Common Man Monday

Americans,

Tons of hockey was played this past weekend and I will do my best to bring you up to speed, in chronological order

The day was Friday, February 19 and there were three games to be played:

Game 1: Sweden v. Belarus
The defending gold medalists controlled this game from the start and when the Swedes are in control, there are few teams that can hang with them. When it was all said and done, Sweden came out on top 4-2 to move to 2-0-0-0 with 6 points and a possible #1 seed going into the final tournament. Goals for Sweden came from the Ottawa Senators' Daniel Alfredsson (2), hometown Vancouver Canucks' Daniel Sedin and Detroit Red Wings' Johan Franzen. Goals for Belarus came from Dmitry Meleshko (2). Sweden now looks on to Sunday's rivalry and gold medal rematch with Finland.


Game 2: Latvia v. Czech Republic
No contest here. The Czech team buried Latvia to the tune of 5-2, showing that they deserve the #4 seed coming into the Olympics. The Czechs moved to 1-1-0-0 with a total of 3 points and are hoping for a first round bye to the quarter finals. Goals for the Czech Republic came from Montreal Canadiens' Tomas Plekanec, Toronto Maple Leafs' Tomas Kaberle, New Jersey Devils' Patrik Elias, Boston Bruins' David Krejci and the non-folically challenged Jaromir Jagr. Goals for Latvia came from Kristaps Sotnieks and Girts Ankipans.

Game 3: Germany v. Finland
Thanks for showing up Deutschbag. Finland pounds Germany 5-0, 'nuff said. This brings Finland to 1-1-0-0 with 3 points looking forward to their bout with big brother Sweden on Sunday. Goals for Finland came from Carolina Hurricanes' Tuomo Ruutu and Joni Pitkanen, Ottawa Senators' Jarkko Ruutu and Philthadelphia Flyers' Kimo Timonen (2).

Saturday February 20

Game 1: Switzerland v. Norway
The "Passive-Agressive Cup" between two so-called "neutral" countries went to overtime. If you did not watch this game, it was a pretty hard fought contest between the blue lines. I was peering over the top of a 6 lb. cheeseburger from Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, PA as I watched this game. Not a bad game...the Swiss prevailed 5-4 in OT, stealing a point from Norway. Goals for Switzerland came from a bunch of cheese (no NHLers), Julien Sprunger, Roman Wick, Raffaele Sannitz, Severin Blindenbacher and Romano Lemm. Norway got contributions from Tore Vikingstad (3) and Mads Hansen.

Game 2: Slovakia v. Latvia
Just Lat them go home already. Slovakia trounced Latvia 6-0, bringing their record to 1-1-1-0 with 5 points. Goals for Slovakia came from Edmonton Oilers' Lubomir Visnovsky, Richard Zednik, Florida Panthers' Jozef Stumpel, Chicago Blackhawks' Marian Hossa, L.A. Kings' Michal Handzus and Ivan Baranka.

Game 3: Belarus v. Germany
Krauts are not intended to be frozen. Belarus slid past Germany 5-3 on Saturday, improving their record to 1-2-0-0 with 3 points, leaving Germany with 0 points on the tournament. Goals for Belarus came from Alexei Ugarov, Alexei Kaliuzhny (2), Montreal Canadiens' Sergei Kostitsyn and Colorado Avalanche's Ruslan Salei. Goals for Germany came from Florida Panthers' Dennis Seidenberg, John Tripp and Nashville Predators' Marcel Goc.

In the women's games, Switzerland defeated China 6-0 and Russia beat Slovakia 4-2.

Sunday "Day of Reckoning" February 21

Game 1: Czech Republic v. Russia
This was a rough and tumble game, mostly on the part of Washington Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin, who as usual was looking for people skating with their heads down. He found Jaromir Jagr. When this game came to a close, the Czechs could not match the Russian firepower and Russia came out the victor 4-2. Russia moved to 2-0-0-1 with 7 points and the Czech Republic moved to 2-1-0-0 with 6 points. Goals for Russia were from your Pittsburgh Penguin Evgeni Malkin (2), Washington Capitals' Viktor Kozlov and Detroit Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk. The Czech Republic got contributions from Tomas Plekanec and Ottawa Senators' Milan Michalek.


Game 2: the Heavy Weight Bout - USA v. Canada
If you had MSNBC and did not watch this game...SHAME ON YOU FOR 4 YEARS. This was by far one of the most exciting hockey games that I have ever watched in my life. In a game that had 3 break-aways on 3 straight possessions, all watching were constantly on the edge of their seats. Canada was the favorite, but the young, upstart Americans would prove that taking advantage of opportunities is how you win hockey games. Canada out-shot the USA 45-23, but Ryan Miller played arguably the best game of his life to shut the door on 42 of those shots. Martin Brodeur perhaps was a little overzealous in his play and made a few mistakes on which the USA capitalized. The entire game featured heavy hitting and face washing, and even Brooks Orpik dropping Sidney Crosby behind the net on one occasion. For anyone who says "they don't hit in the Olympics," think again. The outcome of this one would be a stunning 5-3 victory for the United States, the benching of Martin Brodeur and about 15,000 angry Canadians in attendance. Goals for the United States came from Detroit Red Wings' Brian Rafalski (2), New York Rangers' Chris Drury, New Jersey Devils' Jamie Langenbrunner and Vancouver Canucks' Ryan Kesler (which was one of the most impressive empty-net goals ever). Canada got contributions from Carolina Hurricanes' Eric Staal, San Jose Sharks' Dany Heatley and your Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby. The USA clinched a bye to the quarterfinals and the #1 seed with their 3-0-0-0 record and 9 points. Canada will play Germany tomorrow at 7:30 pm. If you missed this game, I highly suggest you find someone who TVo-ed it and pyrate that shizz.

Game 3: "Brother Battle" Finland v. Sweden
Big brother Sweden proved to be too much for little brother Finland in the gold medal rematch from Torino. The second language of Finland is Swedish, but the second place in the pool goes to Finland. Sweden comes out with a 3-0 win and a 3-0-0-0 record with 9 points to grab the #2 seed. Finland moved to 2-1-0-0 with 6 points. Goals for Sweden came from Dallas Stars' Loui Eriksson (2) and Washington Capitals' Nicklas Backstrom.

The end result from the weekend's games are the seeds for the medal tournament and they are as follows:
1. USA
2. Sweden
3 Russia
4 Finland
Canada plays Germany for the right to play Russia, Belarus and Switzerland play for the right to play the USA, Latvia plays the Czech Republic for the right to play Finland and Norway plays Slovakia for the right to play Sweden.

If you love hockey, then you're loving the Olympics as much as I am.

and the home of the brave,
B Brog