VANCOUVER, British Columbia - So much for youth leading the way. Good old grit and experience carried the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team to a 5-3 upset of Canada.
In as hostile a place as possible - Ulysse Nardin Watch Replica Canada in Canada - the only three American players with Olympic experience provided the bulk of the offense Sunday night, with Brian Rafalski scoring twice, and Chris Drury and captain Jamie Langenbrunner adding one goal each.
The 36-year-old Rafalski, a defenseman who won two Stanley Cup rings with New Jersey, is the oldest player on the U.S. team. Langenbrunner, doubles as Devils captain, is the second oldest skater at 34.
Then comes Drury at 33.
His inclusion when the team was picked on New Year's Day was met with a healthy dose of criticism because his play has slipped since he signed a lucrative free-agent deal with the New York Rangers in 2007.
U.S. General Manager Brian Burke explained the decision, saying Drury was picked because of he's a leader and a clutch player, going back to the days when he was a Little League World Series champion.
There was even more second-guessing when the Americans chose the captain and the alternates for the Olympics and Drury, now a three- time Olympian, didn't make that group.
"We've got a number of guys who are wearing letters in the NHL that aren't going to wear a letter on this team," Burke said then. "Leaders don't need letters to lead."
Drury proved him right.
And yet Langenbrunner and Rafalski, who donned a 'C' and 'A', respectively, on their 1960 throwback jerseys stepped up, too. The Americans hadn't beaten Canada in the Olympics in the 50 years since wearing that look en route to the gold medal in Squaw Valley, Calif.
Rafalski followed up on his two-goal effort in a 6-1 win over Norway by giving the U.S. leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period.
Louis Vuitton ReplicaHe scored four straight American goals over two games despite getting only six shots on net.
Drury made it 3-2 with his second of the tournament with 3:14 left in the second, and Langenbrunner tipped Rafalski's shot past Canada goalie Martin Brodeur 7:09 into the third to give the Americans' their first two-goal lead of the night.
Ryan Kesler put it away by swiping in an empty-net goal with one hand with 45 seconds remaining.
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American Bode Miller finally fulfilled his expectations and won an Olympic gold medal, using a blistering slalom run for victory in the super-combined.
After placing seventh in the downhill run, Miller skied the third- fastest slalom legs for a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 44.92 seconds Sunday.
"I skied with 100 percent heart - I didn't hold anything back," Miller said.
"It's just awesome. There's nothing else to say. The way I executed, the way I skied, is something I'll be proud of the rest of my life."
Having skipped summer training while he debated retiring, Miller nearly didn't have enough energy to hold on as he came over the final pitch of the slalom course.
"My legs started feeling really wobbly," he said. "I didn't even feel like I was looking at the gate anymore."
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