Olympic Hockey Thread

[SpencerH]

Canada are looking very sharp. They look much better today than they did against Italy. They may not have much 'flair' compared to their predecessors but they're fast, strong, and very effective.

[Asher]

McCabe takes a stupid penalty.

Makes a mistake coming back on the ice, too, which leads to a German goal.

[Kontiki]

I was just thinking about this today:

Can you imagine what the demand for hockey tickets is going to be like for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver?

[Flubber]

Canada looked reasonably good- I believe the Germans were credited TWO shots on goal in the second period


Interestign result with Sweden- Russia. Anomoly ?? Are the Russians THAT good or is Sweden a bit overrated? Both nations have been considered to underperform a bit compared to their reputed talent level in recent world events


So three games went pretty much as expected today. The swiss win is an upset while the margin of the Russian victory would qualify as a mild surprise

[Asher]

Anyone know where we can get individual player stats for the Olympic tournament? I wanna see McCabe's plus/minus compared to, say, Regehr.

Also, what do the captains exchange at the beginning of the game? I see they handed eachother some kind of envelopes and shook hands.

[Pekka]

envelopes?? It's customary to exchange flags, yes?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Bribe money.

[Pekka]

Imran, that's so obvious, you should be sentenced for saying that. NO MERCY!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Take your pills, Pekka.

[Flubber]

and the US rebounds from the Latvia tie with a clear win against the Kazaks-- basically one more win anywhere in their next three should guarantee the US a Quarter Final berth but they only have tough games left. Even if the US were to lsoe all the rest of their games, there are scenarios where they could advance.

The next set of men's games will clarify things a little


The first three games won't help much

Saturday, February 18 - Men
Kazakhstan vs. Russia - 5:30am et RUSSIA
Italy vs. Germany - 7am et GERMANY
Canada vs. Switzerland - 9:30am et CANADA


I can't imagine these going otherwise although if Switzerland continues to get insane gpoaltending , who knows?

But these games start to tell something

Sweden vs. Latvia - 11am et -- Is Sweden as bad as they showed today-- Is Latvia competitive at all as seen in their US tie? -- My bet's on Sweden


Slovakia vs. United States - 2pm et -- Wins over Russia and Latvia mean this team could be for real-- I still think the US is weaker but anything can happen-- I'd pick Slovakia though

Czech Republic vs. Finland - 3pm et -- The Finns have been very efficient with the weaker teams while the Czechs slipped up-- I pick the Czechs in a close one

[Pekka]

You have everything picked correctly, except that we will steal it from the Czechs..

Latvia is pretty competitive, they gave Slovakia HELL of a game.

Sweden just had an off night that's all. They're definitely not weak.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Pekka
You have everything picked correctly, except that we will steal it from the Czechs..

That would not shock me either . . . I just never like to be the next opponent after a team has been burned. The czechs should be fired up. The Finns will likely be feeling less pressure.


pekka do Finns get fired up for Czechoslovakia.??? My impression was that you got most emotional/fired up against the Swedes and Russians.

I'm just seeing this as the most likely game for the Finns to come out flat

[Asher]

Just watching the 3rd period for the 1st time in the Canada-Germany game...I see McCabe took yet another stupid penalty and got a misconduct.

Is anyone else concerned about what a liability McCabe will be when we play competitive teams?

[Pekka]

I guess we mighjt come out flat.. I mean, they're professionals and they always put the effort out there, but you know if you're not feeling it, if there's no heat.. something lacks of the game.

Czechs aren't our rivals, even though we play a lot each other in all levels and challenge each other and go neck and neck most of hte times.

I don't think the rule applies to the Czech teams in general, after losing coming out strong. They are very emotional team. They are just like Slovakia and Russia, if something isn't right, it can mean a series of bad games in a row. And once they get on the groove, it's difficult to stop them even on a good day.

THat's why I don't predict Czechs to come too strong, I feel if we can break their game for the first period, we'll take it. Means breaking the center of the ice. Then bounce the puck in front of Voukun. He's kind of 50/50 too.. he can either be a wall, or kind of easy.

I think it all comes down to being able to break their spirits, meaning that they come frustrated. That comes from disciplined plays. I hope we can do it.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher
Just watching the 3rd period for the 1st time in the Canada-Germany game...I see McCabe took yet another stupid penalty and got a misconduct.

Is anyone else concerned about what a liability McCabe will be when we play competitive teams?

I, for one, would feel much better if Dion Phaneuf had been selected instead