WC SF: MAY 8 GDT - SLOVAKIA vs. CANADA (1-2)

[PecaFan]

that's the worst call of the tournament. R. Niedermayer (using his stick) runs down Lasak, Canada score. Should have been a penalty.

I've only seen it once, and my first thought was "wow, lucky there was no penalty there". I immediately said, "must have been a North American ref."

 

[Fan-of-#9]

Seniority ...

What do you mean? Hossa wears #18 in Ottawa, and Satan wears #81 in Buffalo, yet in the tourney they are wearing each others NHL #s.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

Did anyone notice that Miroslav Satan wasn't wearing a visor? He always wears one in the NHL...thought that was kind of odd...

 

[incawg]

A diving penalty!! I don't know if it should have been a penalty either way but that was a damn good cross check.

I guess you missed the part when he threw his gloves off and kicked his legs as he was "writhing" in the pain...only to bounce back up a few seconds later when no penalty was forthcoming.

You've got to wonder if the non-call on the Lasak play was due to the boy-who-called-wolf effect. If your team is flopping all over the place, sooner or later the refs aren't going to give you the benefit of the doubt on a legit call (albeit difficult to see except in super slow-mo).

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the Sweden/USA tilt. Thankfully TSN will be showing it later tonight (on tape delay).

 

[Nielson81]

Compared to what this Slovakian team has showed off in previous games I'd say this wasn't a very good effort by them.

If this wasn't a very good effort by the Slovaks, then Canda is in more trouble then I thought....they had very little sustained pressure in the offensive zone throughout the game. They need to be more aggressive to get past Forsberg and the Swedes.

The U.C.

 

[Nielson81]

I guess you missed the part when he threw his gloves off on the ice, kicking his legs as he was writhing in the pain...only to bounce back up a few seconds later when no penalty was forthcoming.
).

I guess you missed the part where his gloves stayed on!! I didn't see any gloves come off, I saw his stick drop and he moved around a bit, seems to me your exagerating...Mr. Cherry !! haha

The U.C.

 

[endacka]

NO. Both of our teams lost. I am going to move to Zambia and will play the darts.
Sad champs, really.

 

[Predatore]

Well, having seen most of the Canada's game I'd say this is the way they have played thoughout the tournament. Very solid in their own end and scoring at the right moments. The same story last year pretty much, as Sweden lost.
I'd imagine Cooke will not give Forsberg (in case of Sweden making it) time to breath in the final, like I believe Draper did last year

 

[Whitenoise]

About the goal: it was definite interference on Niedermayer's part. He hit Lasak right behind the knee. If you've ever been poked there, you know that your knee will buckle with only a little bit of pressure. Very smart play by Rob. Lasak tried to sell it though. He layed on the ice and looked at the ref, then scrambled up when he saw the play was still alive. If he had just gotten up instantly instead of trying to sell the penalty the goal might not have occurred. Lasak and the Slovaks have a right to be upset, though.

 

[incawg]

I guess you missed the part where his gloves stayed on!! I didn't see any gloves come off, I saw his stick drop and he moved around a bit, seems to me your exagerating...

Perhaps you need to queue it up on your tivo, because you obviously did not watch it closely the first time. When he dropped to his ice his gloves did move off his hands, straight from the Darcy Tucker "writhing in pain" embellishment handbook. The leg kicking is always a nice touch.

 

[Fan-of-#9]

About the goal: it was definite interference on Niedermayer's part. He hit Lasak right behind the knee. If you've ever been poked there, you know that your knee will buckle with only a little bit of pressure. Very smart play by Rob. Lasak tried to sell it though. He layed on the ice and looked at the ref, then scrambled up when he saw the play was still alive. If he had just gotten up instantly instead of trying to sell the penalty the goal might not have occurred. Lasak and the Slovaks have a right to be upset, though.

I agree. There should have definetly been a penalty on the play. I will say that the refs gave the Slovaks every chance to tie the game after the Canada goal with repeated PP opportunites. They had ample chances to tie the game shortly after. Still that's a tough way to go down.

 

[Nielson81]

I'd imagine Cooke will not give Forsberg (in case of Sweden making it) time to breath in the final, like I believe Draper did last year

Cooke VS Forsberg!!

That spells nothing but trouble for Canada. I have nothing against Matt Cooke but I dont' think he has the shutdown capabilities to shut down a player like Peter.

I would tell Scott Niedermayer to simply never leave Peter alone in Canada's zone, Scott has the speed and the smarts to conserve his energy and contain a guy like Forsberg.

The U.C.

 

[Kronblom]

Did anyone notice that Miroslav Satan wasn't wearing a visor? He always wears one in the NHL...thought that was kind of odd...

Because there are more high sticks in the NHL?

 

[loadie]

A clear goalie interference from an objective standpoint. He did touch him with his stick, just enough so he lost his balance. Just enough so the ref wouldn´t see it, a lot of practice maybe.

Yep...the Canadians have their goalies stand behind the net, have players skate in at full speed, go off balance, take the stick which is held by one hand, and hook the goalie's pad, to make him flounder like a fish outta water. We practice this all the time.

 

[Nielson81]

Perhaps you need to queue it up on your tivo, because you obviously did not watch it closely the first time. When he dropped to his ice his gloves did move off his hands, straight from the Darcy Tucker "writhing in pain" embellishment handbook. The leg kicking is always a nice touch.

While I may not agree with you about Petrovicky.... I absolutely love the shot at Darcy Tucker !!!

The U.C.

 

[Predatore]

I would tell Scott Niedermayer to simply never leave Peter alone in Canada's zone,

hehe yup. Quite often the key on international ice is to get in close on Forsberg already in the neutral zone , not letting him enter the offensive zone with the puck.
blah, feels wrong discussing this seeing as Sweden is not even in the final yet

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

Because there are more high sticks in the NHL?

Well, nobody else is ditching them...

 

[Habs Icing]

Anyone know why Satan (#18) and Hossa (#81) switched jersey #'s in the tourney??

dyslexia?

 

[psycho_dad*]

I'm sorry for all the Slovaks, that was a horrible way to drop off the tournament. Nothing surprising though. The reffing in these games has been so bad. Canada will always do everything to win, everyone knows that. Only good refs can prevent these travesties from happening.

I wish there was a video ref board of 3 refs that are not in duty that day, and they would review situations that lead to goals right there and then, just like video refs who check if the puck went in or not. It would not make the games that much longer, but it would make things more fair. I am really fed up seeing big games like that won by a clear mistake from referee.

 

[psycho_dad*]

A clear goalie interference from an objective standpoint. He did touch him with his stick, just enough so he lost his balance. Just enough so the ref wouldn´t see it, a lot of practice maybe.

Yeah, I have seen NA players, especially Canadians doing that for ages. Especially when the puck is cleared out of the opponents zone and there is one Canadian deep in offensive zone...they often skate past the goalie and "whoops". I have seen these happen for AGES. Some would argue it's just Canadian way of focusing on every small detail, getting the goalie and players mad etc. Some would argue it is just abuse of the fact that hockey refereeing is still human without much technical help. Canada would have good enough teams to fight for championships even without this BS, so they should have no problem with more "technical surveillance" either.

 

[Gaborik10]

Well....Slovakia has many things to improve on before the World Cup, that's for sure. I think the single most important reason is their style....it's based on speed and flash, some grit too to be fair, but that doesn't work against tough forechecking and defense....they will need to change their style. I think they wore their colors with pride, they just didn't finish the job. Come questionable calls by the ref, but I have no intention of blaming the ref for this loss. That is very classless and dishonorable. I'm proud of how far SVK got in the tourny, but there is room for improvement. Canada deserved this win, no doubt about it. So lets not be bitter about it. A loss is a loss....the most important thing is to keep your head up and come right back the next game.

 

[Gaborik10]

What happened to Gaborik??! Last game, he speared, cross-checked, and slashed...this game, he tried to spear Glen Murray!!! What happened to him? He was never like that...

 

[BCCHL inactive]

I haven't read anything here, so here is my opinion on the game from the winning goal on...

I don't think Rob Niedermayer intended to take Lasak out, but he did. He should have been assessed a Goaltender Interference penalty. Watching TSN's coverage, it made me sick how Gary Green tried to justify not calling it. Goaltender Interference is not just about body contact. Tripping a goaltender is not legal. Rod Black gained some respect points though...he knew that if it was Luongo who got tripped behind the net, that Canadian fans would be screaming about it too.

We all knew after that goal, that Canada was getting the next penalty. However, Staios' Interference call was so blatant that I don't think that was the "making up" for it. The next two penalties (I admit, I was half asleep at that point, so I didn't really catch those last two calls) likely served that purpose.

At first I thought Petrovicky was taking a dive on the cross check...then I saw the namebar on the back of the Canadian jersey, as well as a replay. Willie Mitchell is one vicious defenceman with his stick. If there was a late Canadian penalty to be called, that was it.

Good call on Chara in the crease. Personally, I hate that IIHF rule, but it is a rule and the referee applied it well. That was pretty stupid of Chara to do that with 28 seconds left.


Is there any word on a possible Slovakian protest of the game? I wouldn't put it past them, especially after how the GWG was scored.

 

[Gaborik10]

Oh please....why would they? The players don't whine. They just slash and spear!! (Gaborik)

 

[BCCHL inactive]

Oh please....why would they? The players don't whine. They just slash and spear!! (Gaborik)

Why protest?

One word: Pride.

A protest based on a referee's judgment call would get nowhere, but after you feel you lost a World Championship semi-final game due to a referee's mistake, you have to do all you can to show your fans that you're not just going to accept the loss. If I am Slovakia's coach, I make a formal protest and withdraw it tomorrow morning....just to show some pride....and make sure my team shows up for the Bronze Medal Game.