Winter Olympic Hockey Thread (mens or womens)

As a Canadian it is my sworn duty to cheer for team Canada in the just started hockey tournament. Adding fuel to the fire is the expectation that in both mens and womens groups the USA is considered to be among the top competition for us.

That being said I believe that this is a good time to start talking smack about our hopelessly outclassed, and soon to be overwhelmed southern neighbors.

Or in other words...



In reality I just wanted to use that picture but let the bashing begin!!!

:flagcanada:

 

I would love to see the US win both mens and womens, but I dont know where you heard that. Even on NBC niether Millbury or Roenick are giving the US much chance. Sunday will be a fun one to watch.

:flagusa: GO USA!!!

"do you believe in miracles"..............

 

Go Canada Go!

But, honestly, Russia is Canada's toughest opposition, not the US.

 

In ladies, I think that American girls are the strongest competition for the the Canadian girls. No others on the same level as either the US or Canada.

In the guys, the consensus is Canada and Russia are the top dogs. Should be a good tourney anyways.

 

Fair enough, but I was thinking overall... especially on the womens side. It's Canada the USA and then everyone else.

 

I agree about the womens being a 2 way race between Canada and Us, but remember not that long ago, I think it was Switzerland that beat the American women.

Go Canada Go!!!

 

Bit of a hiccup last night.......

Sounded quiet last night to the great north, I coulda heard a pin drop.

This will make Sundays game even better.

:flagusa: GO USA!!!!!!!!

 

What a weird Olympics its been in on the ice thus far. Figured Russia would cruise right into the gold medal game, now they lose to Slovakia in a shootout, Canada needs a shootout to beet Switzerland....a team the US took care of on Tuesday. Am I saying the US is the best team in the tournament? Absolutely not, but I can tell you one thing, they seem like the hungriest.

I havent heard anyone say that we're the favorite, or that we're even a favorite for a medal, but the way we're playing, gives me hope. Yesterday, Canada didn't seem to be working as a team, they've absolutely got some of the biggest names in the game on their roster, which I think could potentially be their downfall. The late Herb Brooks said "When you put on that jersey, the name on the front means a hell of a lot more than the one on the back." This is especially true today. With all the stars coming together on one team, everyone wants to be a hero, understandably, but I think teamwork, consistency and not having an ego are going to play a HUGE role in how this tournament plays out.

Again, I'm not saying the US is going to win Gold, but man if they do go down, they are going down swinging. Now we have to wait until Sunday to see what both teams are really made of, winner takes the 1 seed in the group! For now, we wait until 3 oclock to watch on the onslaught that Sweden is about to put on Belarus haha

 

I just love it when the sportswriters are just as into olympic hockey as I am:

SPORTS / OLYMPICS [FONT=Times New Roman,Times,Serif][SIZE=-1]| February 19, 2010[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times,Serif][SIZE=+1]N.H.L. Stars Thrill as Czechs Defeat Slovaks [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times,Serif][SIZE=-1]By JEFF Z. KLEIN[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times,Serif]The Czech Republic's 3-1 victory over Slovakia provided a glimpse of why this Olympic hockey tournament is expected to be the greatest in the history of the game.[/FONT]

N.H.L. Stars Thrill as Czechs Defeat Slovaks - NYTimes.com

 

Zamboni's are being put to use in other ways at the Olympics, too:

From the Wash Post:


Vancouver brings in the Zamboni!

Vancouver organizers are bringing in a new ice resurfacing machine to try to fix the problems that have dogged the long track speedskating events at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
And that machine will be a Zamboni.
The machine at Richmond that twice malfunctioned was an Olympic, manufactured in Canada by Resurfice, an Ottawa business. So Mark Messer, who is in charge of the ice at Richmond, said he wanted his usual machine, which is located in Calgary. According to a VANOC spokesman, the machine will arrive tonight and be put in service tomorrow.
There was a 10-minute delay Sunday during the women's 3,000 meters. Monday night, during the men's 500, there was a 69-minute delay after one machine broke down. Another backup was found but it was much smaller and required more time to get the ice in shape.