Storm players are all winners!

It was an incredible game to cap a terrific season. No one expected this team to win but someone forgot to the players that. Early blowouts didn't matter. We just went out and beat the same teams the next time out. The early tournament losses came to an end in Erie where the team came together and beat everyone but an A team. We weren't expected to do much against Etobicoke in the playoffs. Hadn't beaten them all year. But there we were in a final game that had to be decided in a shootout. The other team was terrified of us because we refused to give up. We came out hard in the first period and Amanda gave the team an early lead. By the end of the period it was 2-0 on a goal by Caitlin. Then the Storm just checked, checked, checked. The scoring chances were all ours as the backchecking took away and opportunities for the Dolphins to score. Same thing happened in overtime. So it had to come down to a shootout and the superior shooting team pervailed although they didn't really play well enough to win. And they knew it. Their faces told the story.

The Storm had 14 games in the month of February which is quite workload and only lost 5. We played hard most of the season and despite holes in our game just wouldn't give up. Next season will be even better.

It's our game!

Maybe Brian Burke and Rown Wilson knows something about building a winner

I'm amazed how many Leaf fans have recently called for the dismissal of both Brian Burke and Ron Wilson. As if in a few months they can reverse 43 years of futility. How fair is that?

So I have to admit I get great satisfaction and encouragement in watching what has been happening with the U.S. Olympic hockey team. No one really gave them a chance of winning. My guess is only two players, Ryan Miller and Zach Parise, could have made the Canadian team. Yet they are the only undefeated team in the Olympic tournament and playing for gold against the stacked Canadian team.

So who still thinks Brian Burke doesn't know how to build a winner or Ron Wilson can't coach? I'm looking forward to the next few years.

Look out USA we are going for GOLD!

Storm stay alive

With our leading scorer out with a bad wing and our backs against the wall, the Storm came out swinging. We played Storm hockey tonight. Short shifts, fast pace and tough along the boards. Amanda jumped up to take Gabby's spot in on right wing and scored a fabulous goal on a wrap around. The Dolphins battled back to take a 2-1 lead into the third period. Staring at elimination just 12 minutes away we took it to the Dolphins and tied the game up on a goal by Genevieve off a rebound following a great scoring chance by Alex(the scorer's version). For those who saw Alex's shot go in, well you aren't blind (please no comments about the refs). The Dolphins put on pressure late in the game but couldn't beat Paolina and the game ended 2-2.

This sets up a possible thriller on Sunday when the Storm must win the game and then beat the Dolphins in overtime. It happened last year so why not this season?

Politics sink the Russian hockey team

After the opening barrage in last night's hockey game, the Russians folded and called it a night. In was shocking to see how passionless the team played and the contrast to the Canadian juggernaut was so obvious. To some extent the team never came together in time just like Team Canada in 2006. In fact Team Canada may have been fortunate to have lost to the Americans on Sunday because it game them an extra game to come together.

Still I can't help but wonder whether the Russians ever had a chance. Some very prominent Russian NHL players were never invited to play including Sergei Zubov, Alexei Kovalev and Alexander Frolov. Instead, the Russian team was stacked with nine KHL players to go with the 14 NHLers. The team captain was not Alex Ovechkin or Pavel Datsyuk but KHL player Alexei Morozov. I have no doubt that politics was a factor in these selections. There has been tremendous pressure to repatriate as many Russian players back to Russian leagues. Someone was also pressured to include as many players playing in Russia in order to make a political statement. Except it didn't work out too well.

I'm guessing the selection process will change considerably in four years.

Team Canada outscores opposition 48-2

The Canadian women's hockey team dominated these Olympics scoring 48 goals and only giving up a pair over 5 games. We will hear the usual noise about how this shouldn't be an Olympic event. Just a lot of nonsense. Yes this has largely been a 2 country competition since introduced in 1998. It will take time for the rest of the world to catch up.

In the 1924 Olympics, the Canadian men's hockey team outscored their opponents in the preliminary round 84-0 over 3 games (30-0 against the Czechs, 22-0 against the Swede and 33-0 against the Swiss). They went on to win the gold medal with a 6-1 win over the USA. Harry Watson was their top scorer with 37 goals in 5 games. Things have changed since 1924. In Vancouver, Canada needed a shootout to beat Switzerland. The gap has been closed and the same will happen over time in women's hockey.

So enjoy the victory because over time they will not come this easy.

Whoa baby! That was amazing!

That had to have been one of the most exciting hockey games I've ever seen. It goes down there with game 8 of the 1972 hockey summit. Except tonight's game saw Team Canada Russia, something that haven't done since the 1950s. At times I thought I was watching a replay of the Canada-Norway game.

They dominated in every way. Besides outscoring the Russians 7-3 and outshooting them 42-28, they also badly out hit them. I haven't been able to find hitting statistics for the game but I'm sure Canada at least doubled the Russians in hits. Certainly the Canadian doubters have jumped back on the bandwagon. As I told my American friend on Sunday, the Canada-U.S. game was meaningless since both were moving on. I suggested that he "enjoy the moment" and we will "see you in the final."

Today turned out to be one of the greatest days in Olympic history for Canada. The gold and silver in women's bobsled is unprecedented for Canada. Add to that the silver in the women’s short-track. But the most significant win was bronze by 37-year old Clara Hughes in the 5,000 metre long track skating. Hughes is one of the greatest Canadian athletes of all time. In fact few athletes around the world have matched her accomplishments. Six medals spread over four Winter and Summer Olympics. She is truly an inspiration and role model.

It was a great day to be a Canadian!

Canada hasn't lost anything yet

The panic button is being hit right across Canada after last night's loss to the U.S. In short series goalies can steal a win or two That's why the Stanley Cup is a best 4 out of 7. Certainly Team Canada could have played better last night. Defensive coverage at times was weak and the team took a series of damaging penalties. However they dominated the game and just couldn't beat Miller more than 3 times.

This isn't the same team that went to Turin and was shutout 3 times. More like the 2002 team. If you remember that team lost the opener to Sweden 5-2. They squeaked by Germany 3-2 and then tied the Czechs 3-3. So their record after the initial round robin was just 1-1-1. At the time the country was also in panic mode and Wayne Gretzky went to the media to declare the world was against them after a missed call by a referee on a hit from behind on Theo Fleury. In the quarterfinals Canada beat the Finns 2-1 and then blew away Belarus 8-1. In the finals the handed the Americans a 5-2 loss.

It's hard to go undefeated in a tournament like this. The gap between Canada and the rest of the world has closed considerably. Many hockey nations now have strong goaltending which helps to level the playing field. Countries that are largely made up of NHL players do not prepare for the Olympics which creates a considerable disadvantage. Meanwhile the Swiss and Germans have 4 year hockey programs designed to inflict the maximum pain to powerhouses like Canada and Russia.

The Swiss team are drawn largely from the Swiss league and practice regularly during the hockey season. They have developed a distinct style of play - much like Muhammad Ali's "rope a dope" approach in his fight with George Forman. They will sit back and allow you to attack while waiting for you to make a mistake. That's what the Americans did last night. Canada has to take a much more conservative approach to international play. Much like what you would do in the 7th game of a Stanley Cup final.

So tomorrow they take on the Germans which will be followed by the Russians. If they are truly the best team at the Olympics then they will eventually have to take care of Ovechkin and company.

As for the Americans, they are not guaranteed a birth in the finals quite yet. They have to take on the pesky Swiss with their version of goaltending hell in the form of Jonas Hiller.

Ouch, that wasn't pretty

Canada badly out shot and out chanced the Americans yet played a brutal game with bad penalties, poor penalty killing, and some erratic play by Martin Brodeur. It will be interesting to see who starts the quarterfinal game.

Probably nothing more embarrassing than the three Canadian players colliding into each other.



It's not over yet but sure is getting interesting.

Turning point of the Russia/Czech Republic game

Jagr took the puck at center ice and saw Ovechkin steaming towards him at the red line. He attempted to avoid the hit by bringing the puck to his backhand and move around him. Then BOOM!

How does Team Canada and Team USA match up

	Canada	USA
Career goals	372	263
Career wins (goalies)	992	355
Average height	6’ 2.2”	6’ 0.5”
Average weight	208 lb	203 lb
Average age	28.3	26.2
Stanley Cup winners	14	6
Trophy winners	Hart (4), Art Ross (3), Vezina (4), Norris (2)	Vezina (1)

Storm come back from the brink

Once again the Storm waste a very strong effot by taking late penalties to put themselves in a hole but this time they dug themselves out for an thrilling finish. The Storm came out flying and held a strong territorial advantage in the first period but couldn't beat the Etobicoke goalie. But after 142 minutes and 39 seconds of going scoreless against the Dolphins, the goose egg was broken. Genevieve on a breakaway finally scored to give the Storm a 1-0 lead. However, just over a minute later, while on the powerplay the Dolphins once again scored to even up the game.

Early the in the third period the Storm once again began taking a series of penalties and the Dolphins once again capitalized to take a 3-1 lead. It wasn't looking good for the Storm. However, Genevieve scored her second of the game to bring the Storm to within one. With less than 4 minutes remaining the Storm was again killing a penalty but this time they were able to kill it off. When even strength and Bianca on the bench for an extra skater the Storm were pressing the Dolphins and forcing their goalie to come up with some big saves. With the clocking ticking down Gabby passed the puck into the crease from the corner where Alex redirected it over the goalie's shoulder with just 6 seconds remaining in game.

With 3 out of 4 points in their first 2 playdown games, the Storm are still in contention for the one regional Provincial spot.

Storm let game slip away

A terrific effort by the Storm was wasted tonight as a pair of third period penalties led to two powerplay goals by the Dolphins big gun. That was the games as the Storm went down 2-0. There were plenty of scoring chances but the gals couldn't finish giving the Dolphins their 4th shutout in 4 games against us. Not a good place to be in with a playdown game coming up against the same team. Hey eventually we're going to score against this team. I know it's going to be the next game.

GO STORM GO!

Storm start off Playdowns with a win

The Storm scored just 25 seconds into the game and cruised to an easy 3-1 win over the lifeless Wildcats from Leaside. Let's face it the margin would have been much larger if not for the great work by the Leaside goalie who has kept scores close all season long. Caitlin opened the scoring finishing off a beautiful three-way passing play with her linemates Maddie L and Alicia. Shortly after that Leaside did tie the score when the jumped on a loose puck in front of the Storm net. Later in the period the Storm jumped ahead off a breakaway by Genevieve. The third period saw the Storm pepper the Leaside net with some tough shots but only shot by Kailee off a rebound actually found the back of the net.

The next playdown game should be tougher when the Storm faceoff against Etobicoke.

LLFHL Divisional Semi Finals

Congratulations to the Storm Midget BB, Midget B and PeeWee B teams for qualifying for Round 2 of the LLFHL playoffs.

GO STORM GO!

Worst outfits in Vancouver go to...

the Norwegian curling squad.

Fellow Canadians we have to stop saying we’re sorry!

So there is grumbling from some quarters that the Vancouver Olympics haven’t been perfect. Big deal! The big beefs are weather and transportation.

Vancouver is experiencing the mildest January on record. Weather is a factor in every Olympic and guess what – you can’t go anything about it. No one has invented a mechanism for redirecting frigid Arctic air. If they knew how to, I happen to know where they can find a lot of hot air that needs chilling. In the meantime, how often do you get to wear shorts at a Winter Olympics.

Every Olympics also have some transportation issues. As I recall the Atlanta Olympics was a nightmare. Let’s face it you typically will have some problems when you have to transport a whole lot of people quickly around an already congested city. Usually the bugs are worked out after a couple of days. A lot of buses have been crapping out. Organizers said Monday that 100 new buses had been ordered to replace vehicles leased from California (the engine were probably made by Pontiac) that appeared to be having mechanical issues.

Some in the international press have labeled the ‘Own the Podium’ program as arrogant nationalism and contrary to the Olympic spirit. Not true. The program was aimed to provide enough funding to athletes so that we wouldn’t be embarrassed on the world stage as we were in 1976 and 1988. Nonetheless, our funding pales compared to some countries. The program was also intended to encourage Canadian athletes to believe in themselves. If you want to see arrogance, trying checking out an NBA game some time soon.

Over the weekend several American friends kindly reported back to me that the opening ceremony was boring. It wasn’t like Beijing two years ago. Well no apologies from me that we didn’t spend $0.5 billion on a 3 hour show. We didn’t have a thousand drummers (likely prisoners chained together) wearing diapers. We didn’t have dissidents picked up and jailed for the duration of the games. We just had a very low key, Canadian production that highlighted Canadian heritage and culture. I thought it was moving. If you didn’t like it then you could have switched to that culturally-challenged karaoke show, American Idol. Now that is entertainment. If you couldn’t appreciate that inspirational performance of “We Are More” by Shane Koyczan well that’s just too bad. I’m not sorry.

Roges can solve your Maple Leaf anxiety issues

Canada crushes Slovakia 18-0

It was an embarrassing win that will further fuel critics who don’t believe the women’s game is competitive enough to be part of the Winter Games. One of my stealth reporters was able to video a skill competition involving the top female hockey players in Slovakia.