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2014 USA Olympic Hockey

Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

I don't care how you slice it up or how much hockey supposedly means to Canadians. You blow a 2-0 lead with 3 and a half minutes to go, that's a choke. 189 NHL teams had 2 goal leads with 3:26 left so far this year. Only one lost, and that was an awful Islanders team losing -- in a shootout by the way -- to a Tampa team that will likely be a playoff team.
 
WeAreNDHockey said:
I don't care how you slice it up or how much hockey supposedly means to Canadians. You blow a 2-0 lead with 3 and a half minutes to go, that's a choke. 189 NHL teams had 2 goal leads with 3:26 left so far this year. Only one lost, and that was an awful Islanders team losing -- in a shootout by the way -- to a Tampa team that will likely be a playoff team.
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Exactly. Which is why all the "game of inches" and "we carried majority of the play" BS that USA Hockey is spinning after this loss is so nauseating.

Sorry, I'm just tired of losing to Canada and this was the best shot we've had in some time. IMO, despite the close score we got out played in some important aspects of this game (posession most importantly) and it wasn't because of a lack of talent. If our players didn't lay it all on the line and block so many shots, this game could have been a comfortable Canadian win.

Hope we learn from this and adjust moving forward.
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

mnstate0fhockey said:
Exactly. Which is why all the "game of inches" and "we carried majority of the play" BS that USA Hockey is spinning after this loss is so nauseating.
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Sometimes I wonder if the fact that this was a women's team and not a men's team leads to all of the back slapping and complimentary words. Granted the men are professional athletes and it doesn't seem quite as unseemly to call them out for choking if they were to do the same thing, but I am tired of the kid glove way we treat our female teams sometimes. Didn't the same thing happen after the women lost the World Cup to Japan a couple of years back? If this was one of the lower seeded teams hanging with Canada, I could almost see the complimentary nature of a few post game comments. But the US team should be way beyond that stage of their development in this rivalry.
 
WeAreNDHockey said:
Sometimes I wonder if the fact that this was a women's team and not a men's team leads to all of the back slapping and complimentary words. Granted the men are professional athletes and it doesn't seem quite as unseemly to call them out for choking if they were to do the same thing, but I am tired of the kid glove way we treat our female teams sometimes. Didn't the same thing happen after the women lost the World Cup to Japan a couple of years back? If this was one of the lower seeded teams hanging with Canada, I could almost see the complimentary nature of a few post game comments. But the US team should be way beyond that stage of their development in this rivalry.
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Couldn't agree more.
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

first canada goal was lucky but the goal that tied it...just awful. goalie shovels it right out in front of the net and somehow we let the canadian forward get in there. just a horrible job all the way around.

even harder to stomach when you have a PP nullified in ot on a dreadful slashing call
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

to work as hard as they must have leading up to the olympics and to lose like that knowing this was either your last chance or that you have to wait four more years...wow. it's not like they can just shrug it off and try to win a stanley cup.
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

Let's talk about the coaching the last 10 minutes on both sides that made the difference. Any comments ?
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

i know kevin dineen was looking for work and canada women's team has been a wagon but still kinda cool that he took the job. how'd that all happen anyway? did they fire their previous coach?
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

J.D. said:
i know kevin dineen was looking for work and canada women's team has been a wagon but still kinda cool that he took the job. how'd that all happen anyway? did they fire their previous coach?
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I was interested in the game decisions or lack of it in the last 10 minutes. I thought Dineen outcoached Stone badly and it led to the US meltdown the last 3-7 minutes. Obviously, many think sitting on a 2-goal lead was disastrous and needs an explanation by Stone to justify her strategy. Why no timeout called ? Why didn't she talk to the team to settle them down after the 1st Canadien goal ? Why double shift players too much that made them ineffective due to fatigue ?
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

Is it just me or is anybody else laughing their tails off at how badly Russia botched this Olympic tournament? There have been so many head-shaking decisions; starting Varlamov over a superior Bobrovsky against Finland who was coming off of a shutout against Norway? Using your once in a century chance of hosting a home Winter Olympics as a propaganda piece for trying (and failing) to prove that KHL players are equal to your NHL players? You have a handful of NHL studs, why is a KHLer playing on the first line with Ovie and Malkin? Why is Malkin stuck on the 2nd PP unit? I realize that you only have a few days to get your team together but why not try to put in at least a basic offensive system, especially against the Finns who everybody knows is going to try to trap you to death?? Russia dominated the international hockey scene for half of a century using a style that was focused on systematic puck possession and passing as a means of creating offensive productivity...it's almost painful to watch how they seem to willingly ignore that recipe and are content to try and let their dynamic players just take the puck up the ice as far as they can and hope for a shot, it's like watching an undisciplined pee wee team. With all of the pressure that was riding on the hockey team for a gold medal in these Olympics I just am shocked at how terrible of a plan they had.
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

AnchorsAway said:
Is it just me or is anybody else laughing their tails off at how badly Russia botched this Olympic tournament? There have been so many head-shaking decisions; starting Varlamov over a superior Bobrovsky against Finland who was coming off of a shutout against Norway? Using your once in a century chance of hosting a home Winter Olympics as a propaganda piece for trying (and failing) to prove that KHL players are equal to your NHL players? You have a handful of NHL studs, why is a KHLer playing on the first line with Ovie and Malkin? Why is Malkin stuck on the 2nd PP unit? I realize that you only have a few days to get your team together but why not try to put in at least a basic offensive system, especially against the Finns who everybody knows is going to try to trap you to death?? Russia dominated the international hockey scene for half of a century using a style that was focused on systematic puck possession and passing as a means of creating offensive productivity...it's almost painful to watch how they seem to willingly ignore that recipe and are content to try and let their dynamic players just take the puck up the ice as far as they can and hope for a shot, it's like watching an undisciplined pee wee team. With all of the pressure that was riding on the hockey team for a gold medal in these Olympics I just am shocked at how terrible of a plan they had.
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Well obviously the breakup of the Soviet brought political and social changes that affected that old system that was very effective against the world and NHL when they used to have those games, and even Orr admitted and gave the Russians credit.

I think you're right on with some of the things you mentioned and maybe not having their coach Brooks to run the team and exposure to western ideas and influence has eroded all that dominance from the past. When Brooks picked that team that upset the Russians, he didn't pick all the best players but the players that fit his team to upset the Russians.
 
BCeagle said:
Let's talk about the coaching the last 10 minutes on both sides that made the difference. Any comments ?
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I didn't like sitting back on the lead. I also found it troubling that Knight wasn't put in on some key faceoffs late, and that Kessel wasn't on the ice much (if at all) 4x4 or 3x3. She struggled at times with the limited space Canada gave, but 4x4 and 3x3 she should have had plenty and she is a dynamic talent. It also looked like the coaches on the US bench sort of shut down near the end. I didn't see a lot of communication with the players, but hard to really tell watching on TV.

Also completely agree with you on not calling a timeout and double-shifting players. Kind of what I was trying to nicely refer to when I said we didn't lose because of a lack of talent.
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

I agree, I'm so used to seeing a coach like York talking and delegating to his coaches. Used a timeout if necessary to settle things and to give a plan and focus on the job at hand. I didn't see any coaching on the bench but stoic faces.

I always see him with a note pad, dry boards, and communicating confidence to his players.
 
BCeagle said:
Well obviously the breakup of the Soviet brought political and social changes that affected that old system that was very effective against the world and NHL when they used to have those games, and even Orr admitted and gave the Russians credit.

I think you're right on with some of the things you mentioned and maybe not having their coach Brooks to run the team and exposure to western ideas and influence has eroded all that dominance from the past. When Brooks picked that team that upset the Russians, he didn't pick all the best players but the players that fit his team to upset the Russians.
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Brooks was a master of getting players to buy into his systems though, too. Have heard lots of his ex players discuss his coaching style and many have said he always knew what buttons to push to motivate each individual. Some guys resonded to tough love, and some guys would respond to less direct approach. Not many of his players understood him, and many didn't like him at the time, but all respected him.

IMO it takes a lot of balls to leave some of the best players at your disposal at home, and it can really back-fire on you if you don't get players to buy into your system.

Not saying that's what happened here with Stone, but this team clearly lacked some grit against Canada and the Canadians completely dictated style of play in both games we played them. We didn't adjust at all to their physical play and the lack of time and space they gave us. Not sure if that was just poor coaching, wrong mix of players, or what.

Water under the bridge now, but I just hope USA Hockey learns from this. This wasn't the first Olympic games we've gotten beat on the boards and dominated in the paint against Canada.
 
BCeagle said:
I agree, I'm so used to seeing a coach like York talking and delegating to his coaches. Used a timeout if necessary to settle things and to give a plan and focus on the job at hand. I didn't see any coaching on the bench but stoic faces.

I always see him with a note pad, dry boards, and communicating confidence to his players.
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York is a genius. One of the best coaches this country has ever produced. Have mad respect for that man.
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

I would have loved to see Mark Johnson coach those Women. And for that shot that hit the empty net post go in.
 
MAVFANJEFF said:
I would have loved to see Mark Johnson coach those Women. And for that shot that hit the empty net post go in.
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Bit of divine justice there.. because the lines(wo)man completely interfered with the Canadian D at the point on that play.. she's not there.. there is no shot towards that empty net..
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

now a timeout after that first Canada goal.. yes. we can def second guess all that..

blown, blown opportunities..
 
Re: 2014 USA Olympic Hockey

mnstate0fhockey said:
If our players didn't lay it all on the line and block so many shots, this game could have been a comfortable Canadian win.
Hope we learn from this and adjust moving forward.
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You just made my point. It was an incredible effort, but they lost to a more talented team.
 
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