Pavol Demitra could have fired the shot heard round the hockey world tonight. But his attempt to tie the game sailed over the crossbar.

A raucous Canada Hockey Place got real quiet, real quick after the Slovaks scored a quick pair in the third period. However, Demitra missed two golden opportunities to tie in the closing moments.

I’m sure Canada would have prevailed in OT or a shootout, but for them to have that game extended is one more step they would have had to make going into Sunday.

Now the stage is set for an awesome rematch of one of the tournament’s best games.

As a fan of the US, this is the one team I didn’t want to see Canada again. And, my inner Buffalo sportsfan tells me my team isn’t going to prevail come Sunday. Either way I will be pulling hard for the US, just as I did today.