Women's hockey was turned upside down in Torino, when Sweden beat the United States in the semifinal, relegating the Americans to the bronze-medal game.
The Swedes went on to play for gold, in the first-ever international final to feature a team other than the U.S. and Canada. Canada beat Sweden, but the shocking upset in the semifinal led some to wonder whether it represented a sea change on the international scene.
The Swedes celebrated the win over the United States as if it were the gold-medal game, and took their silver medal as proof that they belonged at the top level.
But what appeared to be a tipping point in international women's hockey has since proved more of an aberration. A serious challenger to the dominance of the two North American teams has yet to emerge.
In other words, don't expect a repeat in Vancouver.
These fans of the U.S. team aren't content with just attending the game and cheering from their seats.
In the three world championships played since Torino, all have featured the U.S. and Canada in the finals, with Canada winning in 2007 and the U.S. in 2008 and 2009. That puts the all-time tally at three for the U.S. and nine for Canada.
Finland, meanwhile, has had a lock on bronze, with nine total, including the past two years. Sweden has two, and Russia one.
It's easy to forget that the Olympic tournament features eight teams, split into two groups: Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Slovakia in Group A; and the United States, Finland, Russia and China in Group B.
Though this collection of countries gives the tournament the appearance of inclusion, it's a virtual guarantee that Canada, the U.S., Sweden and Finland will advance beyond the preliminary round. Each team plays the other three in its group once, and the top two teams from each group advance to the medal round.
Even one upset in group play won't affect the semifinal draw - for example, the U.S. would have to lose to Russia and China to face the possibilty of elimination. The odds of that are virtually zero.
After the first round, the tournament becomes single elimination. That's where the potential for a real upset exists, and indeed it occurred in Torino. But the teams advance straight from the first round to the semifinal, needing only one win to get to the gold-medal game, and one loss to be relegated to the bronze-medal game.
As a result, it's a pretty safe bet that in Vancouver, the U.S. and Canada will play for gold, and Finland and Sweden will play for bronze. The bottom four teams also will compete in a playoff round, to determine fifth- through eighth-place rankings.
If that seems anti-climactic, it won't on Feb. 25, when the top two teams in the world battle for the fourth Olympic gold in women's hockey. The tally stands at two for Canada (2002 and 2006) and one for the United States (1998). For Canada, Vancouver represents a chance to re-assert their dominance on home ice. For the U.S., it's a chance to embarrass their rivals in front of a hostile, and sold-out, crowd.
And for the other six countries, it represents a chance to play for their countries on the world's biggest stage.
