American goaltender Ryan Miller's eyes jolted wide open when he was asked about his saves to deny Canada in the final frantic three minutes of a 5-3 US victory Sunday over the Winter Olympic hosts.
"Some of the most intense I've ever played," Miller said. "Got pretty fortunate."
Miller made 42 saves to lift the Americans into Wednesday's quarter-finals and condemn Canada to a first-round playoff game Tuesday against Germany just for the right to face Russia in a match that had been pegged as a likely final.
"It's probably one of the biggest games I ever played," Miller said.
Miller, a star with Buffalo of the National Hockey League, allowed a goal to Sidney Crosby with 3:09 remaining to pull Canada within a goal and open the door for a final flurry with Canada's goalie pulled for an extra attacker.
"We got through about 45 seconds where we couldn't clear the zone," Miller said. "I know I was tired. I had to hunker down and battle. We held on there. I was real proud of our guys."
Crosby could only marvel at Miller's mastery.
"He was solid and made the big saves especially late in the game," Crosby said. "We were pressing to tie the game and he made some big saves. We ran into a hot goalie."
Miller praised the defencemen who fronted his effort in the crease, notably Brian Rafalski, who scored twice and joked that bets on a US gold medal triumph had jumped thanks to the Buffalo netmninder.
"We're up to a nickel - a Buffalo nickel," Rafalski said.
Miller was pleased that while Canada's NHL sharpshooters kept the pressure on him, they never had the unguarded breakaway chances for goals that might live forever on video highlights.
"We played them really tight," Miller said. "They didn't have lots of rushes off their speed. They were getting pressure but they weren't getting the real rushes, ones you see on the highlight reel. We were in a battle. We responded."
Time and again, Miller made stops that inspired US forwards.
"He's the reason we won," said Ryan Kessler. "He gave us a chance."
"He made a statement for us," American Ryan Callahan said.
"He bailed us out," added Zach Parise. "He was our backbone."
Two nights after Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller of the NHL Anaheim Ducks forced Canada into a shootout to take a victory, Canada slammed into another stone wall.
"Another hot goalie we ran into," Canada's Rick Nash said. "We had a lot of chances and couldn't put anything away."
The Americans need to put away the joy of beating Canada and prepare for the three knockout-round games they will need to capture gold for the first time since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice".
"Emotionally we need to make sure we don't get too high. There are going to be some tough matches ahead," Miller said.
"You never know. We might see Canada again."
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