Canada's Golden Hockey Girls

Women's hockey took a lot of abuse at the Vancouver Olympics this year. The lack of competition is evident and the lopsided games are not entertaining.

Luckily, whenever Canada faces off against the USA, sparks are going to fly and you are guaranteed a great game. Watching the USA play Canada in the womens final shows that there is hope for womens hockey at the Olympics.

These two nations are packed with skilled hockey players and every gold medal game is epic. In this round, Canada captured another Gold in Women's Hockey, their third straight Olympic Gold.

Led by young stars Meghan Agosta and Marie-Philip Poulin-Nadeau and veterans Hayley Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford, the Canadians were too powerful for the USA team taking home a 2-0 victory in the Gold Medal game. The shutout in net for the Canadians went to Shannon Szabados.

Unfortunately, if other nations can't match the talent of the USA and Canada, the womens game might become extinct at the Winter Olympics. Until then, we'll have to settle for amazing gold medal game, after amazing gold medal game between the USA and Canada.

Congratulations to the Canadian Womens Hockey team for winning Canada's first Hockey Gold Medal on home soil.

Let the games begin.

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Is this the last Olympics for Womens Hockey?

Forget whether or not NHL players will continue to compete in the mens side of ice hockey. The real question stands: is this the last Olympic Games for womens hockey?

Why would I ask that? Simply this, there is no international competition. By all regards, this is a two team tournament - Canada and USA - and don't give me your "Sweden upset the USA in 2006" arguement. It's irrelevant.

In the Vancouver Olympics, Canada and the USA have slaughtered opponents with scores in the range of 18-0, 11-1, and 12-1. This is not entertaining, nor is it fair.

Likely the one goal was scored because the Canadian or US goalie had dosed off from boredum.

How does this seem like a competition to anyone? The arguement will stand that to get better, these weak countries must compete at the highest level, but they've been doing so since the 1998 Olympics in Nagano and for years before that.

So here we are, close to 20 years later and we're still watching a two team tournament. How much longer will the IOC allow the USA and Canada to dominate without legitimate competition? Not just dominate, but obliterate opponents to the point where it is embarrassing to watch.

There is no entertainment value in these games because the skill level of every other nation, with the outside exception of Sweden, is pitiful. Many of the 'Olympic' teams we watch play in the womens game would not be able to compete against teenage girls teams from Canada.

It`s not that I don`t support the womens game, because I definitely think it would be a shame to lose womens hockey from the Olympic Games; it just doesn`t exemplify the top level of competition in the world.

China and Switzerland have made recent gains, but they now only border on competiting with Sweden and Finland. These countries need more funding and better coaches.

Sadly, this might be the last year for womens hockey at the Winter Olympics until other countries are able to compete. Until then, we'll have to watch gold medal game after gold medal game featuring the only two teams that matter: the USA and Canada.

Let the games begin.

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