Langenbrunner lauds special group of teammates

Sunday, 02.28.2010 / 6:58 PM / All-Access Vancouver

By Shawn P. Roarke - NHL.com Senior Managing Editor

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VANCOUVER -- Team USA captain Jamie Lagenbrunner was one of the central figures in Sunday's unforgettable gold-medal game against Canada at Canada Hockey Place.

Langenbrunner earned the primary assist on the goal by Zach Parise that forced overtime before Canada's Sidney Crosby gave Canada a 3-2 victory and gold.

Langenbrunner took a few minutes after the loss, to talk to NHL.com.

NHL.com: How difficult an ending was that for you guys?

Langenbrunner: It's tough. You have to love the character and grit we have shown this whole tournament. We battled hard all tournament. We showed a lot of heart; scoring that goal with 20 seconds to go to force overtime. We really believed this was going to happen for us, but great players do great things and that is what happened tonight. It was a great goal by (Crosby) and tough for us.

NHL.com: How special was this group of teammates?

Langenbrunner: It was a special group and we fell one goal short of our ultimate goal, but we did a lot of special things in these two weeks. Tonight, showing the character we did in coming back from 2-0 and playing well in a building that is tough to play in. We were just one goal short. It's tough.

NHL.com: Was it tough to come back for OT after the big goal to tie it late?

Langenbrunner: It was definitely a bit of a feeling-out process. Nobody wanted to make that big mistake. We had a chance there. I was kind of behind the "D" and we missed the pass and that was maybe the one chance we had there to get something going; but that's going to happen.

Langenbrunner lauds special group of teammates

By Shawn P. Roarke - NHL.com Senior Managing Editor

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