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Miracle? Japan beats Canada in sledge-hockey

The term “miracle on ice” is thrown around a bit too much these days, especially with the USA making it to the gold medal game in this year’s Olympics. This time, I think it’s warranted.

Not enough attention is given to Paralympics, and sledge-hockey certainly doesn’t get the attention it deserves. It may not be as fast-paced as ice hockey (how could it be) but it’s certainly just as exciting. And now we have another miraculous win on ice, as Japan took down Canada 3-1 to move on to the gold medal game.

Yes, Japan.

“My head went blank,” said [Japanese coach Kojin] Nakakita, when asked how he felt immediately after the game ended.

“I knew if we played Canada 1,000 times we were going to lose 999 times. But not this one. We had a huge loss against the U.S. [6-0 on Tuesday] but we came back very strong.”

I’m sure Canada would have loved to take home another gold medal on home ice, but how great is it that Japan is the team that knocked them into the bronze medal game? Unlike...some....I am all for the spread of hockey around the world and the improvement of the sport in non-traditional markets and countries. And it’s great to see a country like Japan, where hockey is trying hard to catch on, be the team that is able to take that next step.

(Quote courtesy of Terry Bell, Camwest News Service)