Men 's Gold Medal Hockey Game

Given that probably most of sj will be watching this, I think the game deserves its own thread.

I'm not making any predictions---this sucker is too close to call.

Our biggest decision between now and then is where to watch it: home or at The Goose. The Goose will be absolutely freakin' hoppin.

The Canada/Russia rivalry is officially dead.

Canucks versus the Yanks is the new hockey rivalry.

I can't wait for the puck drop

 

Who'd we decide the pressure was most on?
I vote for Canada, with its goal-tending issue.
(And not wanting to be out-done by the women's team.)

I think Canada is going to win.

 

I can very much see this being a 4-1 or 5-2 type win for Canada. I don't have any solid hockey reasons for that, just a gut feeling.

 

I am hardly a hockey fan and certainly no expert, but that's the same kind of feeling i get.

 

I guess I view a rivalry as 2 teams that don't like each other. Don't see that with USA and Canada. Non the less it's going to be a great game.

 

Tomorrow will be found money for bar owners up here. Sports bars across the country will be packed.

My team's home game has been changed to noon from 2 p.m. to avoid a conflict. If we'd stayed at the original time we would have had a hard time getting officials to work the game, forget about getting fans to come. I'll be wrapping up as soon as I can to boot it to a little house party friends of ours are having.

Canuckistan 4, USA 2

 

I repeat my earlier contention that the U.S. has been the more consistent team overall, and therefore I believe they will win. I haven't seen the U.S. give much away, and I've seen Canada give away plenty.

 

While of course hoping for my home country, I believe the Americans are simply the better team with better goaltending. I do not trust Luongo in the big game. Canada beat a Russian team that has been spoiled by money and barely got by a gutsy Slovak squad. The Americans, on the other hand, destroyed the Finns in just a few minutes, then graciously took their foot off the gas.

 

And that, in a nutshell, is why I have a burr under my saddle on this.

Most of SportsJournalists.com does NOT participate in the NHL thread. Most people in our society need the rules of hockey explained to them . . . oh, but that tharrrr Yoo Ess of Ay is in that tharrr feenal, so yee-haw and whoo-hoo, NOW we're all interested.

Ugh. It's the same crowd that says "I don't like soccer, but now that we won a game in the World Cup, I CARE!!!"

If nationalism annoys me when people say "Support the governent, no matter what!!!" then it annoys me for sports bandwagons.

OK, Rant over.

Canada wins. U.S. goaltending has to break at some point, if only for a period.

 

If the U.S. has believed all along that it could win the tournament, they're in great shape. If the team never *really* believed they were a gold-medal contender, and is just now coming to terms with being 60 minutes from gold, then things could get ugly.