USA has played Russia, Slovakia & Czech, won all 3 of them, Canada's toughest competition has been Finland and it was a OT win. I'd say USA had the better competition this far, but that's just me.
Disagree. Finland is MUCH better than any team the US has faced, and they were able to run up the score against bad teams Slovakia, and only-one-win-in-Olympic-history Slovenia. Czech has been a disaster this year, and they should never have won the Russia game in the first place.
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Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
Watched the first period on a BBC feed, until everyone got tired of hearing about Boo-meester and Vlasich and how they kept running into the plexi. The Brit did go on about a minute rant about Iginla and his presence at the last 3 Olympics, mentioning his golden setup. Found a feed with only the rink sounds, which made for an experience much like being there. Really allows you to create your own excitement.
The game went pretty much as I expected (other than the Latvian goaltending). Canada dominated possession the entire game, but had to work for premium chances due to Latvia collapsing into the middle. A few guys gripping the sticks a bit tightly, but I'm not overly concerned.
Friday evening's game should be some outstanding hockey.
I would love to have a Brit do hockey commentary just to see how that goes.
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Disagree. Finland is MUCH better than any team the US has faced, and they were able to run up the score against bad teams Slovakia, and only-one-win-in-Olympic-history Slovenia. Czech has been a disaster this year, and they should never have won the Russia game in the first place.
MUCH better? Russia was actually ''better'' than Finland, but Rask is up for the task!
MUCH better? Russia was actually ''better'' than Finland, but Rask is up for the task!
Not from my perspective. Finland had better zone time against Russia than they did against Canada, and they carried and completed plays better. Rask was great, but didn't steal a win by any stretch of the imagination. Much like in the Canada v. Finland game, Russia either had difficulty penetrating the Finnish zone, or they had difficulty finishing their plays in the zone primarily because of the very good Finnish checking.
Yes. Finland has been MUCH better than Russia in the tournament, and it has to do with more than just Rask's excellent play.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
We're going to be in tough against USA, I'd go so far as to say we're underdogs.
It's probably good to try and believe this, but I think that tomorrow's game will rightly show that Canada is a better, deeper team than Team USA. It is so difficult to gauge or to assess the play between the two based on their situation in different pools, but I maintain that Canada has had just as good a tournament as the USA to this point, despite their lower goals total.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
I would love to have a Brit do hockey commentary just to see how that goes.
I think you'd be surprised, there are two tiers of domestic hockey leagues and the elite league has regular tv broadcasts on premier sports plus some local teams have radio PBP and commentary. Attendance in some rinks is comparable to AHL attendances.
Not from my perspective. Finland had better zone time against Russia than they did against Canada, and they carried and completed plays better. Rask was great, but didn't steal a win by any stretch of the imagination. Much like in the Canada v. Finland game, Russia either had difficulty penetrating the Finnish zone, or they had difficulty finishing their plays in the zone primarily because of the very good Finnish checking.
Yes. Finland has been MUCH better than Russia in the tournament, and it has to do with more than just Rask's excellent play.
Finland plays a tight game, like grinding their way, but Russia has some serious offensive power, even though they underperformed badly on that area, and if I heard it correctly last night: Weber & Doughty combined have scored more than any forwards in the Team Canada combined. I know it will be a great game, and I'm not saying that USA will win, but I won't be surprised if they do. I don't think Finland would have been in this tournament anymore without Rask, so it's a big chunk of Rask's excellent play.
^
I already said that I also will not be surprised if Team USA wins tomorrow night. However, I do take issue with the perception I have seen in this thread from many that they are clearly playing at a higher level than Canada, and are presently the better team. I still think that Canada dictates who will win or lose the game: If they play well, they should win.
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Dealing with Everything from Dead Sea Scrolls to Red C Trolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by woob
"...harem warfare? like all your wives dressup and go paintballing?"
I think you'd be surprised, there are two tiers of domestic hockey leagues and the elite league has regular tv broadcasts on premier sports plus some local teams have radio PBP and commentary. Attendance in some rinks is comparable to AHL attendances.
Thats awesome, is there any that I can listen to?
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If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
We most certainly are not underdogs against the US.
Who's the defending gold medal champs? Who's allowed the least goals against? The Americans have been leakier than us in the tourney, despite scoring more goals.
And this isn't going to be a euro style game, it'll be end to end. And we have better and deeper talent for such a game.
Be prepared, USA will likely win by a healthy margin. Canada is basically the same team as 2010 with a worse defence. Their up-and-comers (Tavares, Stamkos, Giroux) have been wiped out. The defence has replaced Niedermayer and Pronger with Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester.
Meanwhile the US has improved with Kane Kessel and Suter elite NHLers now.
I'm thinking 4-1 or 3-0 USA.
