Welcome to the fourth of a regular feature throughout the Olympic break, an open thread to discuss all that is going on in the sport of hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. (Note: John or I make these the night before, scheduled to appear at 10 AM. I should be up for the late games, so hang out with me, won't you?.)
Just so you know, the Devils are stepping up online for additional coverage. The official site has a hub for the Olympics; complete with a schedule for both tournaments. The team site also has a blog written by team correspondent Scott Modrzynski called The Devil is in the Details. All posts are listed on the hub; just scroll down past the players and you'll see it on the side. Zach Parise is also providing a few words to Tom Gulitti's Fire & Ice every day, so check that out.
Last night, the Russians and the Slovaks played what was probably the 2nd best game of the tournament, with a hard act to follow of the Canada-Switzerland game. A 1-1 game that lasted into the 8th round of a shootout, hometown hero Pavol Demitra scored to finish off the game. One could technically call this the first upset of the tourney, but the Slovaks are not to be slept on, and this is a mere showcasing of the team as a dark horse.
Other results from Thursday night: As mentioned, Canada hung on to beat Switzerland, 3-2 in a shootout; The US handled Norway 6-1; and Russia beat China, while Team USA finished a perfect round robin over Finland in the women's tournament. Team USA plays Sweden and Finland faces Canada on Monday in the semi-finals.
Special Rule: Do not use these posts to complain about how no one cares about Women's or Men's Ice Hockey. This isn't the place for that. Violators will be banned until March 1 assuming no other rules were broken.
Please use this post will be used to collect for all your comments, analysis, and thoughts about today's hockey games in Women's and Men's Ice Hockey games. Not the other Olympic sports, mind you.
Want to watch the games online and legally? NBC has them here. Thanks to user C.J.Richey121 for the heads up. Join us, won't you?