alecjonsludge wrote:^^^^^^^The U.S team was fast and had an agressive forecheck.On international ice( a lot bigger) this game would've been a blow out. What I don't understand is why Canada played right into the U.S. system.After the New Years Eve Game it was abundantly clear that Canada would need to dump and chase rather than attempt to gain entry into the zone while passing/carrying the puck.But there were numerous turnovers last night in the neutral zone,I blame Desjardins' laissez-faire attitude behind the bench.He chose to ignore the problem and it cost them.
I live in the same city that Canada's goalie(Jake"keep your shots down guys!"Allen) hails from, and he went from Hero to Zero pretty fast. A day ago there were signs up all around"Go Jake!","Bring back the Gold Jake!!",etc, by 8AM this morning most of them were taken down or in the midst of being so.
While the game was highly entertaining, I don't know if it could be considered a "good game". Horrendous goaltending at both ends,This should've been a 3-2,4-3 game,not 6-5 in OT.
When was the last time you saw a gold medal game where 4 goalies were used! I agree that Canada were outcoached, and that the US speed (and skill) was just blazing. That Schroeder kid was something else, and I love what I saw from Habs pick Danny Kristo.
It was a great game, drama wise, though. I'm a tried and true Canada supporter, but this is actually good for junior hockey and this tourney. It can't always be Canada dominating and winning the gold - the rest of the world needs to maintain a routing interest too. The US deserved the victory, and the Swiss were a great story as well.
Next year, the Americans should have 9 players returning. They'll be tough to beat in Buffalo, and because the way the teams finished this year, the pools will be stacked in the US' favor next year:
POOL A = US, Switzerland, Finland, Slovakia, Qualifer (Germany or Norway)
POOL B = Canada, Sweden, Russia, Czhec Republic, Qualifer (Germany or Norway
Last point. Lets not forget that Canada has a lot of guys, playing in the NHL, who were still eligible to play in this tourney. How do you think Canada would have fared with Tyler Myers on D, as well as guys named Stamkos, Duchene, Kane (Evander), and O'Reilly (Ryan) up front? I might even be missing a few names.