Lords of the rinks: fifty years to the day since winning its last gold medal, Team Canada broke its Olympic drought with its `stupid' dump-and-chase style. (NHL).(hockey)

American coach Herb Brooks called it "stupid" hockey.

Twenty-three hockey players--and all of Canada with them--called it golden.

Canada won its first Olympic gold medal in 50 years for doing what has made Canadian hockey players famous--or infamous: playing hard-nosed, in-your-face, dump-it-in hockey.

During an Olympics in which people got fired up about the Swedish torpedo, the skill of the Europeans and big-ice hockey, good, old-fashioned hard work wound up winning the day and the gold medal.

The Canadian coaches designed a game plan that used Canada's strength--big, fast, physical forwards--against what they perceived to be the ...