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The year was 1980. The United States hockey team ran into the heavily favored Soviet Union in the semifinals of the Olympic games in Lake Placid, New York. The American scrubs, who were all amateurs knocked off the entire team of professionals from the USSR 4-3. The call from Al Michaels arguably made his broadcasting career.

"Do you believe in miracles?"

Let's get one thing straight about Sunday's clash between the USA and Canada 30 years later. This isn't the "Miracle on Ice," nor would it be the most stunning development in the world if the Americans pulled off the upset.

However, this shouldn't be downplayed, either. The United States has come a long way since the Torino Games all across the board. There is a good chance that the stars and stripes will ultimately win the medal count at these Games, which would be proof that American winter sports are starting to come a long way towards catching the Russians, Canadians, and other "winter oriented" countries.

One look at the standings shows just how important this game is for the good old U-S-of-A. The Americans have captured the maximum number of points from their first two games (6), and they're a point ahead of the Canadians for the top slot in Group A. A win of any kind would lock up the ground and assure that the USA would grab one of the four automatic bids into the quarterfinals of this tournament.

Even though a loss of any kind would give Canada the group, a bye can still be procured in one of the following two scenarios…

-A USA overtime or shootout loss + a Finland/Sweden non-overtime game
-A USA regulation loss, a Czech Republic win of any kind + a Finland/Sweden non-overtime game

Winning the group and getting into one of the top two seeds in the next round is of paramount importance though, as that will guarantee that the US doesn't have to take on either Canada, Finland, Sweden, or the Czech Republic until the semifinals.

Unlike the American team in 1980 that ultimately went on to beat Finland and take the gold medal at the Lake Placid Games, this one is full of NHLers. This is the youngest team in the field (with the average age being a shade over 26 years old), and is highlighted by names like Tampa Bay's Ryan Malone, Buffalo's Ryan Miller, Detroit's Brian Rafalski, Chicago's Patrick Kane, and several others.

Though these names are all nice up-and-comers in the NHL that have made a bit of an impact, the Canadian team is simply stacked with All-Stars and future Hall of Famers all over the ice. Just listen to some of these names… Morrow, Marleau, Iginla, Heatley, Richards, Thornton, Staal, Getzlaf, Nash, Crosby, Pronger, Niedermayer, Brodeur, Luongo… In terms of talent, many think that this may be one of the best teams ever assembled. Knocking them off is going to be incredibly difficult.

Many thought that this version of the United States Olympic Ice Hockey team was doing nothing but gaining some experience for the 2014 Games. However, a win against Canada on Sunday can show the rest of the world that the stars and stripes are here to stay.

It may not be a miracle, but Team USA can beat the Canadians on their home soil, they'll absolutely be proving that they're not aiming at a medal in 2014.

They're shooting at the gold in 2010.

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