ICE HOCKEY: On paper it was just another preliminary round group A game in the men's ice hockey tournament at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games, the 12th of 30 matches on the calendar.

But when old Cold War rivals USA and Russia took centre ice at the Bolshoy Ice Dome on Saturday, it was more than just a skirmish between two world superpowers.

The USA and Russia are both contenders for Olympic gold at the Sochi Games. The USA fell a goal short of the championship four years ago and the Russians have never been crowned Olympic champions since NHL participation started in 1998.

Fresh on everyone's mind was the "Miracle On Ice", a game 34 years ago when an upstart collection of US college players shocked hockey's "Big Red Machine" by beating the then Soviet Union on the way to gold at the Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games.

This is the benchmark of the rivalry between the USA and Russia and the game at the Bolshoy was the first time the teams have played under the Olympic banner on Russian soil.

Fans started arriving hours before the game and milled about in the vicinity of the Bolshoy and when the doors opened, both the upper and lower bowl of the stadium were quicky filled to the brim. The USA-Russia game was the hottest ticket of the Games.

The patrons turned the Bolshoy into a sea of red, blue and white, with banners from Sweden, Kazakhstan and Russian regions beyond the Ural mountains.

There were fans from all corners of the international ice hockey map dressed in onesies, cowboy hats and bandanas. There were sections of fans decked out in the Stars and Stripes, doing their patriotic duty to cheer on their USA heroes on foreign soil.

"This game is huge. When I came here this was the main event that I wanted to see," said USA fan Bradley Siegle. 28 years old, his socks, shorts, hoodie and bandana were all decorated with the US Stars and Stripes.

"It's because of the history between Russia and USA with the "Miracle on Ice". We are here to hopefully see another miracle here.''

American Zach Parise and Russia’s Alex Ovechkin had barely led their respective teams onto the ice for the pre-game warmup when the Russians chanted "RUS-SI-A" almost loud enough to give the Russian curlers an extra boost as they played China at the nearby Ice Cube.

With Russian President Vladimir Putin looking on, USA goaltender Jonathan Quick had barely enough time to get a feel for the puck when the passionate Russians fans turned their attention to him, chanting in unison "Shaybu! Shaybu! Shaybu!", which is Russian for "goal, goal, goal.''

The fans definitely got what they paid for as the match was not for the faint of heart. The action was fast-paced. One second the USA was on the attack and the next the puck was headed back the other way.

The game had everything and it was high drama.

Russia took the lead, only to have the USA tie it and then take the lead themselves. Russia knotted the score a second time and then a disallowed goal late in the third period set the stage for a heart-stopping overtime period followed by a white-knuckle penalty shootout.

In the end, the USA won 3-2 on T.J Oshie’s fourth goal of the penalty shootout.

While it was hardly a "Miracle on Ice", it was another great chapter in the ice hockey history between the two countries.

In the end, the big winner was the coolest game on ice.