The first photo is from the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics, where the USA Men’s Hockey team miraculously beat the Soviet Union. This picture shows 3-time Olympic gold medalist Vladislav Tretiak disappointed as the USA team celebrates. This would be Treitak’s very last game with the Soviet Union as he retired shortly after the loss. What stands out to me in this image is the contrast between Tretiak’s body language and the Americans celebrating in the corner. This photo truly represents the downfall of Soviet hockey in the Olympics, as many players retired after the loss along with Treitak.
The second photo is from the 2010 Olympic Games when Team Canada won the gold medal in dramatic fashion, as team captain Sidney Crosby scored an overtime game winning goal against Sweden to secure the gold for Canada. My favorite part of this image is the unbridled joy in Crosby’s face and body language. It takes a lot of skill to capture a player’s facial expression, especially in such a tense moment.
These two images represent very different eras of dominance in hockey. The first represents the decline of Soviet hockey, as the humiliating loss combined with the fall of the Soviet Union just ten years later led to the complete dissolution of the Red Army dynasty that won 6 gold medals in a row. The second picture represents the birth of Sidney Crosby’s Team Canada. They went on to win the 2014 Gold Medal in a fashion so dominant that people complained about the games being boring. Scott Neidermayer’s appearance in the photo also represents a passing of the torch from the old guard of Canada to the young star in Crosby.