Lawmakers, Putin out for Olympic hockey

Members of Congress and Russia’s president are cheering on their men’s national hockey teams as the U.S. and Russia face off in the Olympics.

{mosads}Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who routinely takes to the Internet to cheer on sports teams, said on Twitter that she was “up early” to cheer on the U.S. national team. 

Up early for Olympic hockey. Go USA!

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) February 15, 2014

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and the House Foreign Affairs Committee also took to the web to cheer on the Americans competing in Sochi, Russia.

RT if you are watching #TeamUSA take on Russia!

— Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 15, 2014

Good Luck @USOlympic @USAhockey Team today against #Russia! http://t.co/KmwaMU245M

— Foreign Affairs Cmte (@HouseForeign) February 15, 2014

Russian President Vladamir Putin watched the game from the sidelines and could be seen cheering when his country’s team took the lead 1-0 with a goal early in the second period.

American Cam Fowler scored on a power play to tie up the game shortly afterwards. NBC didn’t cut to Putin.

The tough matchup pitted the U.S. team’s grit against a Russian squad that’s recongized as more skillful.

Both teams easily cruised through their earlier matches in the series. The U.S. beat Slovakia 7-1. Russia, meanwhile, triumphed over Slovenia 5-2.

Hockey games between the U.S. and Russia tend to call to mind the classic “Miracle on Ice” game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. The U.S. team at the time was made up of amateur and college players, and bested the Soviet athletes 4-3.