Hockey Legend Lou Nanne Sends Congrats To Team USA
Read More: Oshie's Shootout Goals Lead US Past Russia, 3-2
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) - USA's Olympic hockey team beat Russia 3-2 in a stunning shootout Saturday.
The arena in Sochi was packed to overflowing with fans of both nations, jovially posing for photos and comparing their colorful sweaters. The Russians waved hundreds of flags, blew horns and banged drums from the first moments of warm-ups.
Hockey legend and former Golden Gopher Lou Nanne was team captain during the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. He says Saturday's game was quite a spectacle.
"Well, it was a great win for the U.S.," Nanne said. "We knew that Russia is going to be one of the toughest teams to beat there, and when you have to play them in their home country, it's a challenge but we were able to beat them."
Nanne says Russia is tough, but Canada is even more so. He says he's hopeful Team USA can come away with a medal.
Although the game had little impact on the medal race in Sochi, the finish woke up the echoes of a U.S.-Russia rivalry best known for the "Miracle on Ice" at Lake Placid in 1980, when a team of American college students stunned the Soviet Olympic team.
The sociopolitical impact of that game is long gone, and the nations have already met three previous times in the Olympics since NHL players joined the games in 1998.
Herb Brooks, Team USA's coach in 1980, was Nanne's teammate in 1968.
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