(Video) Alex Debrincat Spears Travis Konecny

This is a textbook definition of what I would call a bone-headed, moronic, selfish penalty. Team USA forward Alex Debrincat was tossed from the game for his dirty, blatant spear on Canada's Travis Konecny. Personally, I think he should be suspended from the next game, too.

Before you take my head off, I am an American, but this was a bush league move. If you don't like the hit, take a number and check him later in the game. There's no excuse for this kind of play. I will not defend this kind of bravo sierra.

Women's Olympic Hockey: a game of Inches... So Close

I guess it's not really cliche' Hockey is a game of inches....

#TeamUSA was THIS close: pic.twitter.com/vPFGO1U94a
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 20, 2014

Olympic Women's Hockey: Hilary Knight trips Hayley Wickenheiser - GIF

Here's a good look at controversial penalty in OT. It does look like USA forward Hilary Knight gets a skate on Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser. I think she might have made contact with her stick or hand as well.

Women's Olympic Hockey: USA vs. Canada gold medal game - Open thread

GIF: A great glove save robs Team USA on the power play early http://t.co/HUZNmzOzaq
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 20, 2014

What a save by the Canadian goalie. And I don't think either contry wants him.

Nothing is higher than the stakes of tomorrow’s game. pic.twitter.com/usqJ9EPTpg
— Command Sign (@CommandSign) February 20, 2014

World's best in action. Team USA and Canada battle through scoreless 1st period in Women's Hockey gold-medal game. pic.twitter.com/Ys55MhrfgL
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 20, 2014

Also, here’s the link to streaming video of the women’s Gold Medal game #Sochi2014 http://t.co/TlgKWYN8cC
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzCSN) February 20, 2014

USA GOAL! http://t.co/cCUMuaiXnk
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 20, 2014

Jocelyne Lamoureux sets up Meghan Duggan. USA goes up 1-0 with 8:03 left in the second period.
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) February 20, 2014

USA! USA! Former Badger @mduggan10 puts it in to bring #TeamUSA up 1-0. #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/MejoZACE2h
— UW-Madison (@UWMadison) February 20, 2014

Duggan's goal was the first even-strength goal allowed by Canada this tournament and the second since the 2002 semifinals.
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) February 20, 2014

Another Swiss team photo after winning the bronze, from the dressing room. pic.twitter.com/h38hSdrDym (via @SwissIceHockey)
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) February 20, 2014

GIF: Knight to Carpenter for a 2-0 Team USA lead in the third period http://t.co/7EenX84wDI
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 20, 2014

This close. pic.twitter.com/dS1WqNhqH9
— Josh Gold-Smith (@GoldAndOrSmith) February 20, 2014

2 great shows today put on by Team USA & Canada in Women's Hockey... HEARTBREAK in #Sochi2014 Hats off for a hard fight & an epic one! #USA
— John Daly (@PGA_JohnDaly) February 20, 2014

Hey Canada, just remember where Poulin had to go to college to play competitive hockey.
— Andy Merritt (@A_Merritt) February 20, 2014

Hey Canada, just remember where Poulin had to go to college to play competitive hockey.
— Andy Merritt (@A_Merritt) February 20, 2014

Olympic Hockey: And then there were four teams

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Going to be an awesome day of hockey on Friday.Game time for the USA vs. Canada is 11:00 A.M. on Friday.

U.S.-Canada at 11 a.m. Friday. Toews vs. Oshie in the shootout, anyone?
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) February 19, 2014

U.S.-Canada at 11 a.m. Friday. Toews vs. Oshie in the shootout, anyone?
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) February 19, 2014

USA vs. Canada twitter

The Women's Olympic Hockey team goes for gold against the Canada "the Evil Empire" tomorrow.

Crazy to think that the Gold medal game is tomorrow. A lifetime of work about to be poured into a 60 minute game.
— Amanda Kessel (@AmandaKessel8) February 19, 2014

“@SenoraErdo: the gold medal game will be on in my class. Too bad I can’t get subtitles en español! #gousawomenshockey” muy bien, gracias!
— Kendall Coyne (@KendallCoyne) February 18, 2014

Our #wcw goes out to @moniquelam7 & @JocelyneUSA17! Can't wait to watch you tomorrow at 11am! GO @usahockey! #GOLD pic.twitter.com/4u0oBtypFt
— RalphEngelstadArena (@TheREA) February 19, 2014

#TeamUSA will be wearing white tomorrow in the Women’s Gold Medal Final at 9:00PM MSK, 12:00PM ET pic.twitter.com/GLfQxbhQOd
— Brent Proulx (@brentproulx) February 19, 2014

"@SochiTwit: @Juliechu13 When do you play again? #Sochi2014" tomorrow at noon est in the Gold medal game!!
— Julie Chu (@juliechu13) February 19, 2014

Gold medal game tomorrow!!!! #USA #Olympics #hockey #OTOT
— Megan Bozek (@meganebozek) February 19, 2014

Best of luck to @Hilary_Knight and the rest of @USOlympic women's hockey tomorrow in the gold medal game. Make sure to tune in 12 EST on NBC
— Landon Ferraro (@LandonFerraro) February 19, 2014

#Meditation http://t.co/otu8kbFdC5
— Hilary Knight (@Hilary_Knight) February 19, 2014

2014 Sochi games - Twitter

Here are a few things that caught my eye today...

2014 Winter Olympics. Ice hockey. Women. Canada vs. USA pic.twitter.com/SsuViQjilW
— RIA Photos (@riaphotos_en) February 13, 2014

Men's team lines are posted #DawnsEarlyLight pic.twitter.com/h60YSBV1KM
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) February 13, 2014

Wow, play was well offside. pic.twitter.com/4epaz7dSpj
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 13, 2014

Awwww, man. That's just mean RT @NBCSports: .@nbcolympics #PicsWithZdeno pic.twitter.com/xSWUv5g9AO
— Justin Aucoin (@JustinDOY) February 13, 2014

The roof of the stadium in Sochi shows the teams playing and the score! Unreal! pic.twitter.com/CyXJIWfUpK
— Goalie Ways (@GoalieWays) February 12, 2014

US Women's Hockey: Visual Evidence that the puck was not in the net

This is where the puck was when the whistle blew. pic.twitter.com/L55TyL8Hj3
— World of Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) February 12, 2014

Here's visual evidence from twitter where the puck was when the whistle had blown. The refs incorrectly ruled that Canada had scored a goal.

Good Afternoon, thought I would put up a few pictures that I found on twitter today. Some good stuff out there today. Some hockey humor as well as a few Olympic pictures.

That's so hot. RT @CapitalsHill: The Kessels head to Sochi and you guessed it, here's a combo of the siblings we made pic.twitter.com/Cn7WEjvuJA
— Кевин Янг (@kevinyoung90) February 10, 2014

Doughty, Canada's blue line tops Olympic defensive rankings - http://t.co/BWeyfxcTGp pic.twitter.com/axIKyAprUP
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 10, 2014

Best one yet! @JocelyneUSA17 @mduggan10 @moniquelam7 #triplets RT @angshult: You score,then I score,then you score! pic.twitter.com/QXuz13A4Ld
— Julie Robenhymer (@JulieRobenhymer) February 10, 2014

Acha refs...@ClubHckyProblms pic.twitter.com/dwKqZRXy7Z
— Kollen Bayko (@kollenbayko) January 25, 2014

Looking ahead to the Olympics

Post by Shane Jenkins

Even though every single nation feels as though they have a chance to win the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics in hockey, most experts believe it will come down to the top three. Russia, Canada and The United States all have the depth and star power to make a deep run in the beginning of February. Most of their players will be taking a break from their fantasy hockey production in the NHL to represent their country. So how do the top three squads stack up against each other?

Host Russia had a disappointing 2010 Olympics in Canada. They will be hoping to reverse their fortunes now that they are getting the play on their home soil. They have perhaps the best individual talent in the world in Alex Ovechkin, but they also have some key players at other positions as well. If they can put up quite a few goals to give their defense a cushion, the home team could pull off the victory.

Defending champion Canada figures to be a very formidable opponent for any team that goes up against them. Not only do they have some of the best fantasy hockey players in the NHL, but they have plenty of depth as well. When you have all starts coming off your bench, you know that your team is deep overall. Just like Russia, they are also stacked with forwards who should be able to score quite often. Their defense is a little stronger, as Roberto Luongo will be asked to man the net in most of the important games.

Finally, the United States put up a valiant effort in 2010 only to come up short against Canada. They are considered to be the 3rd best team coming into the Olympics, but when playing well they can compete with anyone. Their goalie situation is a little bit up in air right now, but it appears as though Ryan Miller and Jonathan Quick will share the duties. They will also need some big play from their best goal scorer Patrick Kane.

Then there were two... Sweden vs. Finland

We're down to two teams... Sweden and Finland will play for the Gold Medal in the World Juniors Hockey Championship. I have to admit, that I am not going to feel all that sad for our neighbors to the north.

Why am I not cheering for Canada anymore? I just can't forget how their fans cheer against the USA when they're playing in International competition.  Especially after their fans starting cheering for team Russia during the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championship. After that, I pretty much decided that I will cheer for the Swedes or whoever, plays Canada in hockey. Now lets be clear, I am not anti-Canadian at all. I am just not going to cheer for them in the World Junior Hockey Championship or Olympics hockey anymore.

Also, some of the clueless comments that were posted at one of  my videos, that I uploaded to Youtube, only reinforce the reason why. This is what some clown put on one of the videos that I had uploaded. I wonder where Bob Scott is today? I wonder if he's crying in his beer and if he's going to cheer for the Finns or the Swedes?

Bob Scott said, "Congrats to Russia for eliminating the United States Junior Hockey Club... The USA show their classless colors yet again! Good riddance USA! No wonder the rest of the world despises you! NO CLASS!!! World Junior Hockey Tournament 2014."

Mind you, this is the same country that if Canada was attacked, the USA would be there to defend her.



It's pretty evident that the Swedes are the class of the 2014 World Junior Hockey Championship. Thank God, the Swedes beat the Russians in the other semi-final game today as well. If the USA can't win the WJHC I am cool with the Swedes or Finns winning it all.

Don Cherry insults USA, eludes to them not having class

First off, I going to admit that I like Don Cherry, but these comments are a head-scratcher, to me. Here's the comments in question. They can be heard at the 4:00 Minute mark of the video in question:

Don Cherry on the Coach’s Corner said these lovely comments about the WJHC team. “I have always said that class always wins, class will always sell. First, watch team Canada (walking in)…class. I love it. Beautiful! Here's the Americans (walking in). What can I tell you boys. You have class, and then you have that walking in...”

Related articles

• What's going to happen to Don Cherry? (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Rogers-NHL deal: CBC's Don Cherry to address nation Saturday night (thestar.com)

You know you are in Canada when you have a hockey rink in your back hard...

You know you are in Canada when your neighbor lets you do this #OnlyInCanada pic.twitter.com/Qg3CXj4uVL
— Don Cherry Posts (@DonCherryPosts) November 27, 2013

Related articles

• Hockey Day in Canada needs to stay at home (o.canada.com)

BCHL Linesman Knocked Out in Hockey Fight

They say that being a linesman in hockey is a dangerous job. Yikes! Here's the explanation from Neate Sager of Buzzing the Net. Also, the rules for fighting in junior hockey in Canada will be getting tougher. Starting in 2014-15, players that get into a fight, will receive a game misconduct and be removed from the game.

Buzzing the Net -- With 5½ minutes left in the third period, an all-out skirmish broke out along a half-wall between the Vipers and the Prince George Spruce Kings. Dumonceaux paired off with Prince George's Christian Weidauer. Linesman Ryan Dawson moved in between them to separate the players. Dumonceaux, who had his head down, tried to punch Weidauer, but instead decked Dawson, bloodying the official.

It was a mistake, but it's a very bad one that should lead to the 19-year-old Dumonceaux being suspended. Striking an official is a cardinal sin. It's an occupational hazard, but this seemed exceptionally bad.

(Video) Canada-USA women's hockey fight

In case you haven't seen it, here's a good ole fashion line brawl with the team USA and Canada women. You might notice a few familiar names. Oh yeah! Canada won the game 3-2.

Sunday Evening Links: Hockey is Just Around the Corner.

Czech NHL player Jaromír Jágr (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Newly acquired, Jaromir Jagr has indicated that this year could be his last season in the NHL. This will be Jagr's 20th season in the NHL and he will turn 42 in February.

Team Canada's players have started to arrive for the start of Hockey Canada's Olympic orientation camp.

Tim Bourcier of the Hockey Writers caused quite a stir with this post. Caps Back to Early Playoff Exit Status with Grabovski Signing. You can read the reaction to this post here and then Tim's response here. Good stuff.

A Tradition of Excellence has some good new tidbits on his Sunday Afternoon Post.

37 days 'till guys that play with torn rib cartilage, broken ribs, separated shoulders & punctured lungs go pic.twitter.com/2NW3OXkrcZ
— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) August 25, 2013

Over at the ESPN Sports Nation, they asked which team will win the Stanley Cup in 2013-14? My pick next season is the Detroit Redwings and no, I am not sucking up to Redwing77.

Related articles

• Why Justin Bieber is Bad for the NHL (thehockeywriters.com)

Is the Canadian Medical Association Part of the Anti-Fighting Cabal?

Bruins vs. Devils 2/13/09 Prudential Center, Newark, NJ Zdeno Chára is a Slovakian professional ice hockey defenceman and team captain of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While I reading this article, as a matter of fact, I was rolling my eyes. Where do you even begin with this one? You might as well just go ahead and take hitting out of hockey as well. Or better yet, why not just go ahead and just ban hockey?

Andre Picard, Globe and Mail – Canada’s doctors are delivering a body blow to National Hockey League owners, saying they are too accepting of violence in the sport.

Delegates to the Canadian Medical Association annual meeting on Wednesday voted to “condemn the complacency” of NHL owners.

“The owners have a financial interest in tolerating and promoting violence and we need to be a counterweight,” Dr. Pierre Harvey, a physician from Rivière-du-Loup, Que., told the gathering.

He pointed specifically to an infamous incident from March 2011, when Montreal Canadiens player Max Pacioretty suffered a fractured neck and concussion after a violent hit from Boston Bruins player Zdeno Chara.

Dr. Harvey said it is clear that hockey is a rough game but what doctors object to is violence like blows to the head and hits from behind that lead to serious injuries like concussions and spinal cord injuries.

Seriously, where do these people get off? Hockey is an escape from the reality, for many people, including me. Now we have the Canadian Medical Association acting the National Hockey League. Yikes! This isn’t going to play out well in Canada.

Also, MMA is one of the most popular sports in North America; there is no way that it’s going to be banned. I wish some of the pointed headed experts would keep their noses out of our business. We live in a gladiator society and demand our sports; we don’t need the nanny state getting in the way.

UND Recruit Ryan Gropp Snubbed by Team Canada

Ryan Gropp, who recently revealed his intentions to play at North Dakota, did not make Canada's Ivan Hlinka roster. https://t.co/v9JUwlsukY
— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) July 29, 2013

UND recruit Ryan Gropp has been snubbed by team Canada for the Ivan Hlinka roster. Seems like a puzzling move to me. I would have thought he would have made the roster.

Perlini, Gropp, Middleton and Martin are probably the biggest 'surprises'. Felt they did enough. Regardless, its a pretty talented squad.
— Sean Lafortune (@SeanLafortune) July 29, 2013

Related articles

• Ryan Gropp commits to North Dakota (mvn.com)

Don Cherry and Coach's Corner

Tonight, Don Cherry from the Coach's Corner blew up the twitter world, when he discussed the subject of female reporters being in the dressing room. Personally, I don't have a problem with female reporters being in the dressing room after NHL hockey games, they have been there for a long time, already. I don't see what the problem is, nor should there be a problem, since the players are already dressed when they meet with the media after the game.

More P.K. Subban and Canadians Diving.

After the game last night, Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julian wasn't happy with the Montreal Canadians, he said they were embellishing to draw penalties on the ice. I don't think that you would have to work very hard to prove his point. The Canadians historically, are a team that is known for it's embellishment.

I included the check that Boston Bruin's tough guy Shawn Thornton put on Canadian's defenseman P.K. Subban, in my opinion, it looks like Subban over dramatized that hit quite a bit. Sounds like Bruins head coach Claude Julian agrees with me as well.

“It’s about the game and the embellishment embarrasses our game and we need to be better,” Julien said, before turning his focus solely to Subban. “It’s pretty obvious when P.K. gets hit and throws himself into the glass and hold his head. You know what? If we start calling those for embellishment, maybe teams stop doing it. Until we take charge of that, it’s going to be an issue.”  

Was that hit a penalty? I suppose, but because of  P.K. Subban's reputation of being a diver, and a flopper, he's not going to get the benefit of the doubt. Personally would compare Subban to an Alex Burrows type player, I would imagine the ref wasn't inclined to call a penalty on that play, look at the video, it's there for you to see. 

To me it looked like an embellishment and Subban should have received an Academy Award for his acting skills. 

“Tonight, as everybody saw there is a lot of embellishment,” Julian said. “This is embarrassing for our game, embellishing. Right now They [Canadians] got over 100 power-plays so far and it’s pretty obvious why. We’re trying to clean this out of our game and it’s got to be done soon."

In my opinion, the Habs are becoming the Vancouver Canucks of the east.