Sydney Crosby scores gold medal winning goal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Photo Credit: With files from the Canadian Press.

By Shane Clausing

Golden goal

10 years after golden goal, Grande Prairie remembers Canadian history

Feb 28, 2020 | 3:25 PM

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since Sydney Crosby and Team Canada captured the Olympic Gold Medal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

Many will say it was as big of a goal, if not bigger, than Paul Henderson’s goal during the 1972 Summit Series that saw Canada defeat the USSR in the best-of-eight series.

EverythingGP went around the City of Grande Prairie and asked people where they were for that historic moment.

Todd Zahorodniuk, the owner of The Den Pub and Carvery (which in 2010 was called the Lion’s Den) remembered just how busy his bar was.

“During the whole Olympic process, the pub was packed for every hockey game that Canada was in and the crowds were going crazy,” said Zahrodniuk. “On that final one we had the sound up and not a single person was talking. When that goal was scored it just went crazy. There was beer being spilt, hugging and all kinds of stuff. It was an amazing time back then.”

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Grande Prairie Storm Interim Head Coach Ryan Aasman was 17 years old at the time, playing junior hockey in the WHL (Western Hockey League).

“I think I was still playing for Prince Albert, and we were on the road. I remember watching it in a hotel, and I don’t remember where. It was a small screen and we were all huddled around by the door. We were just so stoked to see the moment because we just got there in time for the last half of that OT. It’s pretty cool thinking back on it,” said Interim Head Coach Ryan Aasman.

Storm forward Will Schimek lived in Minnesota, aka the ‘State of Hockey’ during the game, he remembered the hype surrounding it.

“I just remember being super excited because obviously growing up in Minnesota, especially Herb Brooks and that Lake Placid gold medal U.S. team is huge and watching the movie Miracle growing up, to see another U.S. team in the gold medal game was super exciting,” said Schimek.

“To have Crosby break our hearts like that was kind of tough. I’m a huge Sydney Crosby fan, but just not when he’s wearing the maple leaf.”

Storm Defenceman Joseph Borthwick lived in Northville, Michigan just outside of Detroit. A lot of fans in the city and state were still disappointed about the 2009 Stanley Cup Final that saw Crosby and the Penguins defeat the Detroit Red Wings in seven games.

“A lot of my family and friends didn’t like Crosby at the time because that’s around the same time Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup. Detroit and Pittsburgh were big rivals for those few years. I remember (Zach) Parise scoring the tying goal and then I thought we had a chance, but Crosby took it home. It was a silent house, and everyone was like ‘wow, of course, Crosby scores it.’ It was disappointing but still a good game to watch.”

“I was in Mexico at the time celebrating a family friend’s wedding,” said Storm Assistant Captain Brody Dale from Quesnel B.C. “Growing up, Crosby was my favorite player, so it was pretty exciting for me and our whole country. I think it’s a bit more special beating the United States because that’s kind of Canada’s rival.”

Storm Capitan Jackson Wozniak grew up in California, not far from Anaheim. While hockey’s not the biggest sport in the state, it is growing and people were excited for the game.

“I was just at home with my family in California and in the living room cheering on U.S.A. We were a little sad that Crosby put that goal in, but he’s a great player and you got to respect that guy and how he plays the game.”

“California, you might not think it’s a big hockey community, but it actually is growing and growing, and I remember we were all talking about it the next day at practice. It was all pretty exciting.”

Chris Schmidt is currently the Head Coach of the Ernie’s Sports Midget AAA Storm and is originally from Beaverlodge. He was actually at the 2010 Olympics, playing as a defenceman for the German hockey team.

Schmidt’s father is from Germany and immigrated to Canada following the war, which allowed Chris to play for Germany in the Olympics.

“It was kind of a cool opportunity that wasn’t really on the radar. It was a thing that happened later in my career that was a real great experience. For me, I was at an age where I could just really enjoy it,” said Schmidt.

Schmidt and the Germans finished the group stage with an 0-3 record. They did end up playing against Crosby in the tiebreaker round, after Canada finished second in their group with a disappointing round robin performance.

The Germans would end up falling 8-2 to Canada, though Schmidt would record an assist for the Germans on their first goal of the game.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull out that miracle upset, but with that being said, it was a great experience and something I’ll always remember.”

After the team was eliminated, they stayed at the games for a couple more days to attend some of the events and get the full Olympic experience.

Unfortunately, Schmidt had to fly back to Germany, where he was playing in the DEL (Deutsche Eishockey Liga), so he could re-join his hockey team for the start of the season. He ended up traveling when Crosby scored the goal that sent the country into a frenzy.