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View Full Version : Recap: Men's Hockey Feb. 24



gusman
02-25-2010, 09:09 AM
The Globe and Mail

United States 2, Switzerland 0

What happened: What didn't? It may have been the most eventful game of the tournament thus far, if only for the crazy bounces, close calls and disallowed goals that eventually translated into a narrow victory for the Americans, who dominated play by a wide margin, but needed a third-period power-play goal by Zach Parise to win a thriller. The U.S. held a 32-8 edge in shots at the end of the second, and thought they'd broken the ice then when Switzerland goaltender Jonas Hiller - in a move reminiscent of Tommy Salo some years ago - knocked a puck up in the air, off his shoulder and into his own net just as the buzzer sounded to end the second period. Replays showed however that the puck was squarely on the goal line as time expired, meaning the teams went to the dressing rooms still tied at 0-0. On Parise's game winner, early in the third, it was another adventure for Hiller, who made the original save, but couldn't corral the rebound and watched as it helplessly dribbled over the line. Hiller who'd been so good up to that point, looked as if the fatigue of playing twice in two days finally had caught up to him. At the other end, Ryan Miller had a relatively quiet day of it in the U.S. goal. He was beaten on one play - by Switzerland's Sandy Jeannin early in the third - only to have the puck bounce off the inside of the post and roll tantalizingly across the goal line before America's Ryan Kesler cleared it to safety. Seconds later, the Americans had a goal by Ryan Suter waved off after Kesler received a penalty for highsticking Swiss defenceman Mathias Seger on the play. Parise iced the game with an empty netter with 11.2 seconds on the clock.

What it means: The U.S. survives to play another day. As one of the last four teams standing, they will get two chances to play for a medal, either the bronze if they lose Friday's semi-final match, or for gold, if they advance to play Sunday. The U.S. last won a medal (silver) in the 2002 Olympics, a year in which they fell to Canada in the championship final.

What's next: As the top seed, the U.S. will meet Finland on Friday in the tournament semi-finals, with the victor moving on to play for the gold medal. For the second consecutive Olympics, Switzerland exits the tournament in the quarter-finals.


Russia 3, Canada 7

What happened: It was the game of Canadian hockey dreams. Against a Russian team stacked with superstar talent, the Canadians simply dominated every aspect of the game from the opening face off. They built a 3-0 lead within the game's first 13 minutes, which kept the volume loud inside Canada Hockey Place. Most importantly, every time the Russians got on the board, the Canadians responded immediately. After Canada made it 4-1, Canada never had less than a three-goal lead again. Six different players scored for Canada which chased Russian goaltender Evgeni Nabokov from the net with the score 6-1 just over four minutes into the second period. Russia's big line of Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin counted one point, an assist for Malkin on the third Russian goal.

What it means: Blowing out the Germans on Tuesday is one thing. But doing it to the Russians speaks volumes about the Canadians' firepower. Since losing to the Americans, Canada has outscored its past two opponents by a 15-5 score. Not a bad way to head into a semifinal battle for a chance to play for gold.

Finland 2, Czech Republic 1

What happened: Mikka Kiprusoff outduelled fellow Tomas Vokoun as reigning silver medallist Finland shut out the Czech Republic 2-0. Niklas Hagman scored the winning goal in the third period to break the scoreless tie. With Finland on the powerplay, Hagman deflected a Janne Niskala point shot past Vokoun. Forward Valtteri Filppula scored into an empty net for Finland who has now won three of four career meetings with the Czechs in Olympic hockey.

What it means: Finland advances to the semi-finals where they will face the USA who beat Switzerland by the same 2-0 score earlier in the day.

Sweden 3, Slovakia 4

What happened: What seemed likely to be a low-scoring thriller after a goalless opening period instead became a high-scoring thriller. Slovakia took a 2-0 lead early in the second period but Sweden fought back to 2-2. Pavol Demitra's goal near the end of the second period put Slovakia in front for good as it went 4-2 and finally 4-3. It was widely regarded as an upset given that Sweden is the defending Olympic champion but Slovakia had played well in the tournament and many forget the Slovakians blanked the Swedes 3-0 in the 2006 Olympics. Demitra had three points against Sweden, which had given up only two goals in the tournament before Wednesday. Marian Hossa had three assists.

What it means: Nobody is about to take Slovakia lightly but if Canada were given a choice of facing the United States, Finland or Slovakia in the semi-finals it's likely that Slovakia would be the pick.