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Post by daSilva on May 11, 2003 12:03:54 GMT -5
WOOHOO! GOLD! Canada 3-2 over Sweden in OT. DRAMA! WOW! That deserves a
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Post by Henrik on May 11, 2003 14:15:46 GMT -5
Congrats Canada!! Damn, I wish I could have seen the game.....
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Post by CFF on May 11, 2003 15:50:45 GMT -5
Sure took them long enough to decide whether the OT goal would stand!!
CFF
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Post by Topcontender on May 11, 2003 16:46:29 GMT -5
If the rink and rules were at the NHL standard, Canada and the USA would never loose.
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Post by Henrik on May 11, 2003 17:12:44 GMT -5
TC,
Just what exactly does that mean?
Maybe if the US sent a team with good players it would help.....
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Post by Henrik on May 11, 2003 17:14:15 GMT -5
TC,
Are you saying Sweden, Finland Chzech Rep. and Slovakia suck at hockey? Just how many of their players are pros in the NHL? Strange......
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Post by Topcontender on May 11, 2003 18:10:42 GMT -5
It's the rink size, and some rules that gives the European who grew up playing INtl rules an advantage. In North America NHL rules we grow up playing on smaller rinks and learn to play a physical game. In Intl play the rinks are much bigger giving faster skaters like Fedorov, Jagr, etc a huge advantage. The trade off is Europe has faster better stick hanlders and exciting to watch, and North America has hard hitting, shooters who put your head into the wall.
I grew up playing the canadien way, and always hated playing Europeans teams who would only play in the states if they got to paly thier way with a big rink. The 3 times i got to play my way, we smoked the european teams. I also hold a grudge against INtl play becuase I believe Canada's hockey rules should be THE IntL Rules becuase they invented the sport. I feel that way toward basketball too, I dont like new rules being made. However i admit i am byast.
The big rinks give the skaters an advantage. If you put those guys in a typical NA rink they are in trouble. Also i belive Intl play has no 2 line pass and touch up icing. If i am correct, The 2 line pass is a big help for the intl players since it gives them fast break options.
You can see this in the old NHL allstar game format with NOrth America vs the World. Even without hitting North America won most of the games due to the samll rink and no 2 line pass.
As for ending a good team. I agree with you that we should have more pride and send better players, but unfortuneatly we don't. BTW where did the USA place?
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Post by Henrik on May 12, 2003 1:23:32 GMT -5
TC,
I expected your answer, I suppose mainly because I have had the same discussion before with a few North Americans. Obviously we tend to prefer the sport as we grew up with it, and so my personal preference goes to the international rules, benefiting IMO talent to brutal force. I used to love watching the former glorious Soviet team rule. How they could skate around anything and anybody, outsmarting any player.
Anyway, what I hate is the comment you made that Canada and US would never lose.
About the US, you don't really want to know how they finished. They eneded last in their preliminary group, a group that included Russia, Switzerland and Denmark as well. Denmark? So, they then went on to play the relegation tour. In the end they finished 13th out of 16. I suppose the good news is you finished ahead of Japan at least.....ROFL!!!
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Post by dani on May 12, 2003 3:04:40 GMT -5
yeah! congrats canada, I had just finished blabbing away to my boyfriend that canada is the best!lol! (so if they had lost i would have been gutted! ) I'm often very dissapointed by the world championships. It's just like tennis at the olympics. In my opinion playing for your country is much better than playing for an NHL team in someone elses, but it is true, i'd rather win the stanley cup then a world championship. It's a shame that the sport doesn't make a bigger deal of this international rink difference, saying that it challenges the technical ability of players might encourage a few NHLers to show their stuff on the big rink, in addition, they really should stop fucking around with this and make the world championships at a better time, stop making them coincide with the playoffs, then i feel we would see alot of the top names coming along. I'm constantly depressed when I look at the roster for the world championships, thankfully the guys could come together this year and come through, but it's about bloody time, i find it just horrible that this is the first time in ages that we managed to put a decent team out. Ah well, c'est la vie. As for which style I prefer, just like TC, I grew up the physical way, but luckily enough for me, i didn't really go out of goal much (not at all like patrick roy, maybe that's why i wasn't so great!lol!)most of the time we were playing street hockey anyway! But if hockey is anything like waterpoplo, and it really is, chances are i'd prefer the bigger rink,er...pool, it might have saved me from getting my arse kicked a few times!lol!
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Post by Topcontender on May 12, 2003 6:14:47 GMT -5
Japan!!!!!!!!!! they have the best jerseys in Intl play.
The red army was balls out probaby the best team ever put together. like you said they could skate around anyone, plus they had a few tough guys with them too. I remember they beat the NHL all-stars in a series. I got to see them when i was a kid, but i can't recall if it was the entire Roster
I generalized with NA never loosing. You see it is hard for NA to play when most of thier forchecking is desighned to trap and stop people using the 2 line pass. Eliminating the 2 line pass really takes these neutral zone attacks out of the equation.
Also, big rinks wear me out.
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Post by justan on May 14, 2003 13:06:44 GMT -5
I think NA's are just as skilled as the Euros. Canada had a third rate team at the tourament and they came away with the gold against a team with Sundin and Forsberg on it. Two of the best in the world.
The players are so close in skill levels that with a hot goalie any one of a number of teams/countries could win in a one game winner take all tournament, Canada had the hot goalie this year.
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Post by CFF on May 15, 2003 14:03:41 GMT -5
Getting back to the NHL, the Duck's are looking near-unbeatable (after last night's 4-0 victory over the Wild). Amazing what playing behind a group of guys who want to win can do for a goaltender ... Jiggy never looked anything like that when he was here in Calgary ! I'm not certain how the winner of the west (and it sure looks like the Ducks) are going to match up against the east ..... . If the Ducks keep playing like they have since playoffs started, they could be the upstart winners of Lord Stanley's Cup! On the other hand ... they might well get creamed by the more powerful club(s) from the East .... CFF
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Post by Cine_Man on May 15, 2003 15:32:15 GMT -5
I have to admit I'm developing a soft spot for the Ducks... it probably has to do with rooting for Vancouverite Kuriya. I remember what he did for us at Salt Lake. Its not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dog.
Great thing that Anson Carter got that gold goal in Finland -- too bad for Edmonton that he used up all his "horseshoes" there instead of here....
Cine_...
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Post by Topcontender on May 16, 2003 10:22:04 GMT -5
IF the Ducks move on, Jiggy better almost get the playoff MVP win or loose. that guy has been standing on his head for the playoffs ,and i would be pissed to see it go to someone else,
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Post by CFF on May 17, 2003 13:02:18 GMT -5
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