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In the minds of many, the
2002 Olympics surpassed the 1972 Summit Series as Canada's greatest
hockey and sporting moment. Given the generational change, this is not
necessarily surprising. On
the women's side, Canada came in as heavy underdogs to Team USA, yet
came out of the gold medal game with a gutsy effort to capture the
gold. It was the first women's Olympic gold medal in Canadian hockey
history. The men had
a slow start, but gradually got better, and by the gold medal game,
also against Team USA, were dominant. Lemieux, Sakic, Iginla, Yzerman
and Brodeur were spectacular. The
victory came on the 50th anniversary of Canada's last Olympic gold
medal when the Edmonton Mercurys won the title in 1952. Part
of the legend of the 2002 Olympics was the lucky "Loonie"
buried by the Canadian ice making crew at center ice at the E-Center
arena in Salt Lake City.   
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