Cajuncowboy;3287108 said:
The truth of the matter is that we shouldn't even be a player in this. Hockey is the national past time of Canada. And more than likely Sweeden, Switzerland, Finland etc.
It ranks about 3rd or 4th in America in terms of popularity. So we shouldn't be as good as we are. IMO, any medla we get is a phenomenal feat for a country that doesn't really care about the sport in any great numbers.
You have to remember that there are some pockets of the US where hockey is very popular in the more Northern states. That gives a large talent pool to draw upon which does confer an advantage of sorts. The other thing is that the 1980 victory over the USSR paved the way for the development of the game in the USA. Prior to that, it was rare to see a single US resident drafted in the first round of the hockey draft. Everything changed that day for the future of American hockey.
The thing about a sudden death style tournament is you don't really have to be the best team. All you need is a great goalie, a fundamentally sound team and a couple of lucky bounces and there's the gold medal.
It'll be interesting in the next round for you guys because you'll be facing the great Finnish goaltender, Kipprusoff to counter Miller.
We'll have our hands more than full with Vokoun and the Slovaks who have already beaten Russia (in a shootout) and the Swedes (defending champs from 2006).
