Micheline Veluvolu/IIHF
What.
A.
Tournament.
How we got here
Relegation Game: Germany finally gets going in a rout of Denmark
See ya in a couple of years, Denmark.
Quarterfinal Matchup 1: Sweden strikes Latvia down in 6-3 slugfest
I still believe in you, Latvia.
Quarterfinal Matchup 2: Czechia cruises to easy 6-2 Victory over Switzerland
I think the Czechs might be for real man. I think they genuinely can’t stop scoring 6ish goals if you don’t let them.
Quarterfinal Matchup 3: Team USA’s demons finally come a-callin’ in 4-3 OT Stunner against Finland
I said in our last meeting together that the US should be thanking their lucky stars they had Bruins prospects on their team and in this game I think that could count for all of it.
Quarterfinal Game 4: Slovakia gets efficiently ejected from this tournament in 7-1 beatdown to Canada
I mean, what more do you want to hear, exactly?
Semifinal Game 1: Sweden guts out a win against Finland in 4-3 overtime classic
It’s Finland, It’s Sweden, It’s the Brotherly Rivalry. You can’t ask for better, and they always deliver.
Semifinal Game 2: Czechia has Canada as they win 6-4!
I’m not sayin’….but I’m just sayin’.
Bronze Medal Game: Lots of frustration to work out here
Sorry Canada, you’ll have a great chance in about a month’s time to shut me up about your international performance beginning to slip. And don’t you worry! I am
actively hoping you beat the US. Badly.
But I
am gonna say that being here, in spite of
everything you did right in the preliminaries? Still being completely incapable of beating Czechia at hockey? That should be concerning if you wanna call yourself the kings. Still, the Canadians have played a really damn solid tournament, certainly better than previous though definitely still afraid of bringing defensemen who understand what a zone exit is, and have the chance to medal after two years of largely making a fool of themselves. That is not ideal, especially given where you were not three years ago, but it is a start back in the right direction.
On the other side, a team they’ve already pretty soundly beaten, and are likely boiling with a low-key rage; Finland.
After silvering last year, running into your Scandinavian brother and having them squeak out a win against you to send you here to play a team that dropped a touchdown plus extra point on your poor unsuspecting goaltender has got to be a major gut punch to their morale. Still, the Finns have been playing some tough, close hockey now that things count, and even if Canada has a pretty clear matchup advantage, they’re gonna make them work for it. It’s also going to be a last chance for redemption for Petteri Rimpinen, who’s been unusually poor this tournament. If he can turn things back where they were last year, Canada might be in serious trouble.
But of course, that’s why you gotta play the game out.
Gold Medal Game: Back to the dance after so long
While this game will likely be unfairly lightly attended, this is a game that any hockey fan should absolutely try to make their way towards if they can.
On one side, Sweden. Sweden came out of Group A knowing that their best buddies in Finland would bring the hammer of god right down on them, and they responded with a gutsy victory. Sweden’s been unusually decent so far in this knockout round; which usually experiences some sort of sudden drop in play right around this point that has contributed to their 12 silver medals in 43 appearances. That hasn’t happened this year, so it is genuinely looking like this could be the year they finally break their curse of seemingly destined to be Silver medal forever. They have the talent, they’ve shown they have the gumption to keep it close, and they have the ability to overwhelm their opponents. Everything
should be going to plan. This
should be their chance to prove they’re the kings of teenager hockey
One Small Problem: Someone told Czechia they get to play too.
Czechia is in largely the same boat as Sweden, with only two gold medals in their short history as a country, and those are now nearly two and a half decades old. By comparison with Sweden who has gotten so close and failed to get there, Czechia has only ever medaled a grand total of six times, three of which came within the last three years. Unlike Sweden, who’s off years merely mean a disappointing semifinal appearance most of the time, Czechia’s program after their talented prospects age out will often experience crushing lows that almost take them out of the knockout round entirely for years. However, Czechia has been building and building throughout the last few years, and no better example of how they’ve managed to elevate their brand of hockey has come from who they keep beating; Canada. It is clear they smell blood in the water once again, and are totally fine with any game you want to play with them. Slow it down? They can work with that. Make it a score happy goalfest? They’ve got the talent for that now too and what’s more they already
love that kind of game. What’s more…they work their asses off every single second they’re out there. They know they have a shot, a genuine shot, to go from “Rising” to “Risen”, and I hope the Swedes are ready.
Because I don’t know if a Czechia riding off a battle-high of beating Canada in a way that suggests it’s a trend is a foe anyone’s ready for.
I will have my final thoughts on the Bruins prospects once we have our medalists, so one more time for the kids, MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN
