CAN 3, USA 2 (OT): Canada wins Olympic gold in women's hockey with historic comeback

Paul Henderson. Sidney Crosby. Marie-Philip Poulin. 

The Canadian women's ice hockey team vaulted themselves right to the top of the list of "classic Canadian hockey victories" with a stunning comeback over the United States of America on Thursday.

The Canadian women scratched and clawed and got a couple of very fortunate bounces on their to erasing a two goal deficit late in the third period. Poulin scored both the game-tying goal and the game winner, cementing herself as one of the best players in women's hockey and a Canadian legend.

It was actually the second straight Olympic games in which Poulin had scored two goals in the gold medal game. It was also the second straight Olympic games in which Poulin had scored the game winning goal. 

While there was elation on the victorious Canadian side, there was only desolation for the American women. They'd played so well. They were so close. They got so unlucky.

"It hurts," American forward Kendall Coyne told reporters. "It’s tough to swallow right now, but I think when we go back in the room and we sit down with the family that we have, it makes everything better."

Added American defenseman Megan Bozek: "We train our whole lives to win a gold medal. We didn’t train for a silver, we trained for a gold medal."

Meanwhile the Canadian side sought to explain their frantic, gold medal winning late game push. 

Canadian winger Brianne Jenner - who scored the first Canadian goal with under four minutes to play in the third period - told CBC after the game (via Yahoo! Sports) that a comeback was possible because of "our conditioning and our heart."

Shannon Szabados offered a similar explanation. "This team was built for pressure," she told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

The joy of the Canadian side and the misery of the American skaters after Poulin's overtime winner:

USA Hockey executive Brian Burke offered a vociferous defense of women's hockey after the mesmerizing, high-paced, massively entertaining contest:

As did Buffalo Sabres forward Zenon Konopka, albeit somewhat less eloquently:

It was an entertaining game and a tremendous showcase for a sport whose place at the Olympic Games has been questioned over the year. But it wasn't without its controversy. 

There was a soft slashing call in overtime that negated an American power-play. Just moments later, American winger Hilary Knight was called for cross-checking when she tripped up Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser who was on a breakaway.

Knight called it a bogus call after the game, although she did appear to make contact with Wickenheiser's skate. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't cross-checking.

Read Justin Bourne's 10 Thoughts on the game, or scroll down for a complete game story.