Of course, there is no US media attention given the World Hockey Championships north of the border, but that did not stop the USA from defeating IIHF-lightweight Slovenia 5-1 tonight in Halifax, Nova Scotia (for those of you who don't know--it's a Canadian Province east of Maine).

Phil Kessel of the Boston Bruins notched a hat trick, and eleven other players scored a point.  Kessel's fellow Bruin teammate Tim Thomas stopped 11 of 12 shots in goal for the Americans.

The US now  faces a Canadian squad playing on home ice without that yearly distraction called the Stanley Cup Finals to worry about after the Montreal Canadiens lost in five games to the Philadelphia Flyers.  Montreal was the last Canadian-based NHL franchise to win a Stanley Cup back in 1993, and The Habs lead all NHL teams with 24 Cups.

Looking Ahead to the Canucks: Canada always has an emotional edge when playing the Americans, and on their own ice with a crowd that expects no less than gold, the USA has its work cut out for them, even in a game that won't effect either team's entry to the second round.  I look for Tortorella to rest Thomas in this game.  How the USA responds to early adversity will tell the tale with this young team.

Most interesting Stat Line: Los Angeles Kings' Anze Kopitar, Slovenia's only NHL-er, scored a goal and was +1 for the game.  Not too bad for a player that must have played a lot of different roles on a team losing by four goals.

Photo credit: http://www.iihf.com/typo3temp/pics/2a35db9fb0.jpg