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.
And yet, it seemed like there was nary a Gold Cup highlight on ESPN.... In fact, in the brief ESPN Deportes highlight featured an MLS game instead. What was the real soccer story on Sunday, ESPN?
I don't think you can draw that many conclusions on viewership of the Stanley Cup Finals because a Canadian-based team was involved. If there were two American teams, particularly a northeast US team, then I think there would have been more viewers. I'm sure there are plenty of Canadian Expats in the United States, but they're not all from Ottawa.
A US National Team game against a rival with millions of expats in the Mexican's favorite sport does not connotate the same feeling as a Stanley Cup finals between American and Canadian cities. It's not that big a deal that American-based teams have won every year since 1993, but it is in Canada.
If a US-Canada Olympic medal hockey game or WCOH Final had similar poor ratings as the Stanley Cup finals, then I would be more convinced that this means something significant. There was plenty of national pride on the line with the Gold Cup, but I don't think many Americans watched the Stanley Cup hoping to see a Canadian team lose another finals.
I think the comparison is apples to oranges. It does not mean anything.
Don't revive the 1980 Olympic analogies anytime soon folks. The simple fact is that there is a huge void in the American hockey system which these guys will be filling in the next 5-10 years. In the meantime, players wearing the red, white and blue won't be the contenders for 2010 or the next World Cup of Hockey, whenever that is going to take place.
The decline and looming retirements of players like Mike Modano, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk, Bill Guerin and Brian Leetch (already retired) is going to leave gaping holes in American experience and locker-room cred for the next Olympics. Ironically, Chelios looks fit enough to play in 2010, and USA Hockey should immediately put Chelly in the Front Office when he retires.
Right now, the best and brightest American players still on the sunrise side of their careers are players like Erik Cole, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. Not exactly a murderers row when you consider Heatley, Spezza, Iginla, Lecavalier, St. Louis and Richards will be tearing it up for Canada through much of the next decade. Americans used to have the best defensemen in the NHL. When was the last time an American was even on the short list for the Norris Trophy?
It's a great achievement for USA Hockey and the USNTDP to have so many Americans taken in the draft. As a US Hockey fan since 1980, the American program needs the infusion of NHL-ready talent that the National Team is producing and the NCAA Hockey and the USJHL are feeding to them.
I was glad to see the US-Canada soccer match turn into a hockey game. The 2-1 score was not indicative of the result, and Canada's disputed goal will hopefully live as the spark that unites this rivarly. Both countries will always have sports ahead of soccer in the popular mindset, so this can hopefully fuel more border disputes.
I wish the American fans would have given the Canadians the reception Vancouverites gave the US Junior Hockey Team in 2005 (malice aforethought intended). We'll see if this rivalry has any teeth. Nice also to hear the boos of Landon Donovan on our own turf. Come on, Americans!! Can we please outnmber the Yankee-bashers on our own soil at least once?
More on this later, but when I think of Iain Hume, I think that every Canadian team needs a Tie Domi...... Still, his goal was brilliant and he played with more passion than the entire US team at times. I like Max, but I wonder if the USA Soccer brain trust (or Don Garber) are pulling Bretos' strings?
My ten thoughts:
1. The Fox announcers were totally sugarcoating the US performance. At one point, Max Bretos' partner (Chris something?) was saying the US play in the midfield was great. I disagree. I thought we were good at times, but not consistent.
2. The announcer also said Eddie Johnson had a good game. Again, I disagree. I would have taken him out after the second offside. Didn't this guy just tear it up in MLS? If I would have had my pick, it would have been Ching if he was ready to play.
3. I just suspect that the team on the pitch is MLS-heavy for a reason. I think I know the answer, but I am not sure if I'm crazy or not.
4. I have always liked Kasey Keller. He did everything he could on that goal. I'm from the old school in hockey where you don't blame the goalie.
5. The ref missed some calls and made some. The red was well deserved and Bocanegra should have gotten one for the DeGuzman tackle. I thought Onstead deserved his penalty as well.
6. Both sides were also guilty of chippy-ness. Again, it reminded me of a typical US-Canada hockey game, with the shoe (or skate) on the other foot. Canada has a couple of stars, but the US has more depth. Of course, the best guy on the pitch was a Canadian substitute. Easily, Hume was Man of the Match for me. That's not even mentioning his save on the Dempsey header. Best US player was Donovan again, and I thought he was better than he was against Panama.
7. Beasley redeemed himself a bit in my eyes. As did Gooch--no glaring mistakes by either one, and Beasley's free kicks near the penalty area have been very good.
8. Someone on an earlier post said Hejduk's best days were behind him. I am kind of agreeing, of course he played an integral part in the scoring tonight. De Rosario beat him like a rented mule (I love hockey analogies) a couple of times.
9. De Rosario is a player. I like this guy--and again he makes others around him better. Bravo.
10. I get frustrated watching the Americans protect the ball--it seems like every time Canada pressured the US players, they gave up the ball and Canada seemed at times to be dribbling through the US defense. I would say Donovan was an exception, but Dempsey should be better with his foot near the goal.
Though I am a life-long Southerner, ice hockey is my game. I was likely the first hockey-specif ic sportswriter in the state of Louisiana when the ECHL arrived in 1995. I was a freelance hockey sportswriter for local fishwraps between 1995-2000.
Being from New Orleans, I follow the Saints, Hornets and LSU in that order. I have been from Los Angeles to New York City to watch Wayne Gretzky play, and I attended my first hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1985. The greatest hockey ever played was the 1987 Canada Cup Final between Canada and the USSR.
