Right On!!

so how about them canadian women hockey players?

Eh? Grats Canada!

GO USA Men's hockey!!!

the way the canadian men played against russia last night, i expect a heckuva fantastic game.

{{{p~s}}}

what i've always felt is crappy about olympic hockey is that the winners of the bronze medal are always so happy, yet the silver medalists have just lost their game and are so disappointed. it doesn't quite seem right.

Craig sees magic in U.S. Olympic squadMonday, 02.22.2010 / 6:26 PM / All-Access

VANCOUVER -- Some things never change. That would include 1980 Olympic "Miracle on Ice" goalie Jim Craig being asked or reminded of his team's underdog-of-underdog victories against the biggest of bigs -- Russia at Lake Placid.

The Russian game was 30 years ago, Feb. 22, 1980, and practically every American old enough to form a memory won't forget Craig searching stands to wave to his father after the game. We all knew Craig had lost his mother in the year before the Olympic tournament.

"I have heard from sons who weren't talking to their fathers and started again," Craig said Monday in Vancouver, appearing at an impressive all-chalk U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame art exhibit sponsored by Allstate Insurance Company. "I talk to women who were young girls at the time and dreamed about playing hockey. Now look at the USA women's hockey team (which beat Sweden, 8-1, Monday to advance to an expected gold-medal match with Canada)."

And some things are never the same again. That would be Craig receiving an invitation to a party here sponsored by the Russian hockey federation. Plus, in 1997, Craig became fast friends with Russia hockey great Vladimir Lutchenko, a stay-at-home defensemen who won Olympic gold medals in 1972 and 1976 (beating the U.S. by scores of 7-2 and 6-2 in those tournaments). Lutchenko moved south of Boston to start hockey camps, and a cook at Craig's local rink suggested the two Olympians should meet.

"We coached our kids together for 10 years," said Craig. "Vladimir is a beautiful man. He has e-mailed me here at these Olympics saying we should get together with our wives."

Craig attended Sunday's U.S. win against Canada, sitting at ice level behind Ryan Miller's goal for two of the three periods, thanks to tickets provide by USA Hockey. Miller family members and friends were nearby and explained the shamrock on the American goalie's mask represented a tribute to Craig. The 1980 star was touched and even Tweeted about the shamrock to his Twitter followers Sunday.

A reporter wondered how Craig felt watching the last few minutes of Sunday's dramatic game, including a final 80 seconds during which the puck never vacated the U.S. zone.

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Three decades later, rivalry mellows for Craig
"I thought, 'How did my Dad even watch me play?'" said Craig, pretty much all smiles during his appearance at the USA House. "We were up two goals and still felt nervous for (Miller). ... Those final minutes seemed like an eternity. In fact, when we scored the fourth, I was thinking maybe that was too early. Then some fans started chanting, USA. My reaction was, 'Oh, hold off on that. Let's not get them (Team Canada) mad.'"

No surprise that Craig said he still gets goose-bumps every time he hears the famed Al Michaels call, "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" Perhaps even more meaningful to Craig was the comment of color analyst Ken Dryden, who had faced Lutchenko and those great Russia teams during the 1970s.

"To hear Ken Dryden say, 'It's over,' that summed up my feelings, too, that we had beaten the Russians, time had actually run out," said Craig.

Craig and his teammates were "a bunch of college kids" who he says were "young enough not to know any better" when facing the Russia powerhouse. Craig was quick to praise the late Herb Brooks for scheduling an exhibition game against Russia at Madison Square Garden in New York the week before the Olympics.

"We over-respected the Russians and it showed (in a blowout loss)," said Craig. "It was Herb's genius to plan that game and get our reaction out of the way."

Youth is one of the things Craig most likes about the 2010 U.S. team, which can continue a trend of winning Winter Olympics gold in years that end in "0."

"They are not overwhelmed by the Canadians' talent or size," said Craig. "And you have to like Ryan's calm presence in the net. This team counts on him to do his job, and he certainly did on Sunday. But every game he will be tested and the team will face a battle from here out. These are the best professional athletes in the world in the sport of ice hockey."

Ya, eh? Now, beer me..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbkOI6Q9dQ0

Cy, did you ever see the movie "Miracle"?? Excellent, excellent portryal of the 1980 USA team!!

Oh!absolutely.I completely agree.They weren't joking when they said"The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat.Hey! what about making it to the final round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs only to be defeated in Game#7.How deflating is that?All hopes & dreams dashed in that final moment.And tradition calls for you to shake the opposition's hands & watch them lift the Cup & become IMMORTAL.

...like my poor Red Wings last season

yeah, but what i'm getting at is that the 3rd place team is more happy than the 2nd place because they won their game.

i know there's always a winner and a loser; it just seems odd that the bronze medal game result is a win, whereas the silver medal is a loss.

Yeah! I was re-capping that final game w/ MoTown a couple wks.back.What a hard fought battle that was hey?Gotta Luv that excitement & electrifed crowd.I was on the edge of my seat.I'm lucky it didn't cost me a coffee table.lol;)Yep! the Great Detroit Dynasty was humbled indeed.Damn! them pesky Pens were tenacious & just kept coming at them even w/ Sid The Kid removed by that heavy hit.I won't ever forget the series. K;I won't post the pic.

LOL..thanks CY...hehehehe

Yep! I understand what your saying.It's rather unique the way it's set-up.I will always honor & be humbled by their greatness though for they are truly the finest whom are representing their country.Regardless of their particular medal they have acheived they have my love & respect forever.

U.S. focuses on Finns, dreams about gold VANCOUVER (AP) -- The forward lines ran drills in different colored jerseys. The coaches diagrammed plays on a white board. The players jostled and cracked smiles.

Nothing about this practice suggested that the U.S. men's hockey team was just two wins from a most improbable gold medal.

The Americans meet Finland in a semifinal Friday, and some thoughts are starting to creep in about what could be in store if this unbeaten team keeps winning.

"That's only natural," said defenseman Brooks Orpik, a Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh last season. "If you're not thinking about that, then I think you're lying. I think that's good to kind of look ahead. You have to set your goals high, but at the same time not overlooking the game you have."

While few expected the U.S. to make such a deep run in this tournament filled with teams loaded with NHL talent, the same argument could be made for the Finns even though they captured the silver medal at the 2006 Turin Games.

Whoever wins Friday will advance to the gold-medal game against Canada or Slovakia. It has been 30 years since the U.S. men won gold.

"We have a very difficult game against Finland," goalie Ryan Miller said. "They are very fast, they're very well organized. I don't think we got this far by looking ahead. We've always focused on that one game we needed. This will be a bigger test for our locker room to see if we can keep our heads in the right spot."

The Americans have been on a high since stunning Canada on Sunday in the final game of the preliminary round. That victory clinched first place in their group and excused them from having to qualify for the quarterfinals.

It set up a rematch with Switzerland, the first opponent for the U.S. in these games. Like in the opener, the Americans were patient enough to outlast the gritty Swiss 2-0. Despite a wide edge in shots, the Americans didn't break the scoreless deadlock until the third period when top-line forward Zach Parise scored.

Parise added an empty-net goal to salt away Miller's fourth straight win.

"Last game we really stuck to the plan," forward Ryan Malone said. "We didn't get frustrated. That was a good test for us to make sure that everyone was on the same page."

Brian Rafalski scores two goals and the Americans to earn a quarterfinal berth with a 5-3 win over Canada.

Finland brings a similar style to the Swiss, Orpik said after a video session. Finland prefers to sit back and try to capitalize on mistakes. With physical players on a smaller, NHL-sized rink, the Finns might look to play a closer-checking game similar to the Americans' approach.

A potent power play that has produced seven goals in four games has helped Finland make a repeat trip to the Olympic medal round.

"They're a patient team. Probably a little more experienced and talented than the Swiss," Orpik said. "The key is not take as many penalties as some of the other teams. That has been one of our strong suits, being disciplined."

Discipline and structure are familiar refrains for NHL players, who are creatures of habit, if not downright superstitious.

Usual routines are not only altered at the Olympics, where game and practice teams are generally at odd hours, sometimes typical daily activities are scrapped altogether.

Parise has given up his routine of spending time in a cold tub on game days. All but one of the Americans' five games in Vancouver have been scheduled for noon.

"It's different when you're playing at 7," he said. "I don't want to be taking a cold tub at 10 in the morning. That's one thing I kind of threw out. Shockingly I can still play without doing it."

Miller has become more of a celebrity in the past two weeks since leaving relative anonymity while starring for the Buffalo Sabres. He has been called the best goalie in the NHL this season on numerous occasions, and his popularity is rising.

"They have a great goalie, we have to make sure he doesn't see all the pucks," Finn forward Teemu Selanne said.

Miller has stopped 85 of 90 shots in his Olympic debut and has carried his club with a 1.25 goals-against average while playing every minute of the tournament.

That is enough to make his Twitter trend up.

"That kind of blows me away," the usually reserved Miller said with a smile. "One of my friends said the Jonas Brothers said something on Twitter, and Alyssa Milano and stuff like that. It's been a little surreal. It's just very different to me. I am used to hockey just being a cult sport that people just want to pay attention to at their convenience."

With another two wins, Miller and the rest of this group Americans could enjoy household-name status throughout the United States -- if even for just a while.

For now, they are focusing on Finland. They have quickly bonded. Each victory has given them confidence that they can beat anyone.

"I'm sure it's in the back of everyone's mind, but it's hard to look past the game tomorrow," Parise said. "We've really got to be ready to play. It's going to be a tough team, it's going to be a tough game. We have to make sure that we're ready to go. We're expecting another really tight, low-scoring game.

"With the excitement after the Canada game, it would've been easy for us to have a letdown when we were playing the Swiss -- who everyone thinks is a much lesser opponent," he said. "Watching guys blocking shots, laying down on penalty kills, that really can bring a team together and uplift a team."

((((CYBUD))) yep yep men gonna win

USA reaches gold-medal game by blitzing Finland 6-1 Friday, 02.26.2010 / 5:27 PM Shawn P. Roarke - NHL.com Managing Editor VANCOUVER -- Against the longest of odds, Team USA has found its way into the gold-medal game of the 2010 Olympic hockey tournament.

In a hotly anticipated semifinal against a veteran Finland team that earned silver four years ago, the young Americans played like the more veteran team in dismantling the Finns 6-1 on Friday at Canada Hockey Place.

Not only did the Americans shock and awe the experienced Finns with a first period for the ages -- six goals in the first 13 minutes -- but they now enter Sunday's gold-medal game firing on all cylinders.

In that gold-medal game, the Americans will face either host Canada or the surprising Slovaks. Those two teams meet in Friday night's late semifinal. The Americans beat Canada 5-3 in pool play and have not faced the Slovaks yet in this tournament.

The United States has not won gold since 1980.

Entering Friday's game, the Americans faced three major questions despite being the tournament's only unbeaten team. By the time the final buzzer sounded against the Finns, all three were answered positively.

There were legitimate concerns about a power play that had managed just four goals in 16 opportunities. But, two of the Americans first three goals Friday came in man-advantage situations.

Both goals, by Zach Parise and defenseman Erik Johnson came on a power play that finally showed the proper mixture of industry and creativity. Each goal was scored when a forward chased down a 50-50 puck, but was finished by a display of skill.

That dovetails nicely into the second point the Americans wanted to see addressed

Somehow, this team had reached the semifinals without much input from their big guns. But the superstars are now fully engaged.

Pat Kane, who had a lone goal against Norway to his credit, was flying from the opening faceoff in this game. He was rewarded with a pair of goals 2:23 apart to give the USA a 5-0 lead.

Parise, meanwhile, has three goals in his past two games, including the game-winner against Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Even first-line center Paul Stastny got on the board, scoring the Americans' final goal of the first period after Parise used a menacing forecheck to force Sami Salo into one of the most egregious of the countless turnovers the Finns made in the first period.

None of those turnovers, however, was bigger than the one Finnish goalie Miikka Kiprusoff made in the game's opening minutes. Joe Pavelski tried to alleviate some Finnish pressure with a clear up the middle of the ice, which was pushed ahead by Ryan Malone. Phil Kessel aggressively chased the puck and appeared to be behind a slow-reacting Finnish defense. That's when Kipper decided to race out to clear the puck from the on-rushing Kessel.

Kiprusoff reached the puck first, but his attempt to clear the puck was intercepted by Malone just inside the blue line and calmly fired into the open net.

Finland never recovered from that mistake -- and that was to the Americans' credit. For one of the few times in this tournament, Team USA actually pounded a team into submission when it had that team on the ropes. The lack of a killer instinct had been the third concern for the Americans.

The Americans scored three more times by the 10:08 mark of the first -- the goals by Parise, Kane and Erik Johnson -- to all but decide this game and also send Kiprusoff to the bench to be replaced by Niklas Backstrom.

Kiprusoff allowed four goals on seven shots.

Less than three minutes later, Kane welcomed Backstrom to the blowout with a quick wrister into the back of the net.

Fifteen seconds later, Stastny ended the carnage with his goal, leaving the Americans a 47-minute of game play in which they worked on their defensive form and backchecking schemes as the Finns played out the string.

It was not the way Finland wanted to see its tournament end. This was the last kick at a gold medal for a proud generation of Finnish players -- headlined by the Anaheim duo of Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu, as well Ville Peltonen, who was playing in his fifth Olympics.

But they were able to generate few chances offensively against a solid defensive effort from the Americans and the continued brilliance of goalie Ryan Miller. The Buffalo Sabres netminder made 18 saves before he was pulled midway though the third period to get backup Tim Thomas an Olympic appearance.

Miller will take a shutout streak of 111:38 into the gold-medal game. Thomas allowed a power-play goal to Antti Miettinen with 5:14 remaining.

Now Finland will try to at least salvage some kind of medal in Saturday's bronze-medal game, in which the Finns will face the loser of Friday night's semifinal between Slovakia and Canada.

I don't want to jinx it, but we all know who is taking home the gold on sunday, right?...lol


Here is a hint...



Olympics are almost over, gosh, I'm gonna miss watching Curling on 10 different channels..