Canada 3, USA 2 (OT)

I had a feeling during the 3rd period. A good, warm, comforting feeling. As Canada hit the post twice in the opening minute, as Sidney Crosby bungled a free and clear breakaway, I felt like the US was being helped, Angels in the Outfield style. Then Zach Parise seemed to confirm this feeling, tapping in a rebound to tie the game with 24 seconds left.

But reality set in. The US had expended all their fuel in a desperate 3rd period, and had nothing left in the tank for overtime. Sidney Crosby got the goal, and will get the glory, but it was only a matter of time before some Canadian beat Ryan Miller, who was as exhausted and spent as Brian Rafalski, and Ryan Suter. I'm having trouble finding a box score with Time On Ice listed, but Raflaski and Suter easily contributed 30 minutes in this game.

As I said, Crosby will get the glory. He has such a boring, vacant personality. He makes Bill Belichick look like Chad Ochocinco. He should really do volunteer work at insomnia clinics and help those people get to sleep.

He's so individually overrated in what is a consummate team sport. And how much do our Northerly neighbors wash his balls? If he were caught raping ducks, the Canadian branches of PETA would laud him as an animal lover. Canadian history books would record him as a civil rights leader who pioneered inter-species unions.

Not to take away from Canada, who won this Gold Medal fair and square, but they nearly lost to Switzerland. They were 1-1 against the US. If not for their 7-3 toppling of Russia, the luster from their Gold Medal would really diminish. And they executed all of this mediocrity on their home soil, on a North American sized rink.

So I guess what I'm saying is that Canada barely limped away with what they were supposed to leisurely stroll away with. They needed overtime to beat a country that features hockey as its 4th sport at best. But if I were Canadian, I'd probably be celebrating it too. What else is there to celebrate up there? 3 more months of winter?



Now to the game. The US shot itself in the foot a few times. That's to be expected from such a young team, in such a big game. The first Canadian goal came from a silly Erik Johnson giveaway in front of Ryan Miller's net. And then there were the countless Offsides calls that stopped US rushes in their tracks.

But there's a great deal to look forward to in 2014. Patrick Kane is 22. Ryan Kesler is 25. Ryan Suter is 25. Zach Parise is 25. Bobby Ryan is 22. Phil Kessel is a douche. The US finished 8th in the 2006 Olympics. They've won Silver in 2010. And they'll once again contend for Gold in '14.



-The Commodore

Olympic Hockey Semifinal Preview

The final four. Kind of surprising. No Russia, no Sweden, no Czech Republic. That's what's so great about this tournament and about the game of hockey. It's played on ice, not paper.

3pm - NBC: USA vs. Finland

OK, now I'm actually pissed about what time these games are on. In earlier rounds, I tolerated the 3pm starts, because what else would you do with 3 or 4 games on a day. But now with only two games, they easily could have put this game on at 5pm, or even 6. Give US fans on the East Coast and Midwest (where most American hockey fans reside) a chance to see the semifinals. And give potential fans of the game a chance to watch it on TV, instead of inevitably ignoring it while they work.

Anyway, to the game. Finland won't blow you away with too many star-studded names, but they are ranked 4th in the world. They did win Silver in '06. They're deep and they're solid. Mikka Kiprusoff in net is outstanding. He's 4th in the NHL with a 2.18 GAA (only 0.02 higher than Miller's), and he's 6th in the League in SV%.

The Finns are also just as hungry as the US. After losing to Sweden in '06, veterans like Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne are starving for that Gold in what could be their last Olympics.

I think the Finn's experience helps them win a close, tight-checking game. I see a 3-2 win for the Finnish (now do you get the "Finish Him" pic?)

9:30pm - CNBC: Canada vs. Slovakia

Both teams had to fight through an extra round. Both teams have beat the Russians. If Slovakian goalie Jaroslav Halak beats the Canadians, will he ever be cheered by Canadien fans again?

The Slovaks feature players from 4 different Leagues (NHL, Russia's KHL, Swedish Elitserien, and the Slovak Extraliga). But don't let that fool you. Some of those European league guys are NHL veterans like Richard Zednick, Zigmund Palffy and Jozef Stumpel. The Slovaks also have firepower from Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa, and Pavol Demitra.

The Canadians have depth. But they've been inconsistent. So has Slovakian goalie Halak. If both teams decide to show up at 100%, Canada will win decisively. But if Martin Brodeur goes crazy playing the puck, and Halak is on, this game could get very interesting.

I'm rooting hard for the Slovaks, because screw Canada. It'd also be nice to be able to make Canadiens fans weep at the Bruins/Habs game I'm going to on Tuesday. Especially whenever Chara touches the puck.

I have to pick Canada, though. 4-1 to Johnny Canuck.

-The Commodore

Canada Wins Women's Hockey Gold, Then Drinks Beer

The International Olympic Committee is going to "investigate" the postgame celebration of the Canadian women's hockey team. After beating the US 2-0 and winning the Gold Medal, some members of the team celebrated on the ice by drinking beer and smoking cigars.

Who cares? How sensitive are we in sports today? If you're up by too many points, you're supposed to ease off. If you win, there are restrictions on how you can celebrate.

The Canadians did nothing to disrespect their opponent or the game. They were happy to win, and in their exuberance and jubilation, somebody opened up some beers. Do we expect these girls to say "No, I don't want free beer right now. It'd be inappropriate."

There weren't even any fans left in the arena. Just a few photographers and bitter Olympic officials who wanted to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Had they burnt the American flag, then I'd say their celebration went too far. But this is utter nonsense. They're kids, having the time of their life, let them have a beer and a cigar.

-The Commodore

Olympic Hockey Roundup: Day 9

Very interesting day/night of hockey. One game surprisingly close, another surprisingly distant, and a third a surprise result.

USA 2, SWITZERLAND 0

The Swiss held on for 42 minutes and 8 seconds, staving off a relentless US attack. Jonas Hiller was on his game, so were the posts and crossbar. But Zach Parise broke the deadlock on the 3rd, essentially ending the game. The Swiss just weren't going to score. Parise added an emptynetter to make it 2-0. The US outshot the Swiss 44 to 19.

CANADA 7, RUSSIA 3

The scoring started 141 seconds in, and didn't slow down until halfway thru the 2nd. Russia's weakness was their defense. I thought guys like Ovechkin and Datsyuk could keep the puck in Canada's end enough to limit the exposure of that weakness. Incorrect. Corey Perry scored 2 goals, Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and 2 assists, as did Dan Boyle.

FINLAND 2, CZECH REPUBLIC 0

This was a duel between Mikka Kiprusoff and Tomas Vokoun. But the Finns were able to slip one by Vokoun 53 minutes into the game. Kiprusoff's teammate with the Calgary Flames - Niklas Hagmen, scored the goal. Valtteri Filppula added the emptynetter.

SLOVAKIA 4, SWEDEN 3

A shocking result. The Slovaks barely got by lowly Norway. Then they defeat the '06 Gold Medal winners. Sweden never even had a lead in this game, and twice found themselves down by 2 goals. Captain Zdeno Chara had an assist. Marian Hossa had 3 assists. Pavol Demitra scored a goal and had 2 assists. The Slovakians have now beaten Sweden AND Russia. They started slow but not they're rolling.

Semifinals are Friday. The US plays Finland at 3. Canada plays Slovakia at 9:30.

-The Commodore

Olympic Hockey Roundup: Day 1

Some expected results yesterday, as three giants crushed three underdogs. I have to say that I miss the wider European ice surface typically seen in Olympic games. I don't know why, after spending billions to ready their city, Vancouver couldn't temporarily remove two or three rows of seats to make for a wider ice surface in the Canucks' rink.

U.S.A. 3, SWITZERLAND 1

I gave the Swiss a chance in this one, as the US players are either too inexperienced, or too old, with very few falling optimally in between. The Swiss also have Jonas Hiller, who helped propel the Ducks past the Sharks in last year's playoffs.

But the US's depth and talent was apparent in the 2nd period. The Swiss were in a defensive trapping style, which frustrated the Americans' attack (especially on NHL width ice, ironically giving an advantage to a European team). The Swiss had some nice chances, but lacked the skillset to properly aim the puck. They looked like a bunch of Michael Ryders, in other words.

The US will advance to the Elimination Round, but not much farther. They're simply not good enough to score or to prevent talented teams from scoring on them.

CANADA 8, NORWAY 0

The only surprise here is that the game was 0-0 after the 1st period. Jarome Iginla scored a hat-trick, and Dany Heatley scored twice. Crosby had 3 assists, and the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron had an assist.

What I noticed most came after the game. While the Canadian fans celebrated a bit too much (Norway has 0 NHLers and hasn't even qualified for the Olympics since 1994), the Canadian players calmly and cooly congratulated each other. It was as if they were already past this 8-0 win and preparing for their meeting with Switzerland on Thursday. Pretty remarkable considering for 75% of the team, this is their first Olympics.

This is a team deadset on a mission.

RUSSIA 8, LATVIA 2

Ovechkin scored twice, as did KHLer Danis Zaripov. Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist, as did Malkin. This team is loaded with talent, perhaps a bit moreso than the Canadians. They too are on a mission. Canada may be the favorite on home ice, but Russia is the #1 ranked team in the world (IIHF), and hasn't won Gold since they were the "Unified Team" (just after breakup of the USSR) in '92. If Canada is hungry for Gold, Russia is starving for it.

Today's games:
3pm on MSNBC: Finland vs. Belarus
8pm on CNBC: Sweden vs. Germany
12:30am on CNBC: Czech Republic vs. Slovakia

-The Commodore

USA Wins Gold

I don't care if you like hockey or not, if you watched last night's game you would have been captivated by game. USA was able to take home gold over Canada for the first time since 2004 (Canada had won gold ever year since).

Canada was obviously the better team. USA was up 2 goals in the 3rd, but it didn't last long as Canada popped in two goals (which could have easily been 5). It seemed as though USA was done until Carlson beat goaltender Martin Jones on a 3-on-1 after U.S. goalie Jack Campbell made a save at the other end. It was the second goal of the game for Carlson, on loan to the U.S. team by his American Hockey League team in Hershey.

It was amazing, easily the best hockey game I had seen in years. Maybe the reason I was so into it was because Ray Bourque's son is on team USA. I was unaware of that fact until I started watching and did some research on the old IPhone. He seemed like a hell of a player to me, and is definitely something I will keep my eye on over the next couple of years.

Anyways, great game, and I hope at least some of you saw it...

Savard Pissed At Team Canada

"Marc Savard, tanned from a summer off and still thick in the sweet spot of his game on the links, stepped off the driving range prior to the Boston Bruins Foundation Golf Tournament to address a nagging issue: how Team Canada left him off the Olympic orientation camp roster.

"I was pretty upset about it," Savard said. "I feel that I had a chance to at least go to the camp. I didn't really come out and say anything. I had a lot of calls for a couple weeks after that. It's something I didn't want to talk about. I was pretty mad about it. I've had to prove myself over and over again. I'm hoping to get off to a good start. I still haven't counted myself out, so I guess that's all that matters (Boston.com)."

I am not the biggest Marc Savard fan in the world (I think he is a little soft), but he should have at least been invited to the Team Canada camp. He is always putting up good points every year, and really makes everyone around him better. The good news for Bruins fans is that this could fire him up to have an even bigger year then he did last year...hopefully he uses this all as motivation.