Wow what a game for the World Junior Championship gold! I think a lot of people assumed, including me; hey I admit that I am guilty, that we would be hearing Oh Canada at the end of the game… I guess this is why we play the games right?
I think in the days going forward that there are going to be a lot of hockey minds that are going to over analyze this game, it was a great game to watch that ended up being historic for one team and painful for the nation to our north… I think the reasons the Canadians lost this game in the end was that the Canadians stopped doing the things that made them successful in the first two periods, in the 16 minutes that will come to be known as the historic collapse the Canadians failed to eliminate turnovers, get the pucks deep, answer the Russians counter attack and be smart defensively in their own zone. The Canadians lost because the got away from doing the basics.
Seriously folks! When it’s all said and done and the hockey minds have analyzed this game and picked it apart ad nauseam the real reasons the Canadians lost this game in the third period is that the Canadians got away from doing the hockey basics, it’s that simple. The Canadians rested on their laurels and it came back to bite them in the ass...
I think at times as a sports fan you’ve just got to take it all in and enjoy the moment but I don’t know if I could ever relish a Russian win in anything. I was a soldier during the cold war and the Russian were our sworn enemy and to this day I still don’t like them. I will cheer for the Swedes if they are playing the Russians. I was also wondering if I was the only ones that thought the Russian celebration at the end of the game was grating or over the top?
I also enjoy the fact that since the inception of the KHL there are a lot less Russians playing in the NHL. Don’t get me wrong, I think that Ovechkin is a great hockey player; one of the best in the world and I would have him on my team any day but I would rather see the North American hockey players playing in the NHL… I know there are lots of other fans like me that feel the same way as well. Maybe it’s good to have a villain in the black hat and I think this year it’s team Russia.
In conclusion; the much maligned American from New Jersey and former Division I college hockey coach and TSN analyst Pierre McGuire called Team Canada loss the greatest collapse in international hockey… While some might enjoy the Canadian collapse in the third period, because some perceived the Canadian fans and their players to be cocky and arrogant, I would much rather see the Canadians win the WJC than the Russians. See you next year…
