Team Canada

[birchy]

Was really choked at Brodeur too.. I had some internal conflict about whether or not he should be our starting 'tender this time around. The guy is arguably the greatest goalie of all time at this point, but the rest of the team is mostly made up of the younger talent now.. so why not the goalie as well? I don't know.. Brodeur is awesome, but he seems too inconsistent for my liking. Those were brutal brutal mistakes that noone with his experience should be making! For crying out loud, you have SIX of the best defenseman in the league.. let THEM clear the freakin puck!!

 

I think Luongo needs to start the next game. If he plays well, let him run with it. I'm a huge Fleury fan (since he played for Cape Breton in the Q), but I'm not sure that he's any better than the other 2 at this point (although that was a good point about him just winning the Cup).

[bhurt]

I thought Bourder would be soild for us but like most after the last two games I say get him out of net and put in Lung (Even though I dislike him cause he plays for vancouver, I think he will play alot better then Bourder)

 

As for last nights games, I missed the first period but I gotta say we looked damn good infact the americans looked pretty good too, best game I have watched so far in the oympics.

 

As for the russians I am not too scared of them after they loss to Solvack. I think the team to be feared this year is the americans, but I think if he can get our *hit togather we can also be a force to recon with, only time will tell. Heatly and crosby are looking aswome too.

 

GO CANADA GO

[bigalcal]

The team is full of captains. the "A's" and"C's" mean squat and add one of the best captains ever as GM!!

 

Leadership is not a problem.

 

Winning 4 games in 6 days will be tough, but let's hope the extra game vs Germany will give the team an extra game to gel.

 

Winning in SO vs Swiss is what killed us.

 

Rickr.... Don't you have any "offs" to f**k?

 

(That was a "Rickyism" from TPB's I have been dying to use. Nothing personal !)

[reevesr1]

I can probably find an off.......

 

Can someone please explain to me why it is that Canada always needs all this time to "gel"? It's like every Olympics. Why don't the other nations need time to "gel"? They are a bunch of NHL'ers too, at least the good teams.

 

You have the best players (except possibly Russia). Quit worrying about gelling and go out and win the damn thing.

[yak]

I can probably find an off.......

 

Can someone please explain to me why it is that Canada always needs all this time to "gel"? It's like every Olympics. Why don't the other nations need time to "gel"? They are a bunch of NHL'ers too, at least the good teams.

 

You have the best players (except possibly Russia). Quit worrying about gelling and go out and win the damn thing.

every other team has 6-10 superstars (including the russians and swedes) and a bunch of role players. The stars score and the other guys try to be good defensiveley.

Team canada is superstars from top to bottom (except maybe chris pylon) so a lot of guys have to take on different roles. Thus time is needed for these guys to adapt(see gel) to their new roles as well as new teammates. Canada is the only nation that could easily ice 2 high quality teams for this tourney.

Understand your excitement Rickr as your team just knocked off the tourney favorites but lets not get to carried away. Millers exceptional play and brodeurs/prongers brain farts were the only reason the game ended up as it did. I expect we would have had to beat the ruskys at some point anyways so the only difference is we get a warmup tilt agains the germans

[Smitty]

Simple Rickr:

 

All teams need time to gel. No one has ever said that "gelling" is a characteristic unique to Canada. Its term used for teams like Canada who are 100% NHL'r players, and are used to having linemates and playing a different way.

 

We slap together a team of superstars in short order, and frankly their Olympic life isn't that long in duration. So, the more games you play, the more you can figure out chemistry. This is particularly important for teams like Russia and Canada. Name another team that is 100% NHL? Particularly when the entire team can be composed of 1st line players. Thought not.

 

Patience my friend. Canada will get stronger as the tournament goes on. Frankly we should have could have would have won last night's game. But the morning after, its all lame blah blah blah excuses, so it don't matter. Put Roberto in, and move on.

 

I guess my point is that given the organization and nature of the tournament, I don't ever see Canada as a massive, certain "lock" during the round robin, so unlike all the commentators out there, I don't get my knickers in a knot if we're not 3-0-0-0.

 

Its about playing and winning when it counts. Round robin doesn't count, I don't care what anyone says about having to play an extra game, a "longer, harder road to the gold medal game" blah blah blah. More games the better I say, and so much the better if we have to play Russia sooner than later.

 

Smitty

 

[126barnes]

Round robin doesn't count, I don't care what anyone says about having to play an extra game, a "longer, harder road to the gold medal game" blah blah blah. More games the better I say, and so much the better if we have to play Russia sooner than later.

 

Smitty

 

Except now Canada will have to beat 3 of the best 4 teams in the world to win the Gold.

 

Yes being the Best means beating the Best, but why make it harder on yourself, this is a single elim. tourney.

[Guest Sundancefisher]

In my world the sky is still blue but Canada has not yet played the American team.

 

I just feel better this way. Happier. Less stressed.

 

Please stop posting this falsehood that the US beat Canada.

 

It is just a disturbing lie.

[birchy]

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/news...html?cid=rsstsn

 

Well that answers that..

[Ricinus]

The talent available to the top teams means nobody is a shoe-in anymore. All it takes is determination, a few good puck bounces and a hot goalie for any of the good teams to win. For some reason it takes the our guys a couple of games to realize this and that they have to give 100 percent for 60 minutes.

 

Regards Mike

[Hawgstoppah]

Please stop posting this falsehood that the US beat Canada.

 

It is just a disturbing lie.

 

The refs beat canada. The same NHL refs that are paid to make sure the USA teams get to hoist stanley when it's all said and done. this is just more "let's make hockey popular in the USA" bullsh*t. Canada was getting hooked held and messed with all game yet they put us in the box for the first half of the third period to MAKE F&*(%&N sure the USA had a 2 goal lead going into the final 10 minutes. Pathetic display, same old *hit, different "league".

[reevesr1]

Do you really believe that? Then why even watch?

[Hawgstoppah]

Do you really believe that? Then why even watch?

 

I'm wondering the same thing myself Rickr. Why watch and get ulcers over hockey when I already know the outcome will be tainted and slanted in some way by the asshats in stripes.

[Smitty]

The refs beat canada. The same NHL refs that are paid to make sure the USA teams get to hoist stanley when it's all said and done. this is just more "let's make hockey popular in the USA" bullsh*t. Canada was getting hooked held and messed with all game yet they put us in the box for the first half of the third period to MAKE F&*(%&N sure the USA had a 2 goal lead going into the final 10 minutes. Pathetic display, same old *hit, different "league".

 

I have re-iterate what Rickr says. honestly Brian, what a load of crap; that is just pure garbage. Take Rickr's advice seriously then and don't watch, and keep your reffing conspiracies to the Flames thread.

 

Nothing will be more unbecoming to a host country and Canadian spirit in general than us to behave like a bunch of 2 year older whiners, just because we didn't win the 'big" game.

 

 

Here's what could beat Canada:

 

1) We just simply choke, implode, and don't play well enough to win,

2) The Russians,

3) A hot goalie.

 

We've got a good enough team to win the next 4 straight, and I think we'll do it. If I am wrong, well so be it. But I will say with 100% absolute certainty, the refs won't prevent us from winning gold.

 

Believe it or not, we are in charge of our destiny.

 

Smitty

 

 

 

[Hawgstoppah]

Hey I am not implying that Broduer did NOT suck... and a host of other things mentioned in this thread, but did you WATCH the damn game? From an objective veiwpoint? I counted 75 calls (high sticks, holds, crosschecks, trips, hooks) the refs COULD have made against team USA. I counted 43 they COULD have made against canada. I have the thing on PVR.

 

But no....... 4 penalties for canada and 3 for the USA team. even the NHL.com site is trying to say each team went 1-4 on the PP last night. what a joke. The canadians dominated the game. Our goaltending sucked. And wether or not you want to believe it, the officiating was, as usual, assinine.

[Smitty]

Hey I am not implying that Broduer did NOT suck... and a host of other things mentioned in this thread, but did you WATCH the damn game? From an objective veiwpoint? I counted 75 calls (high sticks, holds, crosschecks, trips, hooks) the refs COULD have made against team USA. I counted 43 they COULD have made against canada. I have the thing on PVR.

 

But no....... 4 penalties for canada and 3 for the USA team. even the NHL.com site is trying to say each team went 1-4 on the PP last night. what a joke. The canadians dominated the game. Our goaltending sucked. And wether or not you want to believe it, the officiating was, as usual, assinine.

 

-sigh-

Yeah Brian, I watched the damn game. You just don't get it. I don't care if the reffing is assinine; been watching and playing hockey for far too long to know that you stand a half decent chance of getting sub-par reffing. So what? You miss the point.

 

The reffing is assinine for both sides. Both sides are "victims" of incompetency. Give your head shake; are you then saying, in your perfect world, where the game is reffed by robots and penalties can be called via replay and hindsight, that 118 power plays (notwithstanding coincidentals) should have been awarded? I'm trying not to shake with laughter. Seriously?

 

[Not going any further down the line of entertaining your whispered conspiracy theories about the refs being paid off to make sure we lose...talk about a roll your eyes moment].

 

My God, if that's the case, I'm glad it comes down to a referee's 'feel' and interpretation and "incompetent" judgement. A game with 336 minutes of power play time would be unwatchable, and you would have succeeded in having the rigid robot referees destroying the sport.

 

I suggest - for purposes of reducing stress - that you join the rest of knowledgable hockey fans in the real world and take the reffing as it comes. We didn't lose in Nagano, Torino, or the World Cup in '96 because of the refs. We lost because we didn't score as many goals as the other team.

 

Analyzing a game to death via PVR won't change the very basic fact that Canada can win gold due to their - wait for it - gasp - ability to win.

 

Enough said by me. But have the last word if ya like.

 

Why don't we talk about the bust Thornton has been, break up this so called dream line of the Sharks, and just throw Dany Heatley up there with Crosby. Now that's a topic worth discussing.

 

 

Smitty

[Castuserraticus]

Hey I am not implying that Broduer did NOT suck... and a host of other things mentioned in this thread, but did you WATCH the damn game? From an objective veiwpoint? I counted 75 calls (high sticks, holds, crosschecks, trips, hooks) the refs COULD have made against team USA. I counted 43 they COULD have made against canada. I have the thing on PVR.

 

But no....... 4 penalties for canada and 3 for the USA team. even the NHL.com site is trying to say each team went 1-4 on the PP last night. what a joke. The canadians dominated the game. Our goaltending sucked. And wether or not you want to believe it, the officiating was, as usual, assinine.

 

When you finish your cop training will you charge every offence you see or will they be graded in severity? You are taking on a pretty similar role (and you'll be able to drive fast cars and shoot things).

[birchy]

I'm going to watch the girls pound Finland into oblivion and hopefully that'll make me feel a bit better..

[Hawgstoppah]

I'm not asking for the officials to call EVERY penalty. But to use discretion wisely. The ratio of calls should have been about 5 USA penalties to 3 Canadian ones if the game was called FAIRLY in accordance with infractions taking place on the ice. So explain to me how the team that got dominated most of the game came out getting MORE pp chances?

 

Don't get me started about law and policing. We're learning all about discretion and fairness, AND we are also learning about situations of discrimination. I am seeing the latter, especially last night.

 

Having said that, we do need to sit broduer down and let fleury or luo have the reigns. I love marty but he showed that he is just not up to backstopping this team this year.

[Guest Sundancefisher]

IMHO

 

In a nutshell.

 

Canada just plain played less as a team and more as individuals. It showed.

 

Compound that with a hot US goalie and a bunch of young yet talented US players that probably had the big pep talk "blah blah blah...you are the underdogs...Canada is the dominant team. Go out and play hard...play fast and hope you make your chances stick...blah blah blah."

 

They played hungry like underdogs do.

 

Canada can win but we need Iggy to get some energy back, Thornton to not be afraid of a hit, goalie to stop the big saves...and Sid to stop losing the puck in front of the net...and Getzlaf to do something...anything...

 

Then IMHO we are unbeatable.

 

Have the faith brother and sister Canadians. Have the faith and together we will vanquish our southern foes.

[Smitty]

I understand where you are coming from Sun, in terms of some specific concerns, but I see last night's game different. There has been some individualistic tendencies, difficult to avoid when you're loaded with superstars.

 

But,

 

I thought last night was one of our strongest efforts, passing wise. Just some terrific passing between our forwards. I might be a voice in the wilderness here, and not to take away anything from a good goalie like Miller, - and a good game by him - but I thought there were more than a few times when we made him look good. Shot placement, particularly going upstairs, was an issue. So I had more issues with the shooting than the passing, IMHO.

 

Smitty

[Ricinus]

Yeah, well our Canadian Team is kicking American Butt in Ice Dance

 

Regards Mike

[Hawgstoppah]

Yeah, well our Canadian Team is kicking American Butt in Ice Dance

 

Regards Mike

 

LOL... whoooo hooo... take that USA!!!!!!

[Smitty]

THAT WAS AWESOME! Scott and Tess were MAGNIFICENT.

ICE DANCE GOLD!

 

And hey, the Americans were awesome too. Apparently, they train and are best friends with our team.

 

(No apologies for watching figure skating.)

 

Originally forced fed from my mom, and then one year dad and I - literally - snuck into the Saddledome on a February night in 1988 and watched Elizabeth Manley win silver. Its an awesome event live.

 

Also, there is no greater pressure in the world than the Olympic ladies free skate. Toughest 4 and 1/2 minutes in sports. Gold medal hockey is nothing (team sport).

 

Smitty

[Hawgstoppah]

I have to admit, watching Virtue and Moir accept those medals was a breath of fresh air. Now that's what Canada is all about!!! I never thought I would sit down and watch ice dancing but I am so glad I did... probably the best 2 hours I've spent in months watching their skate, the few skaters after them, and the medal ceremony. Fan-frikkin-tastic!!

 

You think the hockey players would sing the national anthem at the top of their lungs?

 

(bring back the juniors!!)

 

cheers