Olympic Hockey Thread

[Pekka]

Oh man.. well.. the ref was OK in the thrid, except that when US played 6 on 5, he lacked the balls to call interference, but otherwise, OK..

glad that was over. US started a nice pressure on the thrid, they really tried and almost made it. Phew!

[joncha]

Finland

[Kontiki]

Does anyone know of a site that would be streaming the Canada-Russia game?

[Pekka]

But what a horrible game for us. I was a bit disappointed when US played so long with big risks, and we weren't able to capitalize on it, quite the contrary, we were begging for the period to end.

I guess they just were nervous, defending the lead too much.. it's a curse to always get the lead in tight games

[Pekka]

And it doesn't make the game right that Hatcher got BS 2+2 for cracking Selänne's teeth with his stick. That was no penalty.

Horrible ref all around. Did only few things right, but screwed up the rest. For both, US and Finland as well.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

$5 says that Chris Chelio and co are now ripping up the Olympic village.

[Flubber]

Team Finland scored a 4-3 victory over the United States in Wednesday's hockey quarter-finals at the Torino Olympic Winter Games.

Olli Jokinen broke a 2-2 deadlock with a pair of power-play goals in the second period as Finland remained unbeaten in Turin.

The Finns went 5-0-0 in the preliminary round.

"It was a big win," Finnish forward Teemu Selanne told CBC Sports. "We've played so solid the whole tournament. Hopefully, we can do it."

Ville Peltonen and Sami Salo staked Finland to a 2-0 lead before Mike Knuble and Mathieu Schneider replied for the Americans.

Brian Gionta's goal with 4:27 remaining in the third period cut the deficit to one goal and made for a frenzied finish as the Americans pressed for the equalizer.

Finland

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
$5 says that Chris Chelio and co are now ripping up the Olympic village.

Probably not. Brett Hull and Jeremy Roenick aren't around this year, so things should be calmer.

[Flubber]

Swedes dominate Swiss in hockey
Last Updated: Wed Feb 22 13:45:14 EST 2006
CBC Sports

Fredrik Modin, left, and Mats Sundin celebrate a goal during Sweden's quarter-final win over Switzerland Wednesday at the Torino Olympics. (Photo: Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

The Swedish men's hockey team showed Wednesday why coach Bengt Gustafsson's desire to play a weaker opponent in the quarter-final would be beneficial.

The skilled Swedes beat an overmatched Switzerland team 6-2 at Torino Esposizioni to advance to the semifinal Friday against the winner of the Czech Republic-Slovakia game.

Gustafsson created controversy Monday when he told a Swedish TV station that his team would prefer to play the weaker Swiss rather than the more difficult matchup against either Canada or the Czech Republic.

His comments suggested his team wouldn't play its best in the final preliminary contest against Slovakia.

Gustafsson didn't help his cause when he rested No. 1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist in Sweden's 3-0 loss to Slovakia Tuesday.

Wayne Gretzky, Team Canada excucutive director, even chimed in and told CBC Sports that Gustafsson's remarks show the coach is afraid to play the Canadians.

However, all the controversy before the game didn't affect the Swedes as their superior puckhandling and speed were evident during this rout.

Toronto Maple Leaf captain Mats Sundin led Sweden with two goals as the Scandinavian nation pulled away in the second period.

The line of Sundin, Peter Fosberg and Fredrik Modin dominated, scoring three goals and consistently pressuring the Swiss into turnovers.

Zetterberg scored the eventual game-winning goal 9:07 into the second period after skating around the Swiss net and wrapped a shot that barely beat Swiss goaltender Martin Gerber.

The goal gave Sweden a 3-1 lead at the time.

While both teams were initially unsure of the goal, replay showed the puck crossed the goal-line.

The Swedes received a scare when defenceman Mattias Ohlund left the game in the second period after crashing into the boards.

With Swiss forward Patric Della Rossa draped all over him, Ohlund slid into the end boards with his left shoulder taking the brunt of the blow. Ohlund was assisted to the locker-room and didn't return.

Initial reports say Ohlund suffered bruised ribs.

Henrik Sedin opened the scoring for Sweden at 3:05 into the first period. With the Swedes pressuring Switzerland, Henrik took a pass from his brother, Daniel, and snapped a quick shot past a surprised Gerber.

However, the Swiss would not be intimidated and continued their physical play against Sweden. Their strategy paid off as Mark Streit evened the game 1-1 more than five minutes later as he one-timed a slapshot that beat Lundqvist low to the stick side.

Modin and Samuel Pahlsson scored Sweden's other goals while Romano Lemm got Switzerland's second goal.

All as expected so far-- but those were the easier predictions. I am picking Canada and the Czechs which should be considered TWO upsets considering how those teams have played

[Kontiki]

I need streaming, people! Is there nowhere I can get it?

[joncha]

My guess would be the internets.

[Kontiki]

The internets have been uncooperative in that endeavor so far. Ditto with the interwebs.

[joncha]

I seem to recall a link to an Italian site in the other Olympic thread...

[Kontiki]

Italian one only available for people in Italy. There was also a Norweigan one, but I can't read crazy viking speak.

[Zoid]

I can translate it if you give me the link