Hockey H-Eh-Day

There is nothing quite like international hockey. Make it the Olympics and throw in the fact that the six best teams were all playing their rivals on the same day and you have a Hockey H-Eh-Day. The day began with Russia vs. Czech and ended with Finland vs. Sweden. Oh yeah the U.S. vs. Canada was sandwiched in between.


The U.S. beat Canada in the Olympics for the first time since 1960. It took retro jerseys, which I am a huge fan of, and a 42 save effort by U.S. Goalie Ryan Miller to take out the Canadians. The 5-3 win secured the group A victory for the U.S. and gave them a first round bye. More importantly, the win gives the team a much-needed extra day off and either the first or the second seed going into the elimination round.

Russia secured first place in group B with a bone crushing win over the Czech team. The turning point in the game was an Ovechkin hit on former NHL star Jaromir Jagr (see it here). The hit lead to a turnover and two passes later a Russian goal. From that point on the score and the momentum was in the Russians favor. It would end in a 4-2 win for Russia and guaranteeing that Russia would join the U.S. in the quarterfinals.

All matchups have yet to be determined, but the elimination rounds begin Tuesday with 8 of the 12 teams in action. The U.S. & Russia will be joined by the winner out of the late game between Finland and Sweden for the top 4 seeds and byes. It will get complicated after that for the 4th seed.
Overall the day was full of excitement and it should only get better as now it is lose and go home. Hopefully, the tournament will lead to more memorable matchups and incredible hockey.