Comments on: WJHC 2011 GDT – Canada 3, Russia 5 – Gold Medal Final – 2011-01-05 @ 5:30PM MST – TSN

By: oilinblood

oilinblood — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 05:09:34 +0000

Hey Rack… was i the only one at 3-2 that recalled KEvin Lowe from Boys on the bus talking about momentum swings in hockey regarding Philly coming back in game 6 to force the game 7 conclusion of the film? I kept hearing him say “it comes at you, and it hits you, and its gone”. That was some of the sloppiest hockey i had ever seen in those 20 minutes. Even in the 4 minutes the canadians couldnt even keep the puck on their stick when no russians were on them. Thats letting the tiger out of its cage. DEfenses backing up up up….
I dont think Canada disrespected Russia or thought the game was done. I believe it was simply a matter of the canadians getting away from the work ethic and tenacity that got them where they were and in 11 seconds they became shell shocked and were on egg shells there after. Unable to cope with the pressure and with immortality for all the wrong reasons staring them in the face, they end up becoming a coaches favorite story/example to provide their players in importance of maintaining structure, discipline, and execution of the game plan.
Coaches all over hockey will use and thank this example…for maybe a century. oooooooo thats rough.

BTW WhoTF was it that shot the slap shot at the russians well after the whistle? CLASSLESS/ shoot it at yourself.

As far as the poll question for top pick of 2011… none. Nobody for the 2011 draft class has looked even stamkos worthy. personally i dont think theres the usual elite player in this draft class–they are all risks.

RE: HEmmer lady. This is why i feel you should always play hard regardless of score. in my mind its more disrespectful, even in a blow out, to go easy or ease off than it is to run a score up (final 5 minutes with a 5+ lead you can rest your top guns…but even then miracle on manchester). never give your opponent breath. Also, in the end the biggest lessons are learned thru lots and lots of adversity.

BTW … i hope everyone got home safe after watching the game. my neighbor just got home…but thought our house was his. I am 99% certain he took a cab–and not his own. Damn cookie cutter neighborhoods
“no wonder my key wasnt working”
“youd think you would have noticed the paint difference…or…the lack of 4 different family cars (2 of which are cabs) in the driveway.”

By: hemmerlady

hemmerlady — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 05:01:48 +0000

We played terribly for the first half of the third I thought – I was totally stunned by some of the defensive lapses we made, and the Russians’ unbelievable hunger and energy capitalized on it. I think the timbits, albeit temporarily, fell prey to some overconfidence and started thinking too far ahead. I think they heard the anthem playing before they got to the final buzzer. I’m really disappointed, but it happens…they’re young. It just goes to show how much you always have to respect your opponent.

By: LateNightOilFan

LateNightOilFan — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:36:54 +0000

So all I saw was the 3rd period – ouch – big time ouch. Quite the life & sport lesson for the Canadians. Props to Russia for coming back 3 games in a row, they deserved the Gold.

By: Racki

Racki — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 03:40:42 +0000

Agree with all but the last period. I don’t want to get into the negative stuff towards the Canadian team. But anyways, this is good for Russian hockey, which as you said, is good for hockey itself. And while the Russians dove a lot, I notice the Canadians do it a lot more now too (groan).

By: oilinblood

oilinblood — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 03:22:31 +0000

As patriotic as i may be, i was happy the Russians made it this far and before the game i felt they would be the only team i would accept losing to. Those feelings had nothing to do with skill as much as the fact that russia has been killing their development and grass roots systems lately. Canada needs RUssia, I dont want to see mens junior hockey turn into the womens hockey international circuit where only a few teams are competitive.

Apart from Russian habits of diving badly and embellishing (poor sportsmanship all around), i do hope the Russian hockey system gets stronger because then i can watch the fruits of those efforts in NHL hockey games.

IN the third period the russians won all the battles, canada looked like they were running on fumes, and the canadians i dont think ever had one good shift in the closing out effort.

The biggest choke in international amateur hockey, not just junior hockey.
Leaves a bad taste in your mouth but when you collapse so completely… you dont deserve even the silver. 5 in a row. good luck next year. Sad.