Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

[Jasmine]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7202 ... l:topheads

Canada lost to Finland 3-2 ~ The Americans lost to the Czechs 4-3

[Josh]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

Geeeez, good ol' North American boys are losing the touch!

[Alfie11]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

I'm not surprised with the USA being out so early because they didn't have that great of a team. Canada had an ok team, though. They should have at least made the semi finals and probably moved onto the finals. Too many players didn't show up this tournament and the goaltending sucked.

[Victor]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

Worlds Championship is probably one of the most useless tournament in every sport. Timing = terrible, every year = why?

Really the only amusement is seeing some upsets (e.g. Latvia beat US and Finland, or France made the QF).

[Dean Ambrose]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

It's okay, Canada won where it matters most.

Seriously, this tournament is fucking stupid, imo.

[Matt the Aussie]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

Why don't they have a IIHF World Cup? Every 4 years like all other major sports in the world?

[Alfie11]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

It's stupid to Canadian's, yes. But around the world, especially in European countries and Russia, this tournament is a pretty big deal. There's no real harm in the tournament - some players get experience on bigger ice, get a chance to represent their country in something, and I'm sure they have fun. The only harm is bruising Canadian fans' ego.

Personally, I find all international hockey is becoming boring. Including the 2014 Olympics...that literally put me to sleep. It's hyped up to be this event where, because of the talent level and big ice, it's the most exciting hockey in the world. Speed and skill are more showcased. I completely disagree with that. It came down to who had better coaching and a better system. Canada played great hockey, pretty much perfect hockey. The defense was so good that any goalie would have won Canada gold, and done as good (if not better) than Price. There's nothing wrong with watching perfect defense and hockey, but it's not always the most exciting.

The only highlight of the Olympics for me was watching Karlsson dominate the tournament.

[Josh]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

Yeah, I was actually way more into it in 2010 than I was this year...

[Victor]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

Oh these Olympics were god awful no doubt. I didn't watch much but when most games, especially in the knockout rounds, were at best 3-goal games... you've got a problem.

No doubt there's a bigger deal in Europe, perhaps the NHL should just not send players at all to the worlds?

[matchesmalone]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

Hm... I really, really enjoyed the Olympic hockey this year. Almost every important game was a nail-biter. Low scoring, sure, but it led to some legendary performances by some goalies and defensemen, most notably Price, Rask, Doughty, Weber and Karlsson. And it was always interesting to see how coaches and players who spend all of their time in the NHL would adapt to the wide ice, especially against the more European teams who are so well-versed in the wide ice. Some games it was like watching a chess match with those geniuses behind Canada's bench.

[Alfie11]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

I think, maybe, a big part of it was because of the crazy puck drop times. I realize it's in Russia and they need to accommodate the fans over there, and I obviously wouldn't want them to change anything because it wouldn't be fair, but it's hard to get pumped for a game that starts at 7AM. I thought the Canada - USA game was pretty good and exciting, it was almost like that was the real Gold medal game. I found the Sweden vs Canada game to be a snoozer.

[Dean Ambrose]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

Seriously, I hope the next Olympics aren't so bad with the times. I realize timezones and all that shit, but games at 3am - 7am? No thank you. It's hard to get into a game, if you're even up to watch it, at those times.

[Matt the Aussie]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

The next winter olympics is in South Korea... :P

[Victor]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

I think, maybe, a big part of it was because of the crazy puck drop times. I realize it's in Russia and they need to accommodate the fans over there, and I obviously wouldn't want them to change anything because it wouldn't be fair, but it's hard to get pumped for a game that starts at 7AM. I thought the Canada - USA game was pretty good and exciting, it was almost like that was the real Gold medal game. I found the Sweden vs Canada game to be a snoozer.

They were at a pretty decent time here (7 am is noon in the UK so you get the idea), but it didn't really help.

Granted, I've really fallen out with hockey due to the time zones so I'm probably not the best judge. I did expect more from the little quality hockey (NHL and Olympics) I had access too.

[Josh]

Re: Canada/USA..both out of Worlds tournament

I think I got more excited when the women beat the US than I did for any of the men's games :/