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2023 Womens Worlds and U18 Women’s Worlds

After sticking with TSN for the entire tournament, the NHL Network decides on its own pregame and intermission shows.

Lame.
 
Looks like an incredible atmosphere.

knight and Kessel just connected to tie it. I love that Knight is so old she doesn’t do fancy celebrations. Such a classic hockey player.
 
After sticking with TSN for the entire tournament, the NHL Network decides on its own pregame and intermission shows.

Lame.

i wonder if it’s because they’ve been criticized by USA fans who say they don’t want to watch pro Canada media in a gold medal game. So maybe a USA hockey ask?

don’t need to repeatedly watch Czechia Swiss highlights tho like we are getting instead.

ugh now we’re getting a preview of the western conference Nhl playoffs.
 
Hilary Knight with a hat trick. Wow!

im just gonna say it…. No way they collapse and give up 2 goals in less than 3 minutes.
 
So PROUD of the US Women!!!! Regarding the network, I agree. TSN does a much better job. And I'm sorry, but Tessa Bonhomme has played for years and knows the game. As do Kenzie LaLonde and Cheryl Pounder. Why would you switch now? The NHL Network crew added ZERO to the broadcast. I just fast-forwarded through it. I also have to say that Kenzie is one of the best play-by-play people I have ever heard. Man, woman or anything else. She is outstanding.
 
Thompson's undisciplined rush to clear the zone with her backhand, when she had a bit of time, closed the back cover of the book for Canada. They actually did the same thing twice in the same game earlier in the tournament...might have been against the US...can't recall.

The US capitalized on their opportunities especially late in the game and were dangerous early with numerous odd man rushes.

Blazing fast game.

An absolute pleasure to watch all the skill on display with the speed of execution pretty much off the charts for both teams.

And we thought the skill level and speed of execution was great 15 years ago. Would have been hard to imagine back then how much better it could still get and has.

These are enormously dedicated athletes constantly training while many of them (certainly the older ones) pretty much put their futures on hold while not having the benefit of multi million dollar contracts to provide financial peace of mind.

They have my utmost respect.

For the love of the game.
 
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Thompson's undisciplined rush to clear the zone with her backhand, when she had a bit of time, closed the back cover of the book for Canada. They actually did the same thing twice in the same game earlier in the tournament...might have been against the US...can't recall.

The US capitalized on their opportunities especially late in the game and were dangerous early with numerous odd man rushes.

Blazing fast game.

An absolute pleasure to watch all the skill on display with the speed of execution pretty much off the charts for both teams.

And we thought the skill level and speed of execution was great 15 years ago. Would have been hard to imagine back then how much better it could still get and has.

There are enormously dedicated athletes constantly training while many of them (certainly the older ones) pretty much put their futures on hold while not having the benefit of multi million dollar contracts to provide financial peace of mind.

They have my utmost respect.

For the love of the game.

And didn’t Eden do the same thing earlier this game? Seems so prevalent I was wondering if it’s these composite sticks or something. The puck just sails on the players it seems.


Probably just human error. Yes they have my respect too! Awesome athletes and competitors.
 
i wonder if it’s because they’ve been criticized by USA fans who say they don’t want to watch pro Canada media in a gold medal game.

The thing is, I thought they were very objective. Considering that 1) they all played for Canada, 2) hockey is the state religion up there and 3) the crowd (and, subsequently, the atmosphere) was 99% fanatical Canadiens. Also, it's a Canadian network and probably 99% of the TV audience (except for a few of us die-hards) was Canadian. It would have been perfectly understandable if they were biased. But they weren't. And I don't know how old you are, but I remember the 1970s with Howie Meeker practically crying on air when Canada lost to Russia in the Canada Cup. "What are we gonna do, we gotta DO something!!!!!!"
 
So PROUD of the US Women!!!! Regarding the network, I agree. TSN does a much better job. And I'm sorry, but Tessa Bonhomme has played for years and knows the game. As do Kenzie LaLonde and Cheryl Pounder. Why would you switch now? The NHL Network crew added ZERO to the broadcast. I just fast-forwarded through it. I also have to say that Kenzie is one of the best play-by-play people I have ever heard. Man, woman or anything else. She is outstanding.

Don't forget Jayna Hefford, Sammi Jo Small, Cassie Campbell (and a couple more that I can't remember at the moment) were all part of the commentary contributors. All of them were stars for years at the National level of the Women's Game and most, if not all, of them are Olympians. They understand the Women's Game at the highest level. So, I agree, how does that part of the broadcast get any better? It just doesn't. TSN does a great job because they have this talent pool that they tap into.

(If you ever get a chance you might want to watch a game for which Gord Miller is doing the play by play on TSN. Adds phenomenal value to any game. World Juniors is a good bet to catch him).
 
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And didn't Eden do the same thing earlier this game? Seems so prevalent I was wondering if it's these composite sticks or something. The puck just sails on the players it seems.


Probably just human error. Yes they have my respect too! Awesome athletes and competitors.

Yes, you're right, she did, forgot about that. You might have a point with respect to the sticks. Although the way Thompson was facing when she lifted the backhand...if it was high enough, the only place it could have gone was out of play. It was uncharacteristically "amateurish" at this level. Looked to me like a second of panic and her synapses went for a coffee break. Split second failure to focus. Must have been agonizing for her thinking it through while sitting in the box.
 
The thing is, I thought they were very objective. Considering that 1) they all played for Canada, 2) hockey is the state religion up there and 3) the crowd (and, subsequently, the atmosphere) was 99% fanatical Canadiens. Also, it's a Canadian network and probably 99% of the TV audience (except for a few of us die-hards) was Canadian. It would have been perfectly understandable if they were biased. But they weren't. And I don't know how old you are, but I remember the 1970s with Howie Meeker practically crying on air when Canada lost to Russia in the Canada Cup. "What are we gonna do, we gotta DO something!!!!!!"

I was not around in the ‘70’s but that sounds like a very Canadian response to Canada losing. Oh Canada. I’m trying to think of my first international hockey memory like actually seeing it on tv and remembering it and it’s the 2002 Olympics: the failure of USA to score on endless power plays and the reaction of the NHL guys seeing the women celebrate (which they say further motivated them to want to do the same a few days later).

Probably my fave commentator was the eloquent and respectful way Doc Emrick captured the post game footage of the 2014 Olympics.

Personally I love the tsn coverage. I was just being a messenger from something I heard a year ago…. Some US fans have vocalized what they deserve is coverage from a knowledgeable mainstream tv US media. Hopefully one day. Knight just put on a performance for the ages and let’s be real, most little American hockey girls didn’t see it. Mine did though. :-)

edit: agree with you that they are objective and professional!!!! They are all awesome and this whole coverage was amazing …. Starting off the tourney with an Angela James and Vickey Sunohara interview from the “90 Team Canada and then seeing Fran Rider of the OWHA, a decades long builder of girls hockey for Ontario hand out the final trophy. Heck of a tournament production start to finish.
 
Some US fans have vocalized what they deserve is coverage from a knowledgeable mainstream tv US media.

We have had similar discussions on the men's threads. It can be difficult for many people to accept, but the reality is that hockey in general is still a "niche" sport in the US. College even moreso. Every year there are complaints about the game times for the playoffs, TV coverage, etc. They show lacrosse, swimming, water polo and softball before hockey. We sometimes have to wait for an overtime game in some other sport until they join the hockey game midway through the first period (or later). Yeah, it's frustrating, but it is what it is. The reality is we're lucky they cover it at all. I spent my entire life in Massachusetts before we moved (semi-retired) to South Carolina two years ago. They don't even know what ice is here. The only reason SOME people even know what hockey is would be because the Hartford Whalers moved to Raleigh, NC, twenty-three years ago. College hockey, forget it. And women's hockey is basically an extension of college/Olympic, because, as many have pointed out, there is no "NHL equivalent" league here for women, so the players are basically amateurs. The network is not going to show something that 5,000 will be watching. They would rather show a Division III basketball game that, maybe, 1,000,000 are watching, because it's all about advertising and ratings.

So, the people that said that about the coverage simply don't understand the economic reality behind the decision. In Canada, it's hockey first and everything else a distant tenth. And I know the argument that the NHL has expanded into all of these other markets in the U.S. The problem is, you can't play the game on the frozen ponds of Florida (I'm NOT being sarcastic) or Arizona. Becuase THAT is how you truly learn to love a sport We played baseball EVERY DAY after school for probably ten years. You become good at something because you LOVE it and you PRACTICE every day. I don't mean "organized" practice. We watched and mimicked the pros. I could imitate any Red Sox player's swing, throw or style. It becomes second nature. The reason that Canada has more World Championships than anyone else is because the game is second-nature to them. One can argue all they want, "Well, they have rinks in Texas, you know." Yeah, so what? So your parents pay $20/day so you can attend a "practice" is some rink. Then what? You have to wait until next week's practice to get on ice. And we know how those things go; the "good" players get all the ice team and the rest sit and watch. My grandmother had a pond behind our house. THAT'S where I learned to skate...not in some rink. THAT'S why the Canadians are good. You play pickup games and you learn moves and fundamentals in real time and speed that some "drill" alone can't teach you.

I saw Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe play in old Boston Garden. When you have a sixty-year perspective it becomes more clear. I was at Game 4 of the 1977 Stanley Cup at the Garden, when that Canadiens team, maybe the greatest team of all time, swept the Bruins and paraded around the ice with the cup. It was amazing....Guy LaFleur, Ken Dryden, Jacquest Laperriere, Serge Savard, Henri Richard, Yvan Cornoyer, and coached by Scotty Bowman. You get a real sense of how deep the game is from their perspective.

The U.S. announcers were the same way about basketball. In the '72 Olympics, the United States had a record of 63-0 going into the Gold Medal game against the Soviet Union. It was a close game (you can look up the details, I won't go into it too deeply), and when Doug Collins sunk two free throws with three seconds left, the U.S. took a 50-49 lead. Subsequently, the Soviets threw the ball in and failed to score. But wait, the horn went off and they were "given another chance." This time they threw the ball the length of the court and Alexander Belov laid it in, winning the game 51-49. It was clearly a fix; the game should have been over twice before. The U.S. announcers went crazy.

All of this indicates how one's actions change depending upon your viewpoint and how important something is deemed to be.

Anyway, I'm happy that your little girl DID see it. We do what we love and are fortunate to have the opportunity to do so. But hockey is never going to be a "mainstream" sport in this country, and we have to accept that. Or not. There are additional reasons, but I don't want to get into controversial stuff here, since we are celebrating a fantastic game (and outcome). :smiley (as I have said on the other thread, I will keep literally typing out "smiley" until they allow us to once again use emojis)
 
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What do you think of the "youth" movement on Team USA? Was that what made a difference?

Obviously, Hillary Knight was the answer in the gold medal game, but we were missing some big names that have been a part of this team for many years.
 
What do you think of the "youth" movement on Team USA? Was that what made a difference?

Obviously, Hillary Knight was the answer in the gold medal game, but we were missing some big names that have been a part of this team for many years.

She on the tip of my tongue but she's expecting a baby soon.
 
I do not know but I know that I saw a look of regret and panic in the canadian coach's eyes after Sweden scored with 9 seconds in regulation and just before the 3-on-3 OT. It was probably the regret of leaving her off this game and the knowledge that Sweden would have won if the OT turned into a shootout.

If Desbiens played in this game the score would probably have been 4-0 or 5-0 Canada. It is amazing how much more confident the team is when she is in net. She now has a 21-0 winning record in Olympic and World championship play which is quite an astounding statistic. Clearly the best goalie to ever play for the program ever.

Subject to her performance in the gold medal game, Desbiens should probably receive some kind of tournament award but the IIHF will likely give their goalie awards to a non-North american goalie who played a good but losing game against USA or Canada, as per the usual politics. I prefer it going to someone who has displayed skill and consistency over the course of the whole tournament and not just in any one game. But I do not make the rules. I look forward to the gold medal game.

Canada's PP looks predictable and at times, dreadful. Needs fixing.

I wonder what the score would have been in the gold medal game if Desbiens hadn't played? Maybe the US would have put up double digits?
 
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