James across the Pond Posted 26 December 2012 Posted 26 December 2012 Any fans here? Being the Canadian that I am, I've been looking forward to this for months being that there's an NHL lockout and whatnot. Canada whipped Germany 9-3 in their opener, looking forward to the States and Russia matches.
Jordan Posted 26 December 2012 Posted 26 December 2012 Any fans here? Being the Canadian that I am, I've been looking forward to this for months being that there's an NHL lockout and whatnot. Canada whipped Germany 9-3 in their opener, looking forward to the States and Russia matches. I will miss most of the games because of time difference. I'll watch what I can and will hope for an improvement upon last year's performance by the USA (which was actually atypical of how we have recently fared at the World Juniors). The World Juniors is a big deal in Canada, and the media coverage of the tournament north of the border is outstanding. And yes, with this cursed lockout, ya gotta get your hockey fix somehow. I heard Yakupov wasn't on the ice for a big late power play for Russia today, which is odd. They won in OT anyway, though. No doubt Canada will be looking for serious revenge against Russia on their home ice--that semifinal game in Calgary was crazy last year.
James across the Pond Posted 27 December 2012 Author Posted 27 December 2012 Yak was pretty unknown but for an assist. And yes, the time zone difference is a killer. Might have to rely on the reruns during primetime. I expect the states to be right up there this year. Canada/Russia/US rounding up the medals, typically (in that order? Perhaps...)
Alexikokopops Posted 27 December 2012 Posted 27 December 2012 How are Finland in this? I have a Finnish friend who loves her hockey and have watched a few World Championship (or whatever it's called, I can't remember) matches with her. Do Norway have a team? I have a Norweigan boss so I want to feign interest so I can mock him if Norway lose.
Jordan Posted 27 December 2012 Posted 27 December 2012 Yak was pretty unknown but for an assist. And yes, the time zone difference is a killer. Might have to rely on the reruns during primetime. I expect the states to be right up there this year. Canada/Russia/US rounding up the medals, typically (in that order? Perhaps...) I would be pleased with bronze. I'd have to say Canada and Russia are the top two teams this time, but USA is good enough to contend for a medal. We tend to underachieve (at all levels) when tournaments are played in Europe rather than North America. USA plays Germany while I'm at work, but I'm leaving early today so I may DVR the game. I'm desperate for hockey, man! How are Finland in this? I have a Finnish friend who loves her hockey and have watched a few World Championship (or whatever it's called, I can't remember) matches with her. Do Norway have a team? I have a Norweigan boss so I want to feign interest so I can mock him if Norway lose. The Finns have a solid but young team, and they spanked Latvia yesterday. The consensus is they will finish 2nd in the group behind Sweden, and have a decent shot at finishing in the top four (they finished 4th last year). The World Juniors and the World Championships are big deals in Finland, and Finns went absolutely nuts when they beat Sweden to win the 2011 World Championships. I, too, have a Finnish friend that loves hockey and is mad about the "Leijonat," and we usually tend to reconnect right around the time of any major hockey tournament, which is no coincidence. Norway isn't playing in the top division of the World Juniors this year, but I just checked the results from Division I and saw that they won their group and have thus won promotion to the top division of the World Juniors, which means they will play in this tournament next year. I'm a big New York Rangers fan, and we started getting a lot of attention from Norway a couple of years ago after we signed the diminutive Norwegian winger Mats Zuccarello-Aasen. I'm pretty sure that, for two seasons, the most hits outside of the USA on the Rangers' website came from Norway--even more than Canada and Sweden (home to our great goalie and resident fashionista "King" Henrik Lundqvist) He just used the Zuccarello part of his surname here, and he was quickly nicknamed "Frodo" due to his uncanny resemblance to Elijah Wood.
Alexikokopops Posted 27 December 2012 Posted 27 December 2012 The Finns have a solid but young team, and they spanked Latvia yesterday. The consensus is they will finish 2nd in the group behind Sweden, and have a decent shot at finishing in the top four (they finished 4th last year). The World Juniors and the World Championships are big deals in Finland, and Finns went absolutely nuts when they beat Sweden to win the 2011 World Championships. I, too, have a Finnish friend that loves hockey and is mad about the "Leijonat," and we usually tend to reconnect right around the time of any major hockey tournament, which is no coincidence. Norway isn't playing in the top division of the World Juniors this year, but I just checked the results from Division I and saw that they won their group and have thus won promotion to the top division of the World Juniors, which means they will play in this tournament next year. I'm a big New York Rangers fan, and we started getting a lot of attention from Norway a couple of years ago after we signed the diminutive Norwegian winger Mats Zuccarello-Aasen. I'm pretty sure that, for two seasons, the most hits outside of the USA on the Rangers' website came from Norway--even more than Canada and Sweden (home to our great goalie and resident fashionista "King" Henrik Lundqvist) He just used the Zuccarello part of his surname here, and he was quickly nicknamed "Frodo" due to his uncanny resemblance to Elijah Wood. I remember Finland beating Sweden! My friend was loving that. I also remember her fury when they lost to the US in 2009 Thanks for the update! Seems Norway are doing better than I was hoping
Jordan Posted 27 December 2012 Posted 27 December 2012 I remember Finland beating Sweden! My friend was loving that. I also remember her fury when they lost to the US in 2009 Thanks for the update! Seems Norway are doing better than I was hoping Surely she was even more furious the next year, when the USA destroyed Finland in the Vancouver 2010 Olympics semifinal, going up 6-0 within the opening 10 minutes The Finns knocked us out of the Worlds last year, though. But nothing can capture the Finns' attention quite like their games against Sweden. They could play the Swedes on a frozen pond, and people would be out celebrating on the streets of Helsinki if they won. USA destroyed a poor German team today. However, it's only going to get more difficult for them, starting tomorrow when they play Russia. The Americans have a deep team (especially on defense) but they're a little undersized at the forward positions.
Jordan Posted 2 January 2013 Posted 2 January 2013 Canada vs USA and Sweden vs Russia will be the semifinals as the consensus top four teams will play for medals. Canada vs USA was a great game with some excellent goaltending--Gibson will have to be sharp once again for us. The Swiss took Russia to a shootout today, but the Russians were able to advance. Unlucky for Switzerland, who were an awfully tough opponent for everybody in Ufa. The Finns fizzled out after a bright start, but they should avoid relegation. 4:00 a.m. start for Canada vs USA tomorrow
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