Go for the Gold: USA vs. Canada Men's Hockey Preview

They said it was a fluke. They said it wont happen again next time around. They said, "we'll have our shot at redemption." They chanted, "We Want USA!"

Be careful what you wish for.

A week ago removed from the preliminary round battle, Canada will have their re-match against the U.S. tomorrow in Vancouver. This time it's for gold. And this time, Martin Brodeur will not be in net. In that game, Broduer didn't know what to do with himself without the trapezoid. He played the puck so much it led to two goals. Two goals for the U.S. Brodeur dug his team a hole early that his team could not dig him out of. Brodeur tried to do way too much and it backfired on him. I am surprised about how bad Brodeur played. In the preliminary round I criticized the decision by coach Mike Babcock to even give Luongo a game. That's why I am here and he is there. Luongo looks so much more relaxed in the crease and controlling of rebounds and is the clear better of the two right now.

But on the other side of the ice stands U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller, who has stood on his head all tournament and has carried his team all the way to an improbable shot at gold tomorrow. Something I thought, and I'm sure a lot of other U.S. hockey fans thought, was not possible. It was bad enough they were matched in the same pool as Canada. But after that win a week ago, and the play of Miller, it jump started the whole team. They were playing much more aggressive, and much like a team that has been here before, instead of the team who's average age is 26.

After the win over Canada, the U.S. had a first round bye and faced the Swiss in a re-match of the preliminary round in which the U.S. won a tight 3-1 game. The Swiss, known for some big Olympic upsets, hung around with the U.S. all game, but once again it was the Ryan Miller show and he would not be beaten. Zach Parise (Hey Mike Milbury, what do you think of Zach Parise now?) scored both U.S. goals (one an empty netter) and lifted the U.S. to the semifinals against Finland, who won Silver in 2006 in Turin as they were defeated by Sweden. Led by goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, the Fins were no pushover. Or so it seemed. Kiprusoff was awful in net for the Fins and let in 4 first period goals before removing himself from the game. He was not comfortable, playing very deep in his crease and not moving well at all. Before the first period was over, the U.S. put in 5. They would cruise to a 6-1 win and a shot at gold tomorrow.

By losing to the U.S. Sunday, it meant Canada would not have a bye and would play Germany in the first Qualifying round. No sweat for Canada as they won 8-2. But a sweat was coming, and it would be from the Russians who they would play in the Quarterfinals. Led by Alexander Ovechkin and goalie Evgeni Nabokov, the Russians were a huge favorite to medal in these Olympics. A showdown I thought would be for gold, would send one of the favorites home without a shot at a medal. Much like Kiprusoff for the Fins, Nabokov was equally as bad in that game giving up 6 goals not even half way through. Canada would win 7-3 and face Slovakia led by Zedeno Chara and Ziggy Palffy in the Semis. Canada had a 3-0 lead in the third but gave up 2 goals in the final ten minutes. Slovakia had a chance to tie the game with under a minute left but missed a bad angle shot on the right side of the net and Canada held on for their shot at the re-match.

Last Sunday, Canada put 45 shots on Ryan Miller and the U.S. They dominated play and controlled the puck for a majority of the game. The U.S. can not allow this to happen again tomorrow. You can only rely on a goaltender for so long it is only a matter of time before those shots start going in if he is under that amount of barrage. The U.S. has to get their forecheck going early and try and sustain it throughout the game. Keep the play in the Canadian zone. Make them play defense. With all those stars on their team like Crosby, Getzlaf, Staal, Heatly and so on, get them frustrated early. Make them play in their own zone and limit the opportunities for Canada. Do that, and I think the U.S. will have their first gold since the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980.



Your thoughts on the game in Comments. LETS GO USA!

30th Anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice"

30 years ago today, 23 unknown college kids defeated what was arguably the greatest hockey team that ever lived in one of the greatest sports moments in United States history. Everyone who was alive that day remembers where they were and how they heard the news. It was one of those "where were you?" moments we compare to national tragedies like 9/11 and the JFK assassination. But unlike those moments, this moment was one to celebrate.

I was not alive that day, but the feeling I get when seeing highlights makes me feel like I was there. The story has been told over and over in books and in movies, but it can not duplicate the raw emotion someone feels when it takes place. It was a storybook moment that will never be forgotten.

Yesterday on NBC, Al Micheals went back to Lake Place along with team Team USA captain Mike Eruzione, goaltender Jim Craig, and leading scorer and current Team USA Women's hockey head coach Mark Johnson, to relive the spectacle and describe it in their own words. They went through game by game recapping all that took place and told some inside stories that most people knew and some stories that we haven't heard before.

Everyone knows the story of how the team had one enemy, their coach, and how he put them through a vigorous 6 months program before the 1980 Olympics. Herb Brooks put the team together by himself and was determined to put together a group that would beat the Soviets in Lake Placid. Three days before the Olympics started, Team USA faced the Soviets in an exhibition at Madison Square Garden and were annihilated 10-3. Eruzione and Mark Johnson said yesterday they were mesmerized by the Soviets and how they skated and scored goals. The team then faced Sweden in the first game of the preliminary round and forced a 2-2 tie with under a minute to go in the third period. They would then beat the Czechs 7-3 followed by wins over Norway, Romania, and Germany to set up the semi-final showdown with the Soviets.

Herb Brooks was known to give his fair share of speeches. In fact, the team had a name for them and called them "Brooksisms." They included some wacky sayings, but none will top this one he gave to his team in the locker room prior to the semi-final game against the Soviets:



The rest as they say, is history. Team USA defeated the Soviets 4-3 and then defeated Finland to win Gold. In the games since, the IOC has used professional athletes in the games. That doesn't make the games any less meaningful or less exciting. As we have seen in Vancouver this year, the enthusiasm and the following is still there, even if the games are not even on network television.

For anyone who does not know the story of that memorable February 30 years ago, I highly recommend the movie "Miracle" starring Kurt Russel as coach Brooks as you saw above. It is a clearly accurate portrayal of the entire story surrounding that team. Even if you know nothing about hockey, I guarantee you will enjoy it.



Comments...

New York Islanders Mid-Season Crisis

The New York Islanders entered the 2009-2010 season with limited expectations in year 2 of their "re-build". They got their prized franchise player in the draft and kept the core intact while adding depth between the pipes after going through all of last season without a legitimate NHL goaltender.

But when the team plays better than expected and goes on a nice mid-season run, people raise their expectations. When you are sitting in a playoff spot after January 1, all of a sudden the playoffs look much better then a lottery pick.

But what happens when you lose 6 in a row and find yourself chasing 7 teams ahead of you for 3 playoff spots? Panic starts to set in. Which is where the Islanders find themselves at this point and time. They are a team that has lost their identity from earlier in the year and is struggling to regain it. A team that was always praised by opponents for their relentless puck pursuit and work ethic earlier in the year are now being dominated by their opponents on a nightly basis. This has not come from a lack of work ethic or heart, but a lack of talent.

Garth Snow started this process with the intent of seeing it all the way through. I am glad him and Assistant GM Ryan Jankowski are sticking to that. Considering the situation Garth has been put in, I believe him and his staff have done a great job. Compliments go to his scouting staff for finding their leading scorer and number 1 goaltender as free agents completely under the radar this past off-season.

But what the Islanders lack they do not have internally. What they have now are about 9 players they plan to build a Stanley Cup team around, the rest are expendable. For the time being, the current roster is filled with 3rd and 4th line players that are plugged in to get by this season and possibly next.

As long as Garth Snow's hands continue to be tied by Charles Wang, who's hands are tied by a terrible arena lease and the Town of Heampstead, me and every other Islanders fan around the world have to realize that as long as the situation remains status quo, the Islanders will not be a contender. You can not expect the team to pay $100 million for Ilya Kovalchuk when they wont even pay for the team to have a regular radio station and broadcasters.

That last paragraph may be tough to swallow for a lot of Islander fans. Go back and read it again if you have to, but do not try and convince yourself that it is not true, because it most certainly is.

So what do you do now if you are an Islanders fan? You sit and wait. You watch the remainder of this season hoping they turn things around and make a strong push, or hope they bottom out and end up with a lottery pick. You also hope for good news from the Town of Heampstead about the redevelopment of the arena.

If your Garth Snow you stick some lines in the water for players YOU think are best for your team in the future and you DO NOT pull the trigger unless you are satisfied with the terms. You also look to sell of dead Weight for as much as possible.

As far as the present goes, the Islanders need to ask themselves one question...who is going to step up? Who is going to take responsibility and put this team on their back for stretch run? My bet would go to Kyle Okposo with pretty good odds too. They need to play much more hungry then they have in the past 2 weeks and they absolutely must improve their play on special teams. If you have watched this team all year you've noticed that in recent games they have not been getting any quality scoring chances whatsoever. Goals have come from battles in the front of the net or 30 foot shots that ricochet off of bodies on their way to the net. They have not scored a goal scorer's goal in at least 3 weeks. Get back to the team you were a month ago that teams were afraid to play on a nightly basis, and you make a decent run at a bottom playoff spot.

I will have a Super Bowl XLIV preview tomorrow, needed to rant about this now. Comments

No Love for Hockey

I like to believe that hockey is a sport that does interest a lot of people, but the lack of coverage it gets on all stages just angers me. When a goal like this is scored and it does not even make Top 10 plays OF THE DAY.....never mind the year......THE DAY, it angers me. This will probably be one of the NHL's Top 10 goals of the year.




Now I'm no fan of basketball, but I do like seeing slam dunks and alley-oops from time to time, but how much of the same thing can ESPN show on their Top 10 plays of the day? Besides the Top 10 issue, I rarely see highlights of the major NHL games on SportsCenter the following day. But they are sure to show all NBA highlights, including last place teams playing each other. Turn on TSN in Canada and they are sure to show highlights of every hockey game that happened the previous day on SportsCentre.

ESPN also has a separate show dedicated to the 3 other major sports, Baseball Tonight, NFL Live, and NBA Fastbreak. Where is the NHL's show?

I do think that the NHL lockout in 2004-2005 was a detriment to the league from the public standpoint, but it did wonders for the sport in a lot of ways. Also not having live NHL games on ESPN probably has a lot do with their lack of exposure on that network. But last time i checked they are still the NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE, and still part of the 4 major sports in this country. When the commissioners were asked by Congress to testify about performance enhancing drugs, Garry Bettman was there. I hope soon ESPN will give hockey some more exposure.