Slovakia - A Dark Horse?

Slovaki-who?

After a dominant game against Russia, Team Canada now faces Slovakia. But don't be surprised if this game goes down to the wire.

Slovakia has a strong lineup, and has been taking down some tough competition. They Beat the Russians in in the preliminary round (in a shoot-out).. and upset Sweden in the quarter finals.

The Skinny:

Coverage on CTV, Game Time 9:30 Eastern. Winner moves on to Finals (versus winner of US/Finland)

Slovakia plays a very defence game, and capitalizes on your mistakes (New Jersey says hi). They have also had solid goaltending with Jaroslav Halak.

Their lineup is strong, with 13 NHLers (To see Slovakia's Roster, Click Here). Some big names include Marian Hossa, and Marian Gaborik.

The defensive pairing of Zdeno Chara and Andrej Meszaros have been shutting down some top offensive players (including Ovechkin). The pair will likely have a ton of minutes tonight.

Also, watch for ex-NHLer Ziggy Palffy (after leaving the NHL a few years back, he has been tearing it up in Europe!)

Bring it Canada!

GO CANADA GO!

Wow! 7-3 Against the Russians...

WE DOMINATED THIS GAME!

I expected a lot more out of the Russians. I will even admit, I thought the Russians would win.

Was I wrong or what!

Canada dominated the game, every period, every shift. Top to bottom, this was a rock solid game.


WOMEN AGAINST THE U.S. FOR GOLD TONIGHT!

I won't offer any real comments for this game, as I have not watched any of the previous wins by the Ladies...

However, the stats show they have been dominant... so I will expect nothing less ;)

Go Canada Go!

On to Russia

Wow, really came together as a team last night against the Germans. Canada will now face Russia in the Quarter Finals.

The Skinny:

CTV, Loser Goes Home, Game Time 7:30 eastern.

Players to Watch:

Iginla has been on FIRE! When the tournament started he was designated to the 4th line. But a hat trick in game 1, followed by solid play has bumped him to Crosby's wing with Staal. Iginla now has 5 goals through the tournament. This line will need to click for us to beat the Russians tonight.

Ovechkin. The way he plays is contagious. Other players feed off the energy he brings. Watch for Ovechkin (as always) to be a dominate force. If Alexander the Great gets a big hit, I say Russia wins.

Is it just me, or could the Canadian defence really use Phaneuf right now!

This game may come down to who's defence can limit the most chances. Both team's forwards will be creating a huge number of chances. So who's defence will stand up to the challenge? I guess we will find out tonight!

GO CANADA GO!

Canada's Last Chance!

This is it!



Our last chance. Canada faces Germany tonight. If we win, we move on to the quarter-finals versus Russia.



If we lose...... let's not think about that...



The Skinny:







Luongo is in net (I say it is about time). Game time is 7:30 Eastern. Coverage on CTV.



This should be an easy win for Canada. It should be! Germany has yet to win a game.



It also looks like they will shuffle the lines tonight, with Staal being bumped up to the first line with Crosby and Iginla. Nash (who has been playing well, but not scoring) will be playing with Getzlaf and Perry.



Here we go folks. It's Gold or BUST!!!



GO CANADA GO!

Grabovski in Jail!

Wow..... after 147 games in the NHL, Mikhail Grabovski has finally thrown a punch!

I guess Mr. Grabovski was at the Olympic games, and decided to watch his Belarusian team face Sweden.

This is where the story gets murky.....

Some reports have him at a bar, others say he was on the street. Somehow he got into a fight (I assume with a pair of over-exuberant Swedish twins that may live/work in Vancouver) and threw a couple of punches.

Police stepped in, and he was thrown in jail overnight to think things over!

Mikhail has been involved in a few altercations (see pushing a ref, and slapping Jason Blake in practice videos) but never any full-out brawls.

I had a quick look, at hockeyfights.com, they don't even have him listed.

I only wish Grab-o would bring some of this intensity to the ice!

http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/769387--police-continue-probe-into-grabovski-s-arrest






Grabovski Pushes Ref!






Grabovski "fight"

Olympic Leafs

For all of you people willing to admit to being a fan of the Toronto Maple Leaf fan... (all 5 of us), I have done a bit of research.

Here are the stats for Leaf players in the Olympics (as of 2 o'clock Feb 18. I will try to update this list after a couple of more games.



The list is short!

*For those of you who don't know the name Korbinian Holzer, he is a Leafs prospect in Germany.

Analysis

Now I really don't think expectations are very high for most of these players.

Tomas Kaberle is playing on a Czech team, that may surprise a few people, but is not a medal favorite. You may see Tomas rack up a lot assists, especially on the power play, as he feeds Jagr for tap-ins.

Korbinian Holzer is a young German (22 years old) who will likely only play in the 3rd defensive pairing. To me, he is in these Olympics just to get the experience (he is the future for German hockey). Keep an eye on Holzer, as the 6'3" 200lbs defender could head to the Marlies in the next few years.

Jonas Gustavsson will dress for a pretty stacked Swedish team, but don't expect him to get a lot of minutes. Much like Holzer, he is here for the experience. If he does get some ice time, I would expect his Goals Against to be low as Sweden's defence is SOLID! (Ohlund, Murray, Lidstrom, Kronwall, Enstrom, Oduya, Tallinder, and Johansson).

Finally, Phil "the snipe" Kessel. Brian Burke has tried to make team USA the underdog in this tournament (thus expectations are a little bit lower). Kessel will be expected to score goals, but being on the second line the pressure falls a little more on Parise, Statsny and Kane. However, if the first line isn't clicking, watch for Kessel to get more ice time.

For updated results... check out http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-hockey/schedule-and-results/men_ihm400000nUSA-vtour_team_stats-SF.html

GO CANADA GO!

No UFC in Ontario..... Eh?

And now for something completely different than the Olympics.

It looks like the UFC will not be coming to Ontario anytime soon.



Poor Decision



Now I am not a big fan of the "Mixed Martial Arts", but this is just common sense.

MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in North America, and thousands, dare I say MILLIONS, would tune in to a "Battle Royale" at the Sky Dome Rogers Centre.





Perhaps Dalton McGuinty Should fight Kimbo Slice to make the decision!



The provincial government has been mulling this over for a while now. The debate stems from the Criminal Code... which states "Prize Fighting" is "technically" "illegal". But a province can overturn that ruling and allow it.

My question, is what constitutes Prize Fighting... Why is boxing allowed (does anyone still follow boxing?) and MMA not?

Would you stop Muhammad Ali from fighting?





So, good folks of the world, I leave the question to you.

Should UFC/MMA be allowed into Ontario?


POST YOUR VOTE IN THE COMMENTS, AND INCLUDE YOUR REASONING!

Chris Pronger: The Last of His Kind!

As the Men's Olympic Hockey gets underway tonight, one Canadian player will look a little different. Behemoth defenceman Chris Pronger will be the only Canadian player without a visor.




Behemoth..... and Pronger.... See the resemblance?


The Olympic rules state anyone born after December 31st, 1974 has to have a protective shield.... and Chris Pronger is the only player who has blown out enough candles to go visor-less...





An Early Visor... also known as a Beaver...




My question to you..... was anyone going to high-stick Pronger? The man is 6-foot-6, 225 lbs monster!!! Even if you could reach his face, your stick would likely break on his stone cold face.




Stone Cold




GO CANADA GO!!!