Who would've thought Latvia could go the distance with the Czech Republic? Again, the unpredictable 2010 tournament continues to become more enigmatic as the days wore on - a team many chalked for absolute dead traded blows with the Czechs and took them well into overtime before a David Krejci game winner.

The Czech Republic managed to escape, but that isn't the story here. The story is that Latvia signifies what the Olympics is all about - putting it all on the line, 100% of the time. For a team that was -15 in goal differential through three games, anyone could've penciled Latvia in the L column after going down two early.

But Team Latvia had other plans. Edgars Masalskis went absolutely bananas in between the pipes, slowing the Czech offensive and forcing them into a malaise that let Latvia back into the game. Two goals, including a scramble in front of Tomas Vokoun that bounced off almost every player within five feet before trickling into the net.

Latvia outplayed the Czech Republic for the final thirty plus minutes. A team with only two NHL'ers, who are more role playing defensemen than anything else, came just inches short of pulling off what would've been one of the greatest upsets in hockey history. Did they fail to do so? Yes. But I stand and applaud this country for their overly courageous effort against all odds, even after many hockey fans cried for American networks to change to the Slovakia/Norway game.

This, my friends, is what Olympic competition is all about.

Side note: Brutal scene early in the Slovakia/Norway game. Tollefsen absolutely levelled Bartecko with a vicious elbow, and before Bartecko even hit the ice his helmet had popped off. Was knocked cold, left in a pool of blood, taken off on a stretcher. Ugly, ugly scene.

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