VANCOUVER, B.C. – The men’s U.S.A. Olympic hockey team hasn’t claimed a spot on the gold podium since the incredible 1980 Miracle on Ice at Lake Placid, N.Y. but after blowing out Finland 6-1 this afternoon, they find themselves just one win away from gold.

The U.S. will meet the Canada-Slovakia winner and hope to return the favor if Canada advances to the gold medal game to be played on Sunday in Vancouver.

The last time the U.S. was represented in the finals was at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games when Canada edged the guys in red, white and blue on their home ice, stealing the gold from the Americans. If Canada advances, the U.S. team hopes to return the favor.

The game was a mismatch from the start with the Americans jumping out to a 6-0 first period lead. Finland goalie Miikka Kiprusoff barely had broken a sweat when he pulled himself from the game at 10:08 of the first period after letting in 4 goals on just 7 shots.

The Americans have been riding the back of their goaltender Ryan Miller throughout much of these playoffs but got charged up offensively, allowing Miller to relax and leave the game early for a little extra rest. Coming in for Miller, back-up net minder Tim Thomas saw his first action in these Winter Games.

Thomas allowed a goal to Antti Miettinen with 5:14 left to spoil the U.S. bid for consecutive shutouts after a 2-0quarterfinal win over Switzerland on Wednesday.

Finland, the silver medalist at the 2006 Turin Winter Games, still has a shot at the bronze.

U.S. fans sensing a Canada/U.S. rematch started chanting “We Want Canada” and “U-S-A” as the final minutes melted off the clock.

Chicago Blackhawks player Patrick Kane lead the American charge with two goals. Kane from Buffalo, New York had scored only once in the tournament before today and his back-to-back goals were just 2:33 apart.

Sunday’s gold medal game can be seen at 3 pm EST on Sunday on NBC.

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