The Hit: Matt Cooke goes without a suspension yet

Oh my goodness! I finally have a laptop back! I have missed y'all so much!

The last thing that occurred before we were separated was the final result of the 2010 Winter Olympic ice hockey tournament. Team Canada won the gold medal against the United States in quite dramatic fashion. But we already saw it, we already know, and it was brought up again on the cover of last week's edition of Sports Illustrated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, I thought I'd give mention of the Pittsburgh Penguins' Matt Cooke's "legal" hit on the Boston Bruins' Marc Savard a few days ago. After all, I shall give Boston some love after last night's awesome Dropkick Murphys concert here in DC.

If you haven't seen the hit, here it is:

From about 1:00 to 1:23 they do a slow motion replay of the hit



I'll let you decide if that hit is dirty or not. But I will be the first to say I think that deserved a suspension immediately, and certainly more than two games.

Matt Cooke, first of all, is a repeat offender and known for being a dirty player. He was suspended two games last season for another headshot incident against then-Carolina Hurricane Scott Walker. There have been other occassions where Cooke has made a questionable hit on players i.e. (you may hardly remember but) the hit on Vincent Lecavlier when Cooke played for the Washington Capitals.

Putting past incidents aside and just based on the hit itself, there are plenty of things that show there should have been a suspension. There was no intent by Cooke to avoid Savard after Savard took the shot. While it would have been difficult for Savard to move out of the way of a looming Cooke, Cooke had time to take a extra step to the side or so to get out of the way of Savard.

While the argument that NHL disciplinarian, Colin Campbell, gave stated that there were no flying elbows, Cooke seemed to have raised his left elbow a little bit while passing Savard. Had he not intended to hit Savard, there would be every effort to tighted his elbow to his own body.

He was finishing a check? I think not. That check need not to have happened to begin with. Had I been coaching a group of kids, there's no way I would let my players hit a player in that situation in that manner when there is a way to avoid it. Cooke's check/take out would have had no impact on the play; therefore, I deem it unecessary. I would not advise my players to make an unecessary check when there would be maximum four other more plausible options on the ice.

I could go on and on about why I hate this hit and I think it deserves some kind of suspension. The best justification for a sspension to me though is that Cooke is a repeat offender. This way, it's not just a "knee-jerk reaction" to suspend him, which I would say to a first-timer (*cough* like they do to Ovechkin *cough*). Headshots>knee hits

The NHL has to stop these kinds of hits. Concussions are a huge risk, and there have been a lot lately. And I do think that the David Booth hit earlier this year on Mike Richards deserved a suspension too, so I wouldn't be a hypocrite.

Like I said, I'm not the disciplinarian here. I'm just a well-versed hockey fan that has no role in the NHL and its decisions. So whatever I say has no bearing on what happens aka it doesn't really matter. I know this. But I'm still going to complain because I can.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you REALLY missed me, don't worry, I'm still on here, Crashing the Net. But I also write for TheHockeyWriters.com, listed as the Washington Capitals correspondent. I do hope you all check it out and feel free to comment there as well.

USA for the Gold

The Americans are kicking global ass in the Winter Olympics, leading the world with 32 medals and 8 gold medals. Next in line, the Germans, are 12 back with 20 medals. So it's pretty clear that the United States is awesome in sports.

Team USA can do no worse than silver after they throttled the Finnish 6-1 in today's semifinal match. The United States will be aiming for the gold, however, to add to the country's totals on Sunday. We are currently waiting on their opponent, who will come out of the Canada/Slovakia match later on tonight.

I've emphasized it all week, but now that it has been confirmed that Team USA is in the gold medal game, Americans can really get their hopes up.

I hesitated to get amped for the Americans playing in the final because of how inconsistent almost every team in the Olympic tournament looked. Teams like Canada, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and especially the Russians should have blown teams like Norway, Latvia, Switzerland, and even Slovakia out of the water. However, that was not the case.

The Russians got a whipping from Canada, losing 7-3; Sweden lost to the elderly... er, aged Slovakian team; Canada struggled heavily offensively until the Russian game; and just to throw it out there, Switzerland lost expectantly, but gave a LOT of teams trouble, thanks to goalie Jonas Hiller.

The United States was supposed to be growing and building toward the next Olympics - well, in the eyes of the public. Even I fell for that trick. But Brian Burke, forever unsatisfied with the team's performance despite the USA being the top seeded team in the tournament, had other plans. Burke stated from the start that they would be competing for the gold medal. I laughed it off, but look where Team USA is!

In regards to the final game, Team USA will play either Slovakia or Canada. I would say I'm pulling for Canada because I'm loving the hatred from my normally loving Canadian friends. However, think about it: would you WANT to play Slovakia if they beat Canada? I wouldn't want to.

So for all purposes, let's say Luongo and Team Canada play the United States. Luongo has indubitably been the best goalie for Canada. He is seemingly impenetrable, but if the United States were to start the game similarly to the one they played today, that would be ideal.

Of course, I hardly see the Americans getting six goals in ten minutes likely against Luongo. But if Team USA could score as quickly and early as they did against Finland, maintain the same pressure and momentum on the Canadians, the United States would be set for a victory.

I would advise Team USA to keep a level head, and to prepare for the toughest match yet in this tournament.

I'm ready, and so are my hockey watching buddies...

In fact, you could be just as ready as I will be by following this fun little set of "Games".
Just check it out. It's hilarious.

Gotta say though, I LOVE hockey. These are reasons why. GO TEAM USA!

USA Defeats Switzerland 2-0

If you thought the USA vs. Canada game was thrilling, then you were peeing in your pants watching the United States barely but surely earn the victory against the Swiss by a score of 2-0.

The game was a very fun and exciting game to watch from the standpoint of a fan. It was scoreless until the last second of the second period... well, we thought the tie was broken. Unfortunately for the Americans, time had expired before the puck crossed the line, so the goal was disallowed.

A few people's nerves were worked up after that incident, and were worried that Team USA wouldn't be able to penetrate the Swiss wall that was Jonas Hiller and might lose.

The third period had another instance where the puck went into the net. This time... it was the same result. USA goal was disallowed, except this time, it was because Ryan Kessler interfered with Hiller. This came right after Switzerland also had a disqualified goal because the puck went off the inside of the post, and never crossed the line.

Team USA disproved all critics though, as Zach Parise of the NJ Devils finally scored about 2 minutes into the third period.

For the rest of the game, however, the game went back and forth between possessions. Both teams had quality shots on net at this point, and there were so many power plays. With USA only up by one goal, it was a very nerve-wrecking experience for fans of either side. Anybody could still win this.

Then with about a minute left in the game, Switzerland pulled Hiller and went on attack in the American's zone. USA did a good job of clearing the puck out though, and eventually, Parise grabbed the puck in Swiss territory, and scored the empty next goal with 11 seconds remaining.

From a hockey mind, this game was AWFUL! Exciting still? Yes. But the American power play was atrocious. Not just because they didn't score, but they had such a difficult time setting up their power play. USA struggled with lost pucks into neutral zone, and offensive zone turnovers. The Swiss had a handful of short-handed opportunities, and that's too many for one game.

If the Americans want to prepare themselves for the winner of the Czech/Finnish game and potentially a rejuvenated Team Canada for the gold medal, they are going to have to minimize their mistakes. If the Swiss were that close to scoring on short handed opportunities, imagine a team like Canada getting the same chances.

Thankfully, Ryan Miller has been fantastic throughout the Olympics; whether he was under intense pressure (against Canada - 42 saves) or if he was not challenged (against Switzerland -19 saves). He has been the one source of consistency for the United States, and if all else fails, at least folks can rely on him to keep the score low for USA to make a move.

Team USA can also rely on their faceoff crew, who saved the team in a lot of situations where the Swiss would be in their zone.

We'll be waiting now for the Finnish team to beat the Czechs so that they can play on Friday for the semifinals. I'm ready to watch so let's go!


In other USA news, the USA women's team will play Canada tomorrow at 3:30pm for the gold medal. That wasn't really news, as we all knew the two teams would meet. But we'll see who actually wins the medal. You know how I'll pick... USA!!!!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'd have to say that I am utterly disappointed in the Russia/Canada game. Russia LOST the game 7-4. It was an awful, atrocious showing - or lack thereof - against Canada, who was ready to play. A team who was ready to play facing off against a team that felt like sleeping in a quarterfinal game makes for... a boring ass game like the one we just saw.

Oh well, a tout a leur to Russia. T'was fun we're moving on with Finland/Czech Republic and Sweden/Slovakia. I predict an EXTREMELY exciting finish to this tournament. GO USA!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little shoutout also to Finnish player Lasse Kukkonen and Team Canada's Shea Weber. Word has it they checked out this page and liked it. Whether they read it again is another issue, but hey! They read it once! Ha!

http://baltimore.sportsthenandnow.com/2010/02/alex-ovechkin-russia%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cpinch-hitter%E2%80%9D/ Peep this by the way... this is my first post on Sports Then and Now about the Ovechkin hit against Jagr in Sunday's Czech/Russian game.

Enjoy!

USA defeats Canada - A chance for USA hockey

For the first time since 1960, the United States of America defeated Canada in the men's Olympic ice hockey competition 5-3.

On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" against the Soviet Union, the United States held a lead throughout the whole game to achieve the win.

Ryan Miller had 42 saves in protection of the game, as Canada dominated in offensive onslaught through shots and opportunities to score. His performance exceeded the Canadian attack and kept the Americans in the lead to the victory.

This win not only marked the end of a 40-year drought, but brought hope for the underdog Americans to win the gold medal.

I'll admit. In an earlier post, I didn't have much faith in Team USA regarding hockey. I dismissed the team and thought they had a better chance the next Winter Olympics for silver or gold. Later on, I researched more information on the team and developed more faith in the idea that the USA was good enough to secure a spot to win the bronze medal, at most.

However, with the United States being the only undefeated team in the tournament besides Sweden, they definitely look like the best team to compete for the gold medal. For all of those people who would like to doubt the capabilities of the USA, just check out the record. THEY ARE UNDEFEATED against the SAME teams that Canada lost to. Yes. I am referring to Switzerland.

Of course, I can't guarantee a win for the Americans. That would be just as bad as the elitists saying that a certain team who is playing at home deserves the gold. But I will say that I have faith that they can do it. Thirty years celebration - I certainly hope so.

*Tidbit for the Day*All of Team USA's goals were scored by current or former New Jersey Devils players. :O

Part two coming up later today on the coverage of the win

For the Love of the Game

The Olympic freeze for the NHL is here, and we'll have sometime to relax and enjoy seeing our favorite NHL players in Vancouver.

Sometimes though, I wonder what the Olympics would be like if they reinstated only amateurs into the Games as they did in the early '80s. What would the odds of winning look like for teams like the USA and Canada? Would the involvement of amateurs motivate more players all over the country to reverse the declining numbers of North American players?

It pops in my head that with the decline of North American players comes with the question: What's the point? There are only so many opportunities to play professional hockey, and the goal would be to get the maximum amounts of exposure and pay from doing so. We tend to forget sometimes that kids play hockey just to play hockey.

As mentioned before, the movement toward professional players filling rosters in the Olympics took away the chance for young players to have another aspiration to play hockey - for the glory. No monetary awards are provided for winning the gold medal in the Winter Olympics hockey tournament. You play to win for national pride, and because you love to play hockey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I came across an email sent the other day by Michael Bergen, a science educator from Massachusetts. He saw I was quite a hockey fan from this site, and he just thought he'd pass along a 3 minute 36 second time lapse video of his son, Ross, building an ice rink outside in his backyard.

To some, the video is just a quick tutorial of the process of making a backyard ice rink. So they watch and keep it moving.

However, Ross' father pointed out that the video actually represents more than just the building of a backyard ice rink using wood, tarp, and water. If you notice from watching the video, there's no audience, no whistles, and certainly no sponsors or earned money involved.

Instead, this video expresses how much Ross really just wanted to shoot the puck around. One could bring up that, "He could have just gone to a local ice rink." After all, the guy is in Boston. They should be plentiful...

...But that's missing the point. This rink didn't take 3 minutes and 46 seconds to build. It took a few days of almost non-stop work putting the wood pieces together to create the right shape to balance out the rink. To put the water on the tarp over the wood takes a bit to freeze over. It's not an easy task, and for someone to complete such a task with little help takes a lot of dedication to his or her work.

The end of the video epitomizes the final outcome of Ross' project. It shows that this is all he wanted to do - shoot around. To make the perfect ice rink just so that he could go outside and shoot around or play with some friends whenever shows that there is a love for hockey that you cannot live without - literally. As a die-hard hockey fanatic myself, I can entirely relate to this.

Michael asked me, "Isn't it time that we look at sports like we used to as kids?"

And it is. You remember going out to the closest place with hoops to ball for hours when nobody was watching. You remember going out to the tennis courts and skating out on roller blades to play a little shoot-around even though it was against the rules. You just played just to play.

So here's a HUGE shoutout to folks like Ross out there who will always love the game, and build their own rinks in their backyards to show for it. Dedicated people for sure. And trust me, it can be done in the DMV.

If sports could be brought back to this simple form, amateurs playing for the USA would be a possibility once again, and as a result, it could stir more North American kids playing hockey.


Special thanks to Michael Bergen for allowing me to do this story on his son, Ross, and his video. Thanks guys.

Happy New Year with the NHL Winter Classic!

Welcome to 2010! The NHL welcomed back its fans and viewers today, January 1st, with the annual NHL Winter Classic. The 2010 game was played in Fenway Park and featured the Boston Bruins against the Philadelphia Flyers in a snowy and cold atmosphere of over 38,000 fans.

This year's Classic was one of the more lower scoring games, although with the number of chances by both teams throughout the entire 60 minutes, it could have been higher. Regardless, it was a very energetic and well-defended game.

In defense (no pun intended), the goalies did what they were supposed to do, which was stop the puck, and that they did.

The Flyers began the game well, with Flyer Dan Carcillo winning the fight against Bruin Shawn Thornton scoring the first goal early into the second period past Tim Thomas. They continued the momentum through the rest of the game, keeping up chances and taking shots.

Then, after a few power plays in Boston's favor to create opportunities for their own offense, with about 2 minutes left in the game, down 1-0, the Bruins, old man Mark Recchi put one in to tie the game.

It wouldn't take that much longer for the Bruins to complete the comeback, as Marco Sturm scored the game-winner in overtime. Bruins ended up winning 2-1.

As a die-hard hockey fan, I LOVE the NHL's Winter Classic. It's such a great national showcase that exposes the game in a unique fashion to casual fans, long-time fans, and the person passing through channels. It's always fun to see more than twice the number of fans that would be at a regular game outdoors in the snow.

And the games themselves always feature intense match-ups with long-time rivalries between franchises. The game has remained competitive as well, as the highest goal differential has only been 2 goals in the 6-4 win by the Detroit Red Wings over the the Chicago Blackhawks last year.

Seeing that this year was in Boston in Fenway Park, I would have no complaints of a Winter Classic game in Yankee Stadium, even though there was already one in NY. There is much speculation of a game there next year featuring the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers. Again, no complaints here.

There are a few more match-ups though that I would love to see.

• Whenever the St. Louis Blues become good again, I would like to see them play against the Colorado Avalanche in Colorado.
  
• After sometime when enough time has passed since the last Red Wings game, it would be fun to watch them play the Avs in Detroit as well, bringing back the old playoff series (Patrick Roy and Chris Osgood fight ring a bell?).
  
• If people in Hartford wouldn't be so opposed to it, the Carolina Hurricanes could play in Hartford, Connecticut against the Caps.
• Of course, there can't be anything wrong with the Toronto Maple Loafs... Leafs playing their intra-province rivals, the Ottawa Senators. They used to meet in the playoffs every year in some serious and bloody 6 and 7 game series.
  
• Likewise, the other intra-province series, Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames should also be fun.
  
• Minnesota would be a great host city. It's always snowing up there! Minnesota in the North Stars jersey facing off against the Columbus Blue Jackets or some relocated team could be entertaining.

I wonder if you could have a Winter Classic in the DMV, like having one at Camden Yards or something...

USA Olympic Team

After the Bruins/Flyers game, the 2010 USA Olympic hockey team was announced. As a player would be announced, some adorable little kids turned around with the name of the player on the back of their jersey.

Goaltenders:
Tim Thomas, 35 (Boston Bruins)
Ryan Miller, 29 (Buffalo Sabres)
Jonathan Quick, 24 (Los Angeles Kings)

Alternate Candidate:
Craig Anderson (Colorado)

Defense:
Brian Rafalski, 36 (Detroit Red Wings)
Ryan Suter, 25 (Nashville Predators)
Paul Martin 28 (New Jersey Devils)
Mike Komisarek, 28 (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Erik Johnson, 21 (St. Louis Blues)
Brooks Orpik, 29 (Pittsburgh Pittsburgh)
Jack Johnson, 23 (Los Angeles Kings)

Alternate Candidates:
Matt Niskanen (Dallas)
Ron Hainsey (Atlanta)
Alex Goligoski (Pittsburgh)
Matt Carle (Philadelphia)
Rob Scuderi (Los Angeles)

Forwards:
Zach Parise, 25 (New Jersey Devils)
Chris Drury, 32 (New York Rangers)
Dustin Brown, 25 (Los Angeles Kings)
Jamie Langenbrunner, 34 (New Jersey Devils)
Paul Stastny, 24 (Colorado Avalanche)
David Backes, 25 (St. Louis Blues)
Patrick Kane, 21 (Chicago Blackhawks)
Phil Kessel, 22 (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Ryan Kesler, 25 (Vancouver Canucks)
Bobby Ryan, 22 (Anaheim Ducks)
Joe Pavelski, 25 (San Jose Sharks)
Ryan Malone, 31 (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Ryan Callahan, 24 (New York Rangers)


Alternate Candidates:
Jason Pominville (Sabres)
David Booth (Panthers)
Scott Gomez (Rangers)
T.J. Oshie (Blues)
Brian Gionta (Canadiens)

Make of the team what you will. There were a number of American players left off the roster; Dustin Byfuglien is one of them. The team, in my mind, lacks size and variation in skill (they all play a similar style). But the USA has a speed advantage and they are very strong in goaltending, with the best goalie this season, Ryan Miller as the starter. The backups should give the team confidence as well.

So what the team could be forced into is a situation to use their speed to find a way through the opposing defense to score a goal or two, and rely on their goaltending to give them a chance throughout the game. A bunch of 2-1, 1-0 games are probably the types of games they can win. Brian Burke says that they're "playing to win" so all we can do is hope this team can perform well enough to do so. *shrug*...

It didn't work out 20 years since the 1980 USA Olympic Gold Medal team - so maybe 30 years? We'll see...