WC QROUND: May 6 GDT - USA vs. Finland
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nomorekids
The original, baby
starsgal09 said:
and i love how one goal will make a someone with a love-on for one player absolutely forget that aside from that one goal, that player should have been leading the team...not turning in a phantom performance.
nyrmessier011
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CDeeps
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- Apr 15, 2005
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nomorekids said:
Oh. Well, at least I generated an interesting discussion. I even got our Finnish friends involved. Actually, if anyone knows anything about Tim Thomas, they do, having seen him play in the SM-Liiga this season. So maybe they could offer their perspective on Tim Thomas possibly playing goal against Tre Konor.
And hats off to Finland. Even when we were up 3-1, I had a bad feeling in my stomach. There's no quit in the Finnish Lions, that's for sure. I knew Hagman had to come through at some point. I predicted he'd be an impact player in this tournament, but until today I wasn't look too clairvoyant.
CDeeps said:
True, goalies of that calibre are not supposed to let in shots from so far away. However, the slapper was hard and went in right next to the post...excellent play by J. Ruutu.
Not to mention the fact it was hidden behind the American defenceman...make no mistake,its a soft goal...but lets be honest here...The Americans are rebuilding this year...and any ties/wins they get from this point on are a bonus for them.Boucicaut said:
If Finland lose against Canada and Latvia, and Latvia beat Ukraine...that whould mean that Finland is out of the Worlds 
Everest said:
Yep, they finally went for a younger roster. A good move IMO. Same applies to Finland BTW, we have seven newcomers I believe.
wassup77 said:If Finland lose against Canada and Latvia, and Latvia beat Ukraine...that whould mean that Finland is out of the Worlds
Sure, this is entirely within the realm of possibilities. The same applies to Sweden, you finally seem to have put together a roster that can actually accomplish something. Miracles do happen.
Boucicaut said:Sure, this is entirely within the realm of possibilities. The same applies to Sweden, you finally seem to have put together a roster that can actually accomplish something. Miracles do happen.
Hehehehe, it whould be really funny!
Cole has looked good...I haven't seen him this aggressive since the Canes went to the Cup final with Cole and Battaglia dominating. I was hard on him today,saying he doesn't get Modano the puck...but Modano has to learn to stay close to Cole when Cole has the puck...by supporting him,Modano can get alot of free ice,as Cole often takes 2or3 guys to stop him.Boucicaut said:
VanIslander
20 years of All-Time Drafts on HfBoards
(1) Cole looked sad for much of the game. A guy with heart who was repeatedly made ineffective by Finnish checkers and defensemen.
But as the game went on his determination started paying off with offensive opportunities. He even began to win a couple of battles behind the net and in the corners after being schooled earlier.
(2) I was more impressed with Richard Park, who was making a lot of plays happen and was one of the best players on the ice even aside from hitting the post and later scoring a goal.
(3) I was not impressed with the USA defensemen's constant troubles in their own end. They had trouble getting the puck out, lost a lot of physical battles and gave up at least three clear breakaways and numerous other scoring chances. That aside, the d-men did some nice work in the offensive zone including key roles on two goals.
But as the game went on his determination started paying off with offensive opportunities. He even began to win a couple of battles behind the net and in the corners after being schooled earlier.
(2) I was more impressed with Richard Park, who was making a lot of plays happen and was one of the best players on the ice even aside from hitting the post and later scoring a goal.
(3) I was not impressed with the USA defensemen's constant troubles in their own end. They had trouble getting the puck out, lost a lot of physical battles and gave up at least three clear breakaways and numerous other scoring chances. That aside, the d-men did some nice work in the offensive zone including key roles on two goals.
CDeeps
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- Apr 15, 2005
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VanIslander said:
What defensemen inparticular played poorly? It seems Andy Roach has been playing pretty well, but I haven't heard too much about the other blueliners. Liles is a +4, so he can't be doing too bad. Martin and Miller were both -2 on the day, so I'm guessing they had a tough time getting the puck out of their own end.
Jokerit Wasp
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- Mar 8, 2004
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Tim Thomas had a spectacular SM Liiga season. Save % aroudn 93%, GAA under 1.5, 15 shut outs....he was outdone by Backstrom in the final though. I cant see Thomas being anything but solid if he was given a chance by USA, and having seen Dipietro and Conklin, ive no doubt he can be as good or better than them two. Have Dipietro or Conklin played any competitive hockey in the last 12 months?
Backstrom was dodgy, as dodgy as Norrena was against Sweden, and of course the last goal was down to Backstrom. Does Finland ever have a solid goalie??!
Backstrom was dodgy, as dodgy as Norrena was against Sweden, and of course the last goal was down to Backstrom. Does Finland ever have a solid goalie??!
mattihp
Registered User
Finland would've had a (more) solid goalie in every tournament if they don't get toyed around with. Switching back and forth only ruins both goalies' confidence.Jokerit Wasp said:Backstrom was dodgy, as dodgy as Norrena was against Sweden, and of course the last goal was down to Backstrom. Does Finland ever have a solid goalie??!
Ajacied
Stay strong Appie! ❤
Pepper
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- Aug 30, 2004
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Ott = Snott said:
From the top of my head, starting from the first line:
OJ: Scored an important goal to tie the game, fought off Aaron Miller in front of the goal and one-handed the puck in to the goal between Conklin's pads. Otherwise seemed little shaky, could be because of his sucky linemates. B-
Peltonen: bad game, was pushed off by the americans almost every time he got the puck, didn't use his speed and generally did nothing. C
Kallio: beyond brutal, missed one breakaway with a shot that would have been ridiculed in E-juniors. Didn't do ANYTHING, kept turning over the puck, brutal in his own end and couldn't help his linemates at all. D-
Karalahti: Solid game with couple of big hits, nice play in front of the goal and no nonsense stuff. B+
Timonen: Brutal in his own end, partly responsible for 2 goals against and caused numerous other dangerous situations with his hazardous play. Where's the guy who was the best d-man of the World Cup??? Stupid penalties and nervous passing. D+
Teletubbies (I'll treat them as a line here, Kapanen, Pärssinen, Hentunen): the best line we had last night offensively, managed to create lots of chances with their speed. Unfortunately the finish was not (once again) there so the first goal of Pärssinen was the only thing that they produced. Kapanen with couple of rrrreaaally stupid penalties, the latter caused the 2nd goal of US. Pärä missed a 3-0 attack with an incredibly stupid decision & poor shot, that would have sealed the game. B+
Väänänen: Best d-man once again, solid everywhere and was good in both ends, I wish we had 3 more Väänänens in our team. Didn't do any mistakes except that one very weak penalty and made sure USA forwards didn't crowd the crease. A-
Nummelin: Best offensive d-man of the tournament once again, too bad he sucks in his own end. Simply lacks size & strength to move forwards out of the crease and that caused lots of trouble yesterday. Should never be allowed to play SH situations: B-
Hagman: Best game of the tournament which isn't saying much, scored a very important goal but otherwise was pretty much a non-factor. Didn't play well in his own end, always seemed to be waiting for that long pass from d-men a la Pavel Bure and that allowed US to create pressure against his line. B-/C+
J.J: Improved the line a lot but in the end was pretty invisible as well, definetly an upgrade over Hahl on this line but I was expecting more creativity & puckskills from him. Still, first game of the tournament and was one of the better forwards for Team Finland, look for good game against Latvia & Canada. B
Rita: Lots of speed & hustle, isn't scared to drive to the net with authority, an attribute Team Finland is definetly lacking otherwise. Once he gets used to his linemates more, he should start producing. B-
Niemi: Same as Karalahti, solid game in his own end and suprising offensive contribution, really the most surprising player in Team Finland so far. B-
Kukkonen: Again, nothing flashy but no major blunders either, isn't afraid to clear the net and shows some straightforward north-american game. B-
Ruutu: No penalties, solid defensive game and scored an important goal. This is exactly what we need from Jarkko and a very solid game from him. B
Pakaslahti: one-trick pony. Get the face-off and go to bench, otherwise too slow to play on this level. Zero offensive contribution and really drags the 4th line down. C.
Eloranta: Lots of hustle and causes some turnovers, no offense whatsoever and generally I feel is way too one-sided. Would be better utilized if used with center who can skate faster than Kalervo Kummola in quicksand.
Saravo: Why is he here? Why does this guy get to play SH?? Why is it possible that this guy first allows the first US goal by being what 2 secs late and then gets to play SH again? Worst pick to finnish national team in years IMHO, shouldn't be here at all. F-
Bäckström: some good saves, some bad mistakes, still generally better than Norrena. The last goal was very iffy but it didn't help to have Timonen not covering his man in front of him. C+
Coaching: some very questionable moves like not benching Kallio & Saravo and the continious use of Nummelin on SH situations. Also putting Timonen on ice twice during the last minute (one GA and one almost breakaway caused by him) is downright stupid. C-
There is absolutely no comparison in the Ruutu and Kopat goals. Kopat shot from almost the red line, Ruutu shot like 4 meters after the blue line, inside the attacking zone. The height of the shot and the aim could not have been any better from that spot...2 cm's to the right and it would have bounced right back from the goalpost.
Salo fumbled a shot that was probably not even aimed at the goal, from a great distance.
Of course Conklin could have saved that shot, but it's not like Heatley vs. Noronen kind of mistake.
Salo fumbled a shot that was probably not even aimed at the goal, from a great distance.
Of course Conklin could have saved that shot, but it's not like Heatley vs. Noronen kind of mistake.
ThinMcWhistle
Registered User
re:
Regarding the final US goal last night...
I have seen the tape, and IMO the puck was definitely not securely in Backstrom's glove when the US player (Park?) was bumped into him. The puck fell to the ice and was inadvertenly kicked in. This was a good goal, and the refs/judges were corrrect with their decision.
Regarding the final US goal last night...
I have seen the tape, and IMO the puck was definitely not securely in Backstrom's glove when the US player (Park?) was bumped into him. The puck fell to the ice and was inadvertenly kicked in. This was a good goal, and the refs/judges were corrrect with their decision.
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