yeah but if you have ever played in a tournament thats how they are.....i once played in a little league tournament, where we went undefeated until the championship, and we had to beat the team once to win it all, but they had to beat us twice since we had already spanked them earlier on in the tournament, they beat us twice lol
Been in plenty of hockey tournaments and they've all gone down EXACTLY like the olympics. The format is the same for the world junior championships too. In fact, Canada beat the U.S. in the round robin of that tournament this year and then lost to them in the finals. I didn't see a bunch of Canadians complaining and saying there should be a game 3...
A little different when you are talking about a 4 month season with a playoff at the end instead of a 2 week tournament. Yes it's screwed up.
It's pretty much the same thing just over a much shorter timeframe. The round robin is the regular season. You get seeded based on how well you do, and because the U.S. was first they got a bye and an easier schedule to the finals. Hardly any different than finishing first in your conference in the NFL. Canada had a tougher schedule to the finals because they lost. They played an extra game and had tougher opponents.
Every single player in that gold medal game knew what was on the line. When it mattered, Canada stepped it up and the U.S. didn't.