Ducks Olympians honored

The Winter Olympics come around only once every four years. But how often is it that a hockey franchise sends nine of their own to compete for the coveted gold medal (an NHL record, by the way)?

And how often do seven of those nine come back with Olympic medals (also an NHL record!)?

Heck, this is history in the making!

Yours truly was lucky enough to be off work today and able to attend the live taping of "The Element" which would feature interviews and photography opportunities with our seven medalists.


Setting up the stage before the big show

Attendance was small at first, limited to the diehards that were probably there hours beforehand to claim the best seats. The boys were at the Ponda for the group photo shoot prior to this engagement, and it wasn't until about half past noon that things got started.

By that time, seating was all but taken. However, yours truly has found that standing is the best way to take pictures. Jonas Hiller, now world reknowned for his amazing performance at the Olympics, came out first.


I feel bad that Jonas Hiller is the only medal-less Duck


Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu were interviewed next, winning their contest against Slovakia and nabbing the bronze

The interviews themselves were difficult to hear, but fans can catch every word on the Ducks website once the taping is posted.


After trading Ryan Whitney to the Edmonton Oilers, Bobby Ryan remains the only American-born Duck in franchise history to be an Olympian


Lastly, gold medalists Corey Perry, Captain Scott Niedermayer, and Ryan Getzlaf


Take a bow, boys. You've made your countries, and your Duck fans, extremely proud!



After the group picture, the entire place turned into a veritable zoo. People who had no idea what hockey is, but who just happened to see the roped-off areas, gathered to see what the spectacle was all about. Even amongst the chaos, our hometown heroes stayed to sign autographs and pose for pictures.


Bobby indulging the fans


Captain Canada tolerating them too

Overall, a wonderful event and opportunity to showcase hockey in Southern California. The sport has a long way to go in this corner of the globe, undoubtedly, but the incredible displays of athletic skill and talent by our hometown heroes at the Winter Games have piqued the interest of the non-hockey community.

And that's where it all begins.

Ducks vs Colorado Avalanche

It's the first game since the Olympic break, and our Ducks team isn't exactly whole. Thanks to trades made up through today's deadline, the roster is a bit lighter:

- Big man Evgeny Artyukhin was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for defenseman Nathan Oystrick and a conditional selection.

- Veteran defenseman Nick Boynton was sent to the Chicago Blackhawks for considerations.

- Goaltender Justin Pogge and a fourth rounder from either 2010 or 2011 were sent to the Carolina Hurricanes for veteran defenseman Aaron Ward.

- An even goalie exchange, Ducks sent Vesa Toskala to Calgary for Curtis McElhinney.

- For a 2011 7th-round pick, Ducks picked up goaltender Joey MacDonald from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

- Olympic silver medalist and defenseman Ryan Whitney plus a 2010 6th-round pick were traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for high-scoring defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky.

- Grinding forward, and one of yours truly's personal favorites, Petteri Nokelainen was sent to the Phoenix Coyotes for a 6th-round 2010 pick.

Our defense consisted of only five guys, as Lubo and Ward won't get into town until tomorrow. In either case, yours truly is excited about the trades. As sad as I am to see some of our boys go, I think the changes are mostly positive. It will be interesting to see how the new guys do.

Tonight's contest against the Avalanche started with a special Olympic tribute to the players with both clubs who participated. I thought it a very classy gesture for the audience to give the Avs Olympians a rousing ovation before our own boys were honored.


Ducks Olympians given a special pre-game tribute


Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, bronze medal winners

The Olympic medals and jerseys were also on display tonight behind section 212.


Seven medals for our Ducks, the most of any NHL team!

Play started off well for our hometown heroes. There was energy, aggressiveness, and lots of offensive zone puck possession in the first. Big kudos to Jason Blake who, I thought, really stepped up in this game. It was encouraging to see that second line, with Blake, Saku Koivu, and Teemu Selanne start to come together.

During a Ducks power play, a pass from Bobby to Blake on the side of the net segues into the veteran banging at the puck as it shot under Avs goaltender Craig Anderson. It squirts into the net as Blake is steamrolled by an Avs defender.

Early in the second, Selanne gets his 598th career goal. From an offensive rush (that is actually grossly offsides) consisting of slick tic-tac-toe passing from Saku to Blake to Selanne for a nice open-net pitch. I swear, Teemu is much more his high-producing self without that face grill on! (this is his first game back without the extra headgear)

Ducks extend their lead to 2-0.


Jonas Hiller, turning in a good game for the first half...

At this point, the Avs began their proverbial goal avalanche. Ducks defense all but disintegrated, and a litany of turnovers don't help. Jonas Hiller seemed a bit off too in the second half of the game. Numerous power play opportunities prove unfruitful. The offense tries repeatedly to score, Bobby gets robbed at least three times, and yours truly isn't the only one in attendance feeling the frustration.

Not to say the lack of production is entirely Anaheim's fault, goaltender Anderson is definitely standing on his head and coming up big tonight.


With amazing saves and acrobatics by Craig Anderson, the game's first star was well-deserved

The Avalanche would see four goals go up on the board before the Ducks would manage to net a third. And even that one did not come until the last four minutes of regulation, when Captain Scotty Niedermayer sends a puck into the crease and it bounces off an Av skate, through Anderson five-hole, and into the net.

Unfortunately, that goal isn't followed by an equalizer, and the Ducks would see their 12-game home streak snapped as they fall to the Avs, 3-4.

Yours truly will be reporting the next game from Phoenix, Arizona, with (hopefully) special Ducks and Coyotes coverage. That's a lot of hockey!

Team USA vs Team Canada for gold

They couldn't have written this story any better if they'd tried.

It was the perfect matchup. Team USA, underdogs written off early in the tournament because they were too young. They had only three guys on the roster who had been in the Olympics before. Sure, they were NHLers, but most of them were under 25 years of age. What did they know about Olympic hockey?

Against Team Canada, the host team, the fathers of hockey. A roster packed with talent, NHL captains, winners of Olympics past. Not to mention, this was a team that had been completely embarrassed in their loss to Team USA during the preliminaries. They were angry, seeking revenge, hungry for the young Americans.

Yours truly was sadly at work during this game, but my phone buzzed constantly with texts from hockey friends and non-hockey friends alike. Even people not ordinarily fans of the sport during the NHL season had fallen in love with the hopes and dreams of these Olympic players.

They wanted to know how this one would turn out.

I was able to watch a good portion of the game with divided attention as I worked. The forechecking and backchecking pressure of the Americans was evident. The hunger and physicality of the Canadians was relentless. Each of these boys played the game of his life, and delivered some of the finest hockey I've ever seen.

Corey Perry would net one goal out of four SOG in this monumental game. Ryan Getzlaf would take an assist.

Despite falling behind for the first time in their Olympic run, the Americans didn't fall apart. They kept their focus, kept their composure, and kept coming. They closed the gap to one goal, and then a miracle.

With less than 30 seconds left in regulation, Zach Parise would deliver a simple strike in the crease that left a puck in the net behind Roberto Luongo.

Yours truly couldn't help but scream. My phone erupted in delight as well. The Americans had pushed the game into overtime! The gold would take more than 60 minutes to be won. How could anyone deny the drive and heart of Team USA?

Seven minutes of sudden death overtime would finally award the gold medal to Team Canada.

I can never stand to see the dejected faces of the losing team, and especially not when they're MY team. Sure, I was elated for our Canadian Ducks, but Team USA represented my country. I watched the medal ceremony with mixed emotions. Not being able to be completely happy for the beaming faces of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Captain Scott Niedermayer, I was distracted by the misery of the loss etched onto the faces of my boy Bobby Ryan, Captain Jamie Langenbrunner, and especially MVP Ryan Miller.

To them, I want to say that I am so very proud of their effort. Nobody, hockey experts and casualists alike, would have ever guessed that Team USA would compete for gold, that these young boys would slaughter Team Finland in a 6-1 landslide, that they would completely humiliate these very Canadians with a 5-3 trouncing. Team USA has absolutely nothing to be sorry for. They went above and beyond all expectations. They captured the hearts of a nation and the attention of the world.

What you've done for the sport of hockey, is beyond words. There will be so many new fans watching as you return to your respective NHL teams to complete your season. And for all of us old fans, including yours truly, you gave us the opportunity time and time again to say, "This, this is why I LOVE hockey!"

Celebratory congratulations to Getzy, Pears, Scotty, and Team Canada! But heartfelt thank yous to Bobby, Ryan Whitney, and Team USA! Along with the pride felt for the valiant efforts of Jonas Hiller and Luca Sbisa with Team Switzerland, and Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu with Team Finland, I am so very proud of all of our Olympic Ducks.

Seven Ducks will return home with Olympic medals, that's the most of any NHL team (San Jose comes in second with five). There's no way a team with such talented individuals can't put together a successful playoff run.

So how about it, boys? Let's go get Stanley!

Vancouver Olympics 2010 men's hockey in pictures

Since yours truly couldn't attend any of the Olympic action in person to get great pictures (wouldn't that be the day!), the next best thing I can do is share the great shots taken by others. Here's a collection of my hockey favorites over the past two weeks... (my apologies that some of the larger pics don't quite fit)

Bobby celebrating his first Olympic goal against Swiss game #1

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Finland beats Belarus

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Teemu in the Finland vs Germany prelim game

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Winner Team USA, loser Team Canada prelim

Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images North America

Scotty, Getzy, and Perry celebrate after a goal against Slovakia

Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images North America

Bobby in Swiss #2 game

Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images North America

Bobby and Hiller in Swiss #2 game

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Hiller's crazy puck juggle from game Swiss/USA game #2. Puck would eventually go in behind Hiller, but not until after the horn

Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images North America

Luca Sbisa defending Kessel in game Swiss/USA #2

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Bobby and Hiller, final handshake, Swiss #2 game

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Goalie to goalie, Hiller and Miller after Swiss #2 game

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Corey Perry getting one past Naby in Canada vs Russia

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Corey Perry getting one past Bryz in Canada vs Russia

Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images North America

Saku celebrating win over Czech Republic with Kipper

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images North America

Bobby and Selanne shaking hands after US beats Finland

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Teemu, Saku, and Team Finland with Bronze (over Slovakia)

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images North America

Teemu with his Bronze

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Captain Koivu with his Bronze and Finland flag

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images North America

Getzy, Scotty, and Pears win the gold

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images North America

Team Finland vs Team Slovakia for bronze

Yours truly is home in time for this game, and ready to live blog.

I don't know what's wrong with Team Finland, but the commentators are right. There's no urgency, no desperacy, no passion in their play.

And it seems to be translating into a lack of goals on the ice.

At the first intermission, the score stands 1-0 Finland.

On the power play in the 2nd, it starts to look like Team Slovakia want that bronze (it would be their first team medal ever) a little bit more. Nobody's watching Marian Gaborik and he sneaks into the defensive borders of the Finns. From there, he's able to wrist the puck straight in past Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Fins get a couple of power play chances to retake the lead, but are unable to capitalize. Instead, the Slovaks take advantage of some Finnish recklessness and pull ahead with a goal on a 5-on-3.

And again on a short-handed breakaway.

At the second intermission, things are looking bleak for Finland as they trail 1-3.

Yours truly is feeling absolutely bummed. The last Olympic games for Saku and Teemu, and this is how they're going to go out? Please no!

As the 3rd begins, the commentators are pointing out that Teemu has only had eight minutes of ice time. He's also spending the Finland power plays on the bench! If yours truly was the Finnish coach, I'd have my number one goal scorer out there on each and every power play. Don't worry about him, he wants to play!

On a Finnish 5-on-3, Suomi closes the gap with a deflected goal off of Niklas Hagman. Mere minutes later, Olli Jokinen nets another. The score is tied 3-3 with 13 minutes left in regulation.

Finland finds themselves on another power play, courtesy Hossa. Who should grab the puck and get on a breakaway but Jokinen again. He shoots and it's in!

Suomi has just now taken the lead, 4-3. Unbelieavable rally! Three goals in barely over three and a half minutes. Slovakia is reeling. Finns need to keep up the pressure.

Talk about keeping the fans on the edge of their seats, Team Finland has to fight through a penalty kill before the game ends. At one point, the equalizer is right at the Slovak fingertips, but Zednik can't pull the trigger.

In these final minutes, Kipper has GOT to come up huge. The Slovak net is empty with a minute left...

Kimmo sets up Valteri Filpula for the empty netter... and it's in!

Yours truly is just elated to watch the Finnish boys on the bench jumping and cheering and yelling at Filpula as he converges on the empty net. Watching them hug and clap each other on the back, I can't help but feel so good for Teemu as the cameras cut to him jumping up and down like a little boy, a huge smile on his face. The excitement just pours out of him.

Teemu, Saku, and SUOMI with the bronze! Way to go, guys! The big gold medal game is tomorrow, Team USA and Team Canada.

No matter who wins and who loses, Ducks came out winners these Olympics. They'll be bringing seven medals home to Anaheim!

Team Canada vs Team Slovakia Semifinal

Don't count the Slovaks out just yet... after all, Sweden did, and where did that get them?

During the first period of this game, you can see why. Team Slovakia touts a good defensive system, collapsing down really low around the net.

It isn't until 14 minutes through the first that Shea Weber fires one from the point, which gets redirected by Patrick Marleau past the Slovak netminder. There's a review to make sure Marleau's redirect was below the crossbar, but it's pretty obvious that it was.

An assist for Captain Scotty Niedermayer.

Shortly after, great play by our Duck boys on the ice. Perry below the goal line fighting for a puck, getting it to Getzlaf who manages a pass under pressure to Pronger at the point. It's a patented Pronger rocket, with a redirection from Brendan Morrow in front.

Goal. 2-0. First intermission. Can I just say I've never missed Prongs and his point shots more than right now?

And boy, points for our Ducks in spades. Yours truly is pleased.

The Slovak goalie, Jaromir Halak, is good... but it appears that Team Canada has found his weakness: shots from the point or back from the blue line, with a well-placed deflection near the crease. Granted, those are difficult shots for any netminder to block, but both of Team Canada's goals came from that setup.

Halak denies the Canadians through most of the second, but what he really needs are his offense to get some pucks behind Roberto Luongo. Can't win if you can't score.

Before the end of the second, and on the power play at that, Prongs gets the puck to Perry who's skating up and down along the left wing, angling for passing lanes. He decides to fire on the net and the rebound comes out to Getzy who backhands it home from his knees.

It's a beautiful play, and it takes us into the second intermission with Canada leading 3-0.

The Slovaks haven't given up hope, however, and they are rewarded with a puck that squirts between Luongo's pads and the post. 3-1 Canada, with eight left in regulation.

Chants of "We want USA" echo around the arena. It's looking as if the gold medal game will be between Team USA and Team Canada...

Wait... maybe I've spoken too soon.

Michael Handzus bats one out of the air in the crease, and it's in behind Luongo. One-goal game with five minutes to go!

The Slovaks came on strong in the last few minutes. Lots of shots on Luongo, but Canada holds on. I don't know what it says that Canada let this one almost slip away, but maybe that's a good sign for the US come Sunday. Great game, Slovakia.

Team USA versus Team Canada for the gold. Hockey fans may have dreamed about this matchup, but who really thought it would happen?

Team USA vs Team Finland Semifinal

Wow... action in the first three minutes of this game! Yours truly is blogging while watching, not always an easy thing to do, especially when the action comes as quickly as it has in the early minutes of the Team USA/Team Finland matchup.

Also known by Duck fans as: "I want to cheer for Team USA but I really want to see Teemu and Saku finally win gold for their last Olympics!"

Only two minutes into the game and Finnish netminder Miikka Kiprusoff makes a HUGE mistake. He comes out of the net to face a rolling puck, but turns it over to Ryan Malone just within the blue line, who slams it home to an empty net.

The Team USA bench bursts into cheers and elation.

The confidence is contagious, and you can practically see those young Americans swell with pride as they realize they might actually have a shot at this. My boy Bobby Ryan, as I suspected, is being used on a checking line along with other big boys David Backes and Ryan Callahan.

This is definitely an aggressive game. You need a big checking line when physicality counts as much as it does today.

I'm in awe watching this game. In the first period alone, it's a USA goal landslide.

Zach Parise...

Erik Johnson...

Patrick Kane... twice...

Paul Stasny...

And that's just within the first 13 minutes of this game. Of course, two Finnish penalties don't help Team Finland's cause.

Those of you watching this live with me, we are witnessing the complete disintegration of an Olympic hockey powerhouse. In a way, it's sad, because we have Ducks on this team too. And knowing this will be the last Olympics for Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, a big part of yours truly wanted to see them finally win Gold.

I don't like faulting the goaltender, but in this case, I think it's hard not to. Kipper should not have started that ball rolling. He's pulled after the 4th USA goal, but the damage may have already been done. Niklas Backstrom takes over the Finland net, allows two more goals before the end of the first, but stops the bleeding at that.

The second period goes without many interuptions at all, and while Team USA has slowed some in their aggressiveness towards the net, they are still backchecking, still forechecking, still playing physically, and trying to stay out of the sin bin.

Team Finland is playing hard, but after being rattled so badly in the first, they can't seem to get many shots to Team USA netminder Ryan Miller.

Miller, by the way, is doing splendidly. Many have him pegged as the MVP for Team USA's effort.

During the third, the Finns come harder, but Miller denies every attempt. With about half the period to go, Miller is changed out for backup goalie Tim Thomas. Yours truly thought this a classy move, as Timmy has gone on record to say it has always been a dream of his to play in the Olympics. At age 35, one would suspect Thomas may not likely return in four years.

Miller is given high-fives and salutes on the bench as he prepares to watch the rest of the game with his mates. Bobby even retrieved a game puck to give to Miller as a token of his incredible 100+ minute Olympic shutout run.

A collective Duck-fan gasp sounded as Bobby was struck point blank by a puck to the left side of the head. He was able to get off the ice, and was shown hunched over on the bench with a bag of ice held against his ear. Luckily, the puck went off the helmet and there was no blood or broken bones.

Hey, we need that boy for our playoff run!

The Finns are rewarded for their efforts with a power play goal against Timmy with about five minutes left in regulation, but that's the only mark they'll make in this semifinal game.

The Americans trounce Finland in a 6-1 landslide and move on to the gold medal game this Sunday. Yours truly is happy... and sad at the same time.


Photo courtesy Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America

Some stats and numbers:
- Bobby spent 8:44 on the ice and had one shot on goal.
- Ryan Whitney spent 11:06 on the ice.
- Teemu had one shot on goal in 13:44 ice time.
- Saku had two shots on goal in 13:36 ice time.

Men's hockey Olympic quarterfinals

Four big big games today, starting off with Team USA vs Team Switzerland (part 2).

Both teams start off with fires lit under them. The commentators are gushing over the energy of team USA, and while I can agree there's definitely energy, it's looking largely unfocused and reckless to me. Probably indicative of the young stars that make up the team, they're going to have to concentrate on connecting some plays and being a team if they hope to bring anything against Jonas Hiller.

The Swiss are also coming on with energy, but their offensive force is not nearly as big as their defense. Ryan Miller is forced to make a handful of good saves, but the Team USA defense has a way of blocking many of those shots before they even reach their intrepid netminder.

Put it this way. Hiller faced 42 shots as opposed to Miller's 19.

My boy Bobby Ryan only got eight and a half minutes of ice time, but he managed three shots on goal and some nice YouTube-able plays. Hiller played a phenomenal game. He definitely helped his team fight to the end.

There were no goals through two periods of play. Not until Zach Parise got one by Hiller did the momentum swing, and Team USA gave that extra push. Parise potted an empty netter with less than a minute left in regulation.

Team USA moves on to the quarterfinals.

By the way, I'd forgotten to mention that Bobby is also writing an Olympic blog (along with Hiller and Ryan Whitney). You can read his thoughts here.

Next up, the heavily commercialized game of Team Canada vs Team Russia. Sid vs Ovie... again.

Elimination rounds

Two games to keep an eye on today, although one SHOULD be a no-brainer.

First up, Team Switzerland vs Team Belarus. The winner of this game will go on to play Team USA in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Yours truly was not able to watch this game (the job that pays the bills interfered), but it was my understanding that Jonas Hiller could have been much sharper between the pipes than he actually was.

In the end, it wouldn't matter. The Swiss squeezed out Belarus in a shootout, winning 3-2.

It'll be Hiller vs Bobby Ryan part two.

The next game on the Canada Place schedule was Team Canada vs Team Germany. After Canada's loss in regulation to USA on Sunday, you can bet the pressure was on to deliver against Germany. Shouldn't be a problem, right?

Martin Brodeur lost his opportunity to netmind, and Roberto Luongo would be the one in goal today. Team Canada redeemed themselves today, positively shredding Germany with a 8-2 win.

Our boys Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry looked good out there, despite neither recording any points. Getzy had one shot on goal, Perry had four. Captain Scott Niedermayer would net a goal.

If anyone is keeping count, as of today, I believe all of our hometown heroes have multiple Olypmic points to their names, with the exception of Hiller (obviously) and Ryan Whitney. I'll do a breakdown in the next post.

Team Canada will go on to play Team Russia in Wednesday's quarterfinals. Looks like another Sid vs. Ovie matchup!

Lots of hockey to be watched. Unfortunately, the television schedule has left much to be desired. The Team USA vs Team Switzerland quarterfinal will be aired on NBC at 3pm Pacific Time, but there's only a 2-hour time slot dedicated to it. Will they cut the game short??? How horrible!

The Team Canada vs Team Russia quarterfinal is scheduled to start at 4pm on CNBC. So of course, there's overlap... which makes it all but impossible for yours truly to record via VCR.

Following later in the day, Team Finland vs Team Czech.

I suppose I'll be refreshing the Olympic web page again and again.

Super-rink Sunday

Forget the Superbowl, today is hockey's day.

There were three big games today, but I'll focus on the last two because those feature Duck players. Yes, I'm biased, but it's my blog and I can do whatever I want.

Yours truly attended a watch party for the big Team USA vs Team Canada game this afternoon. The location was my favorite local sports bar, Oggi's in Tustin. The atmosphere was pure electricity, as tons of hockey fans came out to cheer on their country of choice.

With Ducks on both Team USA and Team Canada, it felt a little like a win-win situation for yours truly. However, I'm known to be a sucker for underdogs (heck, I'm a Phoenix Coyotes fan for crying out loud), and my boy Bobby Ryan make the decision easy. Team USA all the way, baby.

In between the pipes, Team USA would stay with Ryan Miller. For Team Canada, Martin Brodeur would get the nod.

The game started off wonderfully with an early goal for Team USA courtesy Brian Rafalski. Further energized, Team USA went on to have a great first period. They played with confidence and speed, and the forecheck was incredibly effective. Team Canada could not even set up in the offensive zone.

Team Canada did get on the board before the first half of the period expired, with a goal by Eric Staal. But it was answered less than a minute later by a second goal from Rafalski.

Unbelievable game for Rafalski.

The holes in the defense had been addressed, it seemed, and they weren't as glaring in Team USA's game tonight. The defensemen were better distributed along the blue line, turnovers were better controlled, and I think Canada only got away with one odd-man rush the entire game.

The second period, for Team USA, looked a little more like a typical Anaheim Ducks' second period. The boys looked a bit slow, a bit caught back on their heels. Dany Heatley would take advantage and score for Canada, tying the game up 2-2.

Before the end of the period, a pinball play in front of Brodeur's crease would land a third goal for Team USA. Credit to Chris Drury, assists to David Backes and Bobby Ryan. Again, Team USA would take a one-goal lead into the locker room for the intermission.

A series of penalties for Team Canada drove the momentum back in Team USA's favor for the third period. The forecheck reappeared, some of the extra kick returned to Team USA's step. On the last USA power play, Captain Jamie Langenbrunner would give the US a 2-goal lead for the first time in the game.

And then Team USA would take two penalities of its own, allowing a goal in the last five seconds. Sidney Crosby, pulling the game once again down to one goal. It became a veritable shooting gallery around Ryan Miller, with a desparate Canadian team taking every possible shot.

With about a minute left in regulation, Brodeur was pulled for the extra attacker. Zach Parise and Ryan Kesler danced with the puck near the blue line. Kesler took off down the ice, as did his defender Corey Perry. Parise's shot sped past them. When it looked as if Perry had effectively kept Kesler away, the fallen American swung his stick, connected with the puck, and sent it into the far corner of the net.

Empty net goal! And in that moment, Team USA realized what it had done. Kesler was tackled by Parise, Langenbrunner, and Erik Johnson behind the Canada net. On the bench, guys were hugging and slapping each other on the back, smiles stretched wide across their young faces.

There were 45 seconds left in regulation, but Team Canada would fail to bring a tie. Team USA had done it, beating the favorite and creating a situation where either Team Canada or Team Russia would leave Vancouver empty handed.

Miller came up HUGE, especially in the last five of regulation. He would face 45 shots during this game, compared to Brodeur's 23.

A few Duck observations...

Bobby's ice time was considerably increased in this game, I'm happy to say. He played nearly 12 minutes, had two shots on goal and one assist.

Ryan Whitney got the least time on ice of any Team USA player, 5:22, and he was a -1.

This definitely wasn't Corey Perry's game. To add injury to insult, Perry collided at one point with Staal and, while crumpled on the ice, had Chris Pronger fall over them both. Perry left blood on the ice, but there would be no penalties as all of the players involved belonged to the same team! Not Canada's finest moment by far.

Both Perry and Ryan Getzlaf would fail to pen any goals or assists, but each served two penalty minutes and had one and three shots on goal, respectively.

Captain Canada, Scott Niedermayer, has played better games himself. I think Scotty showed some rare frustration, getting himself involved in post-whistle shoving scrums on more than one occasion. He had three shots on goal, was a -1, and saw 17 minutes of ice time (which, incidentally, is a lot less than Scotty is used to playing).

It was an incredible game, and the watch party atmosphere made it even more memorable for yours truly.

The game that followed could have also been a nail-biter. Team Finland and Team Sweden have had a very heated rivalry through many Olympics, including the gold medal game four years ago. Unfortunately, this game failed to meet most expectations.

I don't know what was wrong with Team Finland, but it seemed that nobody showed except for Tuomo Ruutu and goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. He was able to stop the bleeding on a 0-3 meltdown by his countrymen, but with no effective attacks on net, Kipper couldn't exactly do anything about the bagel on the scoreboard.

With the preliminary rounds finished, the top four seeds go to USA, Sweden, Russia, and Finland (qualifying round). These four teams don't have to play in Tuesday's elimination rounds as they go straight through to the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The remaining eight teams will play Tuesday, with the top seed playing the bottommost seed, 2nd top playing the 2nd from bottom, etc.

- Czech vs Latvia
- Canada vs Germany
- Slovakia vs Norway
- Switzerland vs Belarus

The winners in these elimination rounds will go on to play the top four seeds on Wednesday. Yours truly will be posting the rest of the men's hockey schedule tomorrow.

Hits and misses, Olympic prelims

Another big day of men's hockey for our Ducks Olympians, today would feature contests between Team USA and Team Norway, Team Canada and Team Switzerland.

In watching USA versus Norway, yours truly has a few notable observations. The offensive lines are looking like they're starting to gel a little bit. Today's game was definitely physical... Team USA's bigger boys weren't afraid to throw their weight around. Passing plays looked cleaner, and the team would benefit with goals.

Defensively, I think we have problems. As long as the puck is in the offensive zone, Team USA looks good. But as soon as they have to defend, there's way too much open ice. Not to mention, I don't think it helps that the defensemen have been joining the offensive rushes. You may get away with that in games against less talented teams, but once you start playing the big guns, you're going to need both D-men holding up that blue line. Without that, turnovers quickly become dangerous odd-man rushes.

This happened a number of times in today's game, and Ryan Miller did his best against the Norweigan forwards, but you're playing a numbers game. Give them too many good scoring chances, and they will eventually score.

Unfortunately, yours truly isn't feeling too confident about the netminding. I understand Ryan Miller is probably going to be starting for as long as we're winning, or something like that, but I was actually hoping Jonathan Quick would get an opportunity between the pipes. I'm just a tad bit more impressed with Quick's game than Miller's going into the Olympic break.

My boy Bobby Ryan got less than 10 minutes of ice time in today's game... can I ask why?

In any case, Team USA proves good enough to win today's contest, 6-1.

The next men's hockey game on the schedule would pit Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Scott Niedermayer against their fellow teammate, goaltender Jonas Hiller.

What did I say about underestimating Team Switzerland? Hiller and his incredible D would take Team Canada all the way through five minutes of sudden death overtime and into a shootout. Switzerland would fall 2-3 in that shootout.

Hiller had an absolutely phenomenal game, I wish he had been rewarded with a win. He faced 47 shots, stopping 44. And when you figure that it's guys like Sidney Crosby, Jerome Iginla, Ryan Getzlaf, and Dany Heatley firing these shots, Hiller's performance is even more remarkable.

The Swiss play a hard, gritty game. I give them very good chances of taking a win away when they play Norway next.

Honestly, if Team USA had the defensive core and netminding of Team Switzerland, they'd be a force to be reckoned with.

No goals or assists for any of our hometown heroes today.

On a sidenote, who wants to bet Jeremy Roenick will take Mike Milbury out before the end of the tournament?

Wins, Finns, and journalism spins

The Team USA vs Team Switzerland match got men's ice hockey off to a good start, and the excitement would continue with the very next game.

Team Canada, with Ryan Getzlaf on the roster, took on Team Norway later that afternoon. Team Canada's roster looks like a veritable hockey all-stars team, what with Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Captain Scott Niedermayer from the Anaheim Ducks, and league-known superstars like Sidney Crosby, Jerome Iginla, Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton, Rick Nash, Chris Pronger, and Jonathan Toews.

Vancouver Canucks' Roberto Luongo started in net for the Canadians, and got himself a shutout, 8-0. The game started off slowly, going scoreless into the first intermission, but play quickly picked up as players got comfortable.

Our three Ducks would come away with one point each, Getzy and Pears got goals, and Scotty an assist.

This morning, Team Finland took on Team Belarus. More points for our Ducks, Captain Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne would both get assists in this 5-1 win. Teemu is a bit of a legend in Olympic circles, holding 20 goals and 36 points in five Olympic appearances. He's now tied for the leading Olympic record for the most career points. Five more Olympic goals will tie him for the most career goals in the modern era (since the 1956 Olympics).

Can the Finnish Flash do it? Yours truly would say, if a broken hand and broken jaw can't keep him out of the Olympics, it's very possible he'll go on to tie that record.

Switching opponents, Team USA will take on Team Norway tomorrow. And Team Canada will face Jonas Hiller and Team Switzerland. The big game between USA and Canada will take place this Sunday, along with Team Finland versus rival Team Sweden.

A few of our Ducks have taken pen in hand to blog about their Olympic experiences. Ducks defenseman Ryan Whitney's blog can be found on the OC Register webpage, and netminder Jonas Hiller's blog can be found on the Ducks homepage.

Team USA vs Team Switzerland

The very first men's hockey Olympic game is a big one: Team USA vs Team Switzerland.

Considered the underdogs against big guns Canada and Russia, Team USA gets to start against a team that shouldn't be underestimated. Team Switzerland will have none other than our Jonas Hiller between the pipes, and we know just how hot Hiller is right now.

Team USA features Buffalo Sabres' Ryan Miller in net. Miller has the second top save percentage in the league, but has been facing some difficulties as of late. Only three guys on Team USA have been here before. Both players from our Anaheim Ducks, Ryan Whitney and my boy Bobby Ryan, are looking at their Olympic debut.

What an amazing feeling it must be to represent your country with so many other talented players that you've only shared ice with as opponents.

It's a little bittersweet that Bobby and Whitney will be taking shots on Hiller, but that's how it goes. Another familiar face on the Swiss team, prospect Luca Sbisa!

In the first period, the teams are looking pretty evenly matched. The Swiss aren't afraid to play rough, laying hard hits and grinding in the corners. Team USA has had less time to play together, while the Swiss have had at least 40 games worth of practice, sans Hiller and Mark Streit who play in the NHL.

Hiller is looking very sharp between the pipes, he's playing a great game. Team USA is putting pucks on him, but he's holding strong.

With only about a minute left in the first, David Backes forces the puck away with an effective forecheck behind the Swiss net. Bobby takes a hit along the boards and the puck squirts to the defender at the blue line who shoots it at Hiller. It's fought off and, as it rolls away from the goal, Bobby catches it in the slot and fires it over Hiller's glove hand.

Like I was saying, bittersweet. But it's Bobby's first Olympic goal and it puts Team USA up 1-0 going into the first intermission.

Play in the second amps up a few notches, becoming much more physical. Backes scores for Team USA. And then Ryan Malone too on the power play. They are tough bids on net and nobody can fault Hiller for them. Everyone is skating better in the second. Team USA gains confidence with those goals, driving hard to the net, connecting passes.

The rest of the second goes goal-less, with the Swiss defense looking strong.

The Swiss offense kicks up in the third. They create some scoring chances for themselves, and Team USA appears to be caught on their heels. Miller is forced to make some big saves. Inevitably, Team Switzerland scores on the power play.

On a sidenote, I gotta say I really do miss Luca Sbisa. Can't wait until he's back up with the Ducks.

As Team USA regains their confidence, Hiller continues to come up big on the saves. You can tell, he's playing an awesome game, with a number of sweeping glove saves that plenty of players on the ice are sure to recognize. Nothing gets by him during the final period. It will be a loss for Team Switzerland, but Hiller had one heck of a game.

Team USA didn't have the most pristine play on the ice, there are definitely some aspects that these guys need to clean up before they take on Team Canada on Sunday. Turnovers are a problem, and the defense needs to really step things up, but for a team of young firecrackers, they can be proud of a win today, 3-1.

Olympic schedule for men's hockey

The 2010 Winter Olympic games started last week with the opening ceremonies Friday evening. Most of the NHL players still had games to attend over the weekend and would join their respective national teams early this week. Our hometown heroes will be generously represented on the rosters of four different country teams.



The action starts off today with Team USA versus Team Switzerland at noon Pacific Standard Time. Yours truly will be at work, but recording the game at home.

For anyone curious about the first round of the men's olympic hockey schedule, here's a rundown: (games in italics feature Anaheim Ducks player(s) on the game roster)

Tuesday February 16:
- 1200-1500 PST: USA vs Switzerland on channel USA
- 1700-1900 PST: Canada vs Norway on CNBC
- 2130-2330 PST: Russia vs Latvia on CNBC
Wednesday February 17:
- 1200-1430 PST: Finland vs Belarus on MSNBC
- 1700-1900 PST: Sweden vs Germany on CNBC
- 2130-2330 PST: Czech vs Slovakia on CNBC
Thursday February 18:
- 1200-1430 PST: USA vs Norway on USA
- 1700-1900 PST: Canada vs Switzerland on CNBC
- 2130-2330 PST: Russia vs Slovakia on CNBC
Friday February 19:
- 1200-1430 PST: Sweden vs Belarus on MSNBC
- 1700-1900 PST: Czech vs Latvia on CNBC
- 2100-2400 PST: Russia vs Slovakia on CNBC
Saturday February 20:
- 1200-1430 PST: Norway vs Switzerland on MSNBC
- 1630-1900 PST: Slovakia vs Latvia on MSNBC
- 2100-2400 PST: Belarus vs Germany on MSNBC
Sunday February 21:
- 1500-1800 PST: Czech vs Russia on NBC
- 1600-1900 PST: Canada vs USA on MSNBC
- 2100-2400 PST: Sweden vs Finland on MSNBC

I'll post the rest of the men's hockey schedule a little later on in the week. Go teams! Go Ducks!! (And Go USA!! - hey, I never claimed I wasn't biased)