Congrats to our neighbors to the North

Congratulations to the Canadian Hockey Team for their gold medal win today.  Also some accolades go out to the USA team who never backed down from the challenge, tieing the game late and taking into overtime.

All I know is, this was what hockey was all about.  Great game.  Sidney Crosby, once again, became the hero of the nation as he scored the game winning goal in overtime.  I can't tell you how many text messages I got right after that goal from various friends of mine who aren't hockey fans telling me how much Ryan Miller was horrible.  Problem is, I have seen Sid do this 1000 times against every goalie in hockey.  Ryan Miller played the game of his life.  He was almost unflappable.  Despite the score, he was the best goal tender on the ice.  If there is one thing that a team learns quickly is that you don't leave Sidney alone anywhere near the net or he will make you pay.  That's exactly what he did.

I was kind of torn at the end.  The initial reaction of the goal was an immediate urge to throw something through the TV.  However, after realizing it was Sidney Crosby who scored, I then felt some redemption.  After all, he is a Penguin.  Still, it was a tough loss after watching Team USA through the entire tournament get better game by game.  Eventhough I have always been inclined to view second place as the first loser, in the Olympics, there is no loser.  I'll take a Silver medal anyday.

Congratulations Canada!!!

USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!

All I can say is WOW!!!

If you aren't a hockey fan, I'm sorry.  I truly am sorry.  You are missing out.  Even if you aren't, today's games could easily convert the non believers. 

The Team USA vs. Team Canada matchup has had the epic battle label attached to it since the Olympic games were announced to be held in Vancouver.  There was so much hype leading up to this game that I was so skeptical that it would fail on an epic scale.  Thank God I was wrong.  I think the majority of the game, I spent standing on my feet in nervous anticipation.

This game had it all.  Great scoring chances, awesome goaltending, hard hits, and plenty of emotion that you usually only see in NHL playoff hockey.  For these guys, it was a playoff game.  A playoff on a global scale.  This, afterall, is Canada's game.  Not only is there a certain pride involved with winning this thing, but the winner will get a bye through the first round of the semi finals.  The losing team may actually have to play an additional game in the preliminary round.  The USA had everything to win and Canada had it all to lose.

The crowd was into the game from the opening face off.  Chants of CANADA and USA went back and forth throughout the game.

All game long, it was back and forth with each team trying to top the other.  My favorite play of the game had to be with less than 4 minutes left when Canada was on a power play.  Miller made three beautiful saves in a row as he was sprawling across the goal crease.  Crosby was able to redirect a Rick Nash pass less than a minute later to bring Canada within 1 goal.  Sometimes a little bit of luck makes all the difference. 

It didn't matter though.  Ryan Kessler was able to race down the ice and make a diving swat at the bouncing puck into an Brodeur-less net.  The USA came out with the win, giving them either 1st or 2nd place in the division. Canada will have to play Germany on Tuesday and their elephant just keeps getting bigger.

I don't know what else to write.  That game was phenomenal!!  This was the best birthday present I could have ever asked for.  I need a nap.  USA!!  USA!!  USA!!!

Why Is Olympic Hockey Taking Over My Life?

That's a question that I have been asking myself since a few weeks ago when I found myself reading player bios of all the USA women's team.  Normally I am not that into the Olympic games, although I do find myself watching the winter ones more than the summer ones.  For some reason though, this year has caught my attention more than in years past.  I attribute this to three things...

1.  I think the majority of my enthusiasm is due to the fact that for the first time that I can remember, Olympic hockey is taking center stage.  Many of the previous Olympics failed to televise the games or, because of time differences, had the games on in the wee hours of the morning.  Now that NBC has the rights to televise all the events, they are using all of their stations, including MSNBC and CNBC, to show the games (although thus far the coverage has been less than stellar). 

2.   The hype machine is working overtime.  Advertising is being shoved down our throats it seems this year even more than when the games were held in the US in 2002.

3.  The games so far have lived up to their potential, for the most part.  Both the men's and women's games have been highly entertaining.  Even the mismatches have yielded some great goal tending and some amazing scoring.  I am jacked up for Super Sunday's matchup between the US and Canada.  That game can determine the gold medal.

I can't wait for the second half of the NHL season to start but these games have definitely been a welcomed distraction. 

Ice Time: Day 6 Recap

Day 6 of the Olympic competition was another action packed hockey day, with four matches in the preliminary rounds.  Wednesday's are one of my only days of the week that I get to actually exercise without distraction and I play basketball after work at a local Courts Center.  It is great cardio and, like I said, one of my only opportunities to do something other than sit in front of a TV.  So, by the time I got home, the last women's game of the night had just started.  This post is coming late because of it.

VS.

In the first game of the day, Finland faced Belarus in game 4 of the men's Group C preliminary rounds.  The Fins proved to be too much for Belarus as they stormed on to win 5-1.  Niklas Hagman netted two goals for Finland while the other three were provided by Ranger's Olli Jokinen, Detroit's Valtteri Filppula, and recent rent-a-player/current Ottawa Senator and one time Penguin Jarkko Ruutu.  Belarus' only goal was scored by Sergei Kostitsyn of the Montreal Canadiens.  From what I can tell, Mikka Kiprusoff had a heck of game in goal despite only facing twelve shots.  At least, if you listen to Jeremy Roenick spout off you would think so.

VS.

Game 2 on the docket saw the hometown Canadian women face off against the bronze medal favorites Sweden.  In yet another display of the talent differential between Canada and every other team in this tournament, the maple leaf clad ladies once again destroyed their opponent 13-1.  Sweden's only goal didn't even come until late in the third off a power play that Canada basically gave away, probably because they felt sorry for the Swedes.  Meghan Agosta netted a hat trick while their were goals from 8 other players.  With that loss, Sweden could potentially drop from medal contention with Finland having not lost a game yet.  Canada is the favorite to win gold.  It would take an act of God at this point to keep that from happening.

VS.

The third game of the day was another men's preliminary round.  Sweden went up against Germany in another Group C matchup with possible medal implications.  While Germany had a pretty solid front line and put the pressure on Sweden throughout most of the game, it didn't translate into points on the board.  The Lightning's Mattias Ohlund and Loui Erikkson of the Stars each netted a goal in the second period.  That was all they needed to overcome the 21 shots on goal that Henrik Lundqvist faced. Marcel Muller of Germany got, what I think has been the first 10 minute misconduct penalty of the Olympic games.  Since I didn't see the game live, I'm not sure exactly what happened.

VS.

In another Group A women's matchup, Slovakia faced Switzerland in a later evening game.  Stefanie Marty scored a hat trick and was helped by two other goals to push the Swiss over the Slovakian team 5-2.  The only two goals by Slovakia were both scored by Janka Culikova.  Again, this was another game I didn't watch but judging by the shots on goal and the power play opportunities, these teams seemed pretty even matched.

VS.

In the final, most anticipated, game of the evening, the Czech Republic faced off against the Slovakian men's team.  This was by far and away the best game, competitively, that I have watched thus far in the Olympics.  With both teams stacked with current and former NHL players, it looked like an All-Star game on the ice.  The Slovakian team features players like Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa, Zdeno Chara and Richard Zednik.  The Czech team features one of my favorite players of all time, Jaromir Jagr, as well as Patrik Elias, Marek Zidlicky, and Tomas Vokoun in goal.  It was great to see Jagr play again, even if it looks like he lost a step or two.  Jagr at half speed is still better than over half the NHL at full speed. 

Elias scored about nine minutes in to give the Czech's a 1-0 lead.  Right out of the gate in the second period, Gaborik scored with less than a minute ticked off the clock to tie the game.  Jagr scored late in the second to make it 2-1 and then they turned to the trap game like we used to see from the teams of old.  The Slovakian team doesn't have the ability to keep up with that style of play and it proved too much for them to overcome.  Tomas Plekanec from the Montreal Canadiens scored late in the second and gave the Czech team a final score of 3-1.

Today's games should be great to watch, with five more scheduled.  The USA men's team faces off early against Norway, followed by the women's team against Finland in what should be a good battle.  Canada faces the Swiss in a late afternoon game and the women's Chinese team squares off against Russia.  Finally, in one of the matchups I was waiting for, the Russian men go up against the Czech's.  These matchups have always been entertaining and this one hopefully won't disappoint.

Ice Time: A Day's Worth Of Recaps

There were a ton of games scheduled for today, many of which took place before I was able to get home from work so I wasn't able to watch a whole lot.  A total of 5 games were on the official schedule beginning with the first men's game which I already recapped earlier. 

VS. 

This afternoon, the USA women's hockey team faced the Russian Federation team.  There wasn't much to say about this game.  It was pretty much all USA from the beginning.  Jenny Potter scored her second hat-trick of the Olympic games as Team USA rolled to a 13-0 win.  The Russian team was really disappointing because they came out completely flat.  They finished the game with only 7 shots on goal and took a lot of penalties due to frustration.  

I think I already mentioned the fact that the Russian women do not have a large support in their home country because the men overshadow what the women are attempting to do.  Each year when they get involved in these international tournaments, they have to at least show up so that maybe, someone will pay attention back home and they can start to get the support they need to keep their program going.  This performance didn't help their cause any.

VS.

In the most anticipated debut of the Olympic games, we had the Canadian men's team facing off against Norway.  It took awhile for everything to start moving, with the score 0-0 at the end of the first period.  But, as the game went on, the crowd got rowdy and their team responded.  Jerome Iginla got things moving on the powerplay with the first goal followed a minute and a half later by a blast from the faceoff circle by Dany Heatley the caught the back of the net.  

It was all over but the crying after that.  The Canadians went on to score another 6 goals, with Iginla getting a hat-trick (the Olympic site doesn't credit him with the goal at this point but it was his).  In their defense, Norway does not have a single NHL player on their roster although they compete together as a team on a permanent basis.  Canada's roster is entirely made up of NHL stars and superstars.  Final score here was 8-0.  Canada outshot Norway 42-15.

VS.

In this Group B preliminary round of the women's tournament, China tried to rebound after their destruction by Team USA.  The Fins looked to go 2-0 and make their case for a shot at a medal.

The first period play was dominated by Finland but the score didn't reflect that.  China was able to score first when Linuo Wang blasted a slapshot from the left faceoff circle beating Noora Raty over the right shoulder.  Not only was this only China's second goal of the tournament but it was a shorthanded goal.  The period ended with China holding onto their 1-0 lead. 

After the second period started, Finland finally woke back up and started putting the pressure on China.  China has a hard time playing defense in the slot.  They leave their opponents too much time to make plays and set up shop, especially on penalty kills.  This ended up their downfall and they lost in the end 2-1.  This was by far the most competitive women's match game yet.  China, despite their obvious issues, showed a lot of heart and won't go down without a fight.

VS.

This is the matchup I was waiting for all day.  Russia vs. Latvia would feature two of the most high impact players in the NHL today with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin.  It also features two Penguin players with Malkin and Sergei Gonchar, as well as former Penguin Alexei Morozov who used to play alongside Mario Lemieux in the late 90s. 

Russia drew first blood scoring right after the end of their first penalty kill within the first 3 minutes of the game.  Danis Zaripov got the first goal on a nice feed from Malkin.  Zaripov was the KHL (Russian Super League) MVP.  Alex Radulov, the former Nashville Predator that left for Russia at the end of last season, scored goal #2 of a rebound of a Sergei Fedorov shot.  With 35 seconds left in the first, Alexander Semin stole the puck behind the net, centered to his Washington Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin, who put it in the back of the net on a nice wrist shot.

Russia made it 4-0 just 1:42 before the end of the second period when Ilya Kovalchuk's slapshot hit teammate Maxim Afinogenov near the goal and the puck bounced to Evgeni Malkin, who blasted it into the back of the net. 

The start of the third period was crazy.  Herberts Vasiljevs scored Latvia's first goal 33 seconds in.  26 seconds later, Ovechkin answered with his second goal.  A half minute later, Zaripov scored his second goal.  Kovalchuk made it 7-1 for Russia with only 3 minutes ticked off the clock. 

Girts Ankipans was somehow able to score Latvia's only other goal only to have Alexei Morozov adding number 8 with about a minute left.

Russia wins, convincingly! 8-2

Ice Time: Olympic Edition (USA vs. Switzerland [Men's])

VS.


Finally the men's round of the Olympic tournament began today with the USA facing off against the sleeper pick Swiss team.  Despite the final score of the game, the two teams seemed pretty even matched with a slight edge to the USA. 

In the opening stanzas of the game, the Swiss were bound and determined to make something happen and played as physical of a game as they possibly could.  The score board didn't relect their play because the USA put one on the board by Bobby Ryan to close out the first period.  By the end of the first, you could tell the Swiss were getting worn out.
Five minutes into the second period, David Backes put up the second goal for Team USA.  The Swiss went a man down at about the 8 minute mark on a hooking penalty that proved costly.  Ryan Malone scored a power play goal, making it 3-0.  The Swiss team missed a great opportunity, one of the best of the game, when Sprunger missed a wide open net, shooting over the crossbar.

Switzerland was charging hard in the 3rd period, emptying the tanks of all they had.  They scored their only goal on a powerplay to Ryan Suter for roughing.  It was a strange play that looked like Ryan Miller stopped it but somehow was poked through his legs into the net before the refs blew the play dead.  That was it for their scoring. 

It was actually somewhat of a boring game without much excitement or "razzle dazzle" plays that we have come used to in Olympic hockey.  I will say that the exchange at the end about the merits of pulling a goal tender in the last few minutes was entertaining.  While Doc Emerick and Eddie O were contemplating the extra attacker at the end, Pierre butted in saying that is exactly what you don't want to do, stating the fact that points for and against count in tournament play.  Doc voted to pull Hiller anyway.  Good thing he isn't a coach.

USA wins!! 3-1

Ice Time: Olympic Edition (Sweden vs. Slovakia [Women's])

VS.

Sweden faced Slovakia last night in what seemed to be the only untelevised women's preliminary round hockey game.  I checked every NBC station there was and couldn't find it.  Grant it, it was on later in the evening when the news channels generally show their talking head (idiot) shows but come on, NBC.  This is the Olympics.  It only happens every four years so you are missing out on an audience to expand your product.  I won't get into that now.

The first thing that sticks out in this match was the amount of penalty minutes.  Usually in tournament play, especially international tournament play, there is much more attention to the defensive portion of the game.  While penalties do happen, they don't occur as often as they do sometimes in NHL matchups.  Total for the game were 26 penalty minutes encompassing 13 called penalties.  Sometimes the refs just need to eat thier whistles.

The second aspect that looked interesting is the fact that Slovakia actually showed some signs of life, tying the score late in the second at 2-2.  Considering the slaughtering by Canada in their previous game 18-0, I'm sure these girls felt good going into the locker room knotted up with the favorite for the Bronze Medal.  Of course, the rest of the game saw Sweden unload on the Slovakian team, finally outshooting them 48-16.

Sweden wins!  6-2

Ice Time: Olympic Edition (Switzerland vs. Canada [Women's])

VS.

In both of their second games tonight, Canada put the screws to Switzerland in a 10-1 effort.  Unlike the other night where they blanked a much inferior Slovakia team 18-0, Canada couldn't shake the Swiss team until the third period.

Through the first two periods, Switzerland hung in there, scoring a goal and only trailing by 4 at the end.  However, Canada quickly put on the turbo and scored 5 goals in the third to win.  The Swiss team was outshot 62-12 with 25 of those shots coming in the 3rd period.  By midway through the 3rd, you could see that Switzerland was out of gas.

One thing that was noticeable though is the fact that the Swiss team are a much more formidable opponent for both the US and Canada.  If it wasn't for their 3-0 loss to Sweden in the first game, they would probably be the favorites in their grouping.  I was actually impressed by their goaltenders and their performances. Florence Schelling (who looks a lot like Katie Holmes) faced 55 shots on goal and made 45 saves.  Dominique Slongo faced 7 shots coming cold off the bench and allowed no goals.

I am looking forward to the US vs. Canada matchup everyone has been waiting for.

Canada wins! 10-1

Ice Time: Olympic Edition (Finland vs. Russia [Women's])

VS.

Finland vs. Russia, at least on paper, seemed to be a good matchup. Although the Russian team hasn't had a long history of getting much support in their home country, they have always made a strong effort in each of their Olympic appearances. Finland is a sleeper team in this tournament and has made their case already by beating the United States last year in the World Championships. Since the Pens lost in a shootout to the Predators today, this is all I have to go on so here are some random thoughts during the game.

--Russia came out smoking hot, scoring the first goal of the game on a power play. After that, it was all Finland. I mean ALL Finland!!

--Finland dominated the faceoffs in this matchup, winning well over half. That helped them keep the puck in the Russian zone for most of the 2nd and 3rd periods.

--This no touch icing thing is great. It definitely speeds up the game. I know I have already discussed it in previous posts (at least I think I did) but the NHL should adopt this. Although, from a sponsorship standpoint, it cuts down on commercial breaks. Which brings me to the point of the horrible coverage by NBC again. It seems like anything on the non-Network station (ie. MSNBC, CNBC, UNIVERSAL, USA) they throw in a commercial a ridiculous times just for the hell of it. When they come back, the play has already started. FAIL!!

--The Russians are just big, slow, and lumbering. They aren't built for 3 periods of hockey.

--The announcers spend too much time tell stories and trying to distract people from the game. The spent over half the game talking about the men's tournament and how Ovechkin and Crosby are going to be so much "fun" to watch. Hey!! Guys!!! There is a game going on. Pay attention!

--I find it interesting that many of these women attend college here in the US at prominent hockey schools.

--This is definitely a more balanced game, despite the score. Better matched teams and more physical play. However, in the end, Finland outshot Russia 34-14.

--If Finland's goalie keeps playing like she did tonight, they are definitely going to be a contender for a medal.

Finland wins!! 5-1

Ice Time: Olympic Edition (USA vs. China [Women's])

VS.

In today's matchups, the USA women's team takes on China for a chance to move on in the round robin tournament. Hopefully, NBC has the kinks worked out of their broadcasting so that we don't get the lapses in coverage like yesterday. I'm not sure if these teams are an even matchup, though. Who am I kidding? I didn't even know China has a hockey team. Apparently there area total of 166 registered female hockey players in China. This is their 21 best. Some thoughts...

--Most of the game would appear like a practice session for the US women. It seems like they are toying with them the entire time.

--From what I have seen so far, there isn't a team that can compete with either the US or Canada.

--China's goalie is named Shi. I wonder if her first name is Sue because she is being sliced and diced up like a spring roll. I will give her this...she is a wall on her glove side.

--This ice surface is in serious need of a snow plow. Poor preparation.

--Jocelyne Lamoureux's goal in the 2nd was a thing of beauty. A dink and dunk, between the legs pass to herself around the defender and through the five hole. Highlight film!!

--Shots on goal at the end of the 2nd = 43 USA, 4 China. I feel sorry for both goalies. One isn't playing and the other one is the only one playing.

--Speaking of goalies, the USA put in their backup with about 5 minutes left in the third. She gave up the only goal China scored. I was cheering for China at that point. No one wants to see the destruction of a team like that.

USA wins 12-1!!

Ice Time: Olympic Edition (Canada vs. Slovakia [Women's])

VS.

In the debut of Slovakia as a competition Olympic team, it was all Canada. And I mean ALL Canada. I know I am posting this a bit after the fact but I really had nothing to say while I was watching the game. It was a prime example of the point that I made in my last Ice Time post about European Women's Hockey teams. There is really no comparison to North American teams. With the exception of Sweden and maybe Finland, the rest of the European groups look far inferior in the playing abilities, on ice presence, and overall hockey acumen.

It was evident after the 7-0 lead going into the first intermission that this game was more about trying not to embaras the Slovakians rather than pad the score. I think the resulting 18 goals were simply an act of mercy because it could have been 50. Keep in mind that this was the same Slovakian team that annihilated the Bulgarian team 82-0 earlier last year when they had over 130 shots on goal. Last night they managed to put the puck on net only 9 times. I can only imagine the carnage if it was Canada vs. Bulgaria...100-0? 150-0? Who knows.

At the same time, the Canadians were at home against the Flyers. The game was on NHL network so I decided to flip between the two after Canada jumped out to their 8-0 lead in the 2nd. The Flyers stomped on the Habs 6-2 with Briere getting a hat-trick but that's not the point here. Everytime I would change the channel back to the Olympic game, the score was different. Either 1 goal or 2 goals but different nonetheless. That should tell you what kind of night it was for Canada's women's team.

Canada wins!!! 18-0

Ice Time: Olympic Edition (Sweden Vs. Switzerland [Women's])

VS

The women's olympic hockey tournament was kicked off this afternoon with Sweden facing off with Switzerland. I think everyone remembers Sweden as the team that upset the USA in the last Olympic games for the silver medal. Canada will also be playing against Slovakia, who has yet to appear in a women's Olympic competition. Something tells me that trial run test isn't going to go well but we will see. At any rate, some random thoughts during the game.

--The emotion of the women's teams is interesting. You see the joy and frustrations in their body language way more than in men's hockey. Especially the frustrations when they don't score, get called for offsides, or try to draw penalties.

--Just when I thought to myself "Self...Bill Patrick isn't on TV enough" there he is.

--Cammi Granato is doing an analysts job for the NBC coverage. In the early 90's, she was one of only 4 or 5 female players I actually knew. I know she played hockey way longer, and more successfully, than most men but what is with her nose? It looks like it was broken about 100 times over and reformed baring due east. I wonder who would win in a shootout between her and her husband (she is married to Ray Ferraro). Or her brother for that matter.

--Boy does NBC sure plug their own stuff, ad nauseum. Plus, they keep missing part of the game play because the commercials are overlapping. To top things off, they keep that long pause uncomfortable moment when they cut between studio and either video spot or back to the action. The interview with Sweden's captain during the 2nd intermission was great.

--There are 12 Swiss team members under the age of 20. That means they were born in the 90s.

--Women's hockey has been popular in Canada (of course) and the USA for many years. It was interesting to hear them talk about other countries. Apparently, eventhough men's hockey is strong, women's hockey isn't very big in European countries. I found that interesting considering all the talent in the men's field coming from Europe, especially Finland, Sweden, and Russia.

--Tina Engstrom scored the second goal for Sweden. Her brother Tobias plays for the Thrashers. I believe they are the first brother/sister hockey combo in Olympic history.

--The Swiss goaltender is pretty good but no one can continue to survive when your team doesn't play defense in front of you. Sweden had 4 open shots at the goal on that third tally.

--There is no body checking. Why?

--Switzerland got robbed of a goal late in the 3rd period when the ref waived off an obvious goal saying the whistle had blown.

Sweden wins! 3-0