the skill that produced the goal that momentarily made a nation switch from Molson Canadian to Moet & Chandon. "I just threw it at the net," Crosby said. "I didn't see it go in."

So at least one Canadian can make that claim.

Canada took a 2-0 lead on goals by Jonathan Toews and Corey Perry. For a team that played nervously throughout much of the Olympic tournament, losing to the less-talented Americans a week earlier and winning one-goal games over Switzerland and Slovakia, playing with a lead proved unnerving. "I think we got cautious," Canada coach Mike Babcock said.

The Americans scored on Ryan Kesler's deflection to make it 2-1 in the second period. As the final minute of the third period ticked away, U.S. forward Patrick Kane threw a shot at the net that banked off the skate of Cloquet's Jamie Langenbrunner and bounced onto the stick of Prior Lake's Zach Parise, who stuffed the tying goal past Roberto Luongo with 24.4 seconds left and made Crosby flinch in regret.

Crosby had mishandled the puck on a breakaway earlier in the period that might have clinched the game in regulation. "It's awesome to see him get the game-winner," Canada's Jarome Iginla said. "Guys are trying to shut him down all the time. At the end of the third, he had that breakaway. He comes in the room after that, and it's got to be pretty tough for him -- that could have sealed it. He just keeps going, though."

At 22, Crosby is the heir apparent to Canadian hockey greatness, following Wayne Gretzky, the general manager of the previous Olympic team, and Mario Lemieux, who provides Crosby with room and board when he's working for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Before the game, Lemieux texted Crosby "Good luck." Crosby used more old-fashioned communication methods to make his own luck.

In overtime, he rushed toward the U.S. net and was checked by two defensemen. The puck squirted to the corner. Crosby retrieved it and began skating back toward the blue line, lost the puck momentarily, and chipped it to Iginla.

Crosby bolted for the net and yelled something Canada might incorporate into its anthem. "He was yelling, 'Iggy-Iggy-Iggy-Iggy,'" Iginla said. "There are different pitches to his voice. You could tell, by his tone, he was saying he had a step."

A step? Crosby is way ahead of the curve, even for hockey superstars. He has won a Stanley Cup and a home-ice Olympic gold medal before turning 23, and he scored the winning goal of one of the best-played games in Olympic history.

"If you're American, you think 1980 was the best," U.S. coach Ron Wilson said. "If you're Canadian, you probably think this was the best."

For Crosby, winning a gold medal in the sport Canada invented on home ice to crown the Vancouver Olympics had to be as good as it gets. "I've dreamed of this moment," he said.

As Canadians celebrated the last goal and gold of their Olympics, he was hardly alone.

Jim Souhan can be heard at 10-noon Sunday on AM-1500. His Twitter name is SouhanStrib. jsouhan@startribune.com