MadDog2020 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 In 16 years ONE of these other countries should have improved enough to actually beat the US and/or Canada. That's my point. Sweden, Finland, these are hockey countries. They should be better than this 16 years in. Instead, its been the same thing pretty much every olympics. It gets a little boring after a while. That said, hopefully we'll beat Canada this time. If we don't- see you again in 4 years for another gold medal game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 In 16 years ONE of these other countries should have improved enough to actually beat the US and/or Canada. That's my point. Sweden, Finland, these are hockey countries. They should be better than this 16 years in. Instead, its been the same thing pretty much every olympics. It gets a little boring after a while. That said, hopefully we'll beat Canada this time. If we don't- see you again in 4 years for another gold medal game. I've been back and forth with this, but the Olympics is key to the growth of the Women's game. You need to play Canada and US to get better. There have been strides already. In 2010, Canada and US combined for 73 GF and 3GA in the qualification round. This year it was 25 to 6 (granted Canada and US played each other this time around) Canada beat the Swiss 10-1 outshooting them 62-12. Today it was 3-1 for Canada, and the shots were 48-22. It looks like Russia, the Swiss, and Finland continue to make noticeable strides. As long as you keep seeing these steps every 4 years, you keep the tournament as is. No crazy blowouts this time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brown Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) So which is it Mike? Are we still not equal to them or are we on par? Jesus Christ. Anyway, two golds for Canada in the last four Olympics, two silvers for the US. One-goal loss for the US the last time. Pretty close. Glad I'm not the only one that just went on a mental rollercoaster with those posts there. Both of you need to go back reread the sequence of posts. On Par and Equal do not mean the same thing. Edited February 18, 2014 by Mike Brown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brown Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) 16 years isn't a lot of time. Look how long it's taking US Men's hockey to just get on par with Canada. And we're still not equal to them. I specifically said we were ON PAR with them, but not EQUAL with them. We were a goal away from beating them on their soil for a gold medal 4 years ago. I'd say we're on par. This post is mainly half confirming what I said. Unless he meant to use the term EQUAL instead, and used ON PAR by mistake. I agree. But my point was it took how many years to get there? 16 years isn't a lot of time to develop that much talent. This is me agreeing with him when he said we were ON PAR with them. Edited February 18, 2014 by Mike Brown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefiestygoat Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I wish the women's games were more competitive though I wonder how much support the European countries give their women. Hockey Canada and USA Hockey have done a great job supporting their programs and organizing exhibitions between the two sides. The US women get what seems like a decent league like the NCAA to play in while they are still in college and I know only a few of the European women compete in it. I'm not sure how many of the Canadians play in the NCAA or if the CIS is suitable for women's hockey but whatever they do seems to be working. Of course once they burn their eligibility it becomes tougher but Canada and the US seem to have found a way to keep the players playing post-college. It seems like the infrastructure just isn't there for the European women to develop and play, while still be able to make a living in their own countries. Even the youth development probably is almost non-existent. Finnish goalie Noora Raty just retired from women's hockey citing financial reasons but she is hoping to catch on in a lower Finnish men's league. It's a shame since she is only 24 and has a lot of talent but that's the reality of the times. It would be awesome if their was a women's league that was their version of the NHL for these players but it just doesn't seem possible. The NWHL only lasted from 1999-2007 and the CWHL doesn't seem like it can do a whole lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I specifically said we were ON PAR with them, but not EQUAL with them. This post is mainly half confirming what I said. Unless he meant to use the term EQUAL instead, and used ON PAR by mistake. This is me agreeing with him when he said we were ON PAR with them. I actually did mean to say 'equal', and I would have edited it but I can't edit using Tapatalk for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brown Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I actually did mean to say 'equal', and I would have edited it but I can't edit using Tapatalk for some reason. In that case I don't agree, but we're pretty close. We've never finished above Canada in any Olympics since NHL players have been participating. 1998: Canada 4th; USA 6th 2002: Canada 1st; USA 2nd 2006: Canada 7th; USA 8th 2010: Canada 1st; USA 2nd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derlique Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Didn't the WJC used to be a two team race back in the day? Women will catch up if given time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brown Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Didn't the WJC used to be a two team race back in the day? Women will catch up if given time You're already starting to see signs of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brown Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 RedStorm, the US and Canada are in the same class, but they're not on the same plane. There's no doubt we can beat Canada, and compete with Canada, but we still don't have the depth and overall talent Canada has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 This has somehow been missed here, but Patty is ill again and will miss his second straight game tomorrow. I hope its nothing serious: Olympic Hockey News @OlympicHckyNews Per a report, Patrik Elias will miss a 2nd consecutive game due to illness. Out vs Slovakia tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brown Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 This has somehow been missed here, but Patty is ill again and will miss his second straight game tomorrow. I hope its nothing serious: Olympic Hockey News @OlympicHckyNews Per a report, Patrik Elias will miss a 2nd consecutive game due to illness. Out vs Slovakia tomorrow. Kopitar got sick too I think which is why he missed half the game vs the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas0nMacIsaac Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Elias probably got Hep again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefiestygoat Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Great win and team effort by Slovenia! Congrats to them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Both of you need to go back reread the sequence of posts. On Par and Equal do not mean the same thing. Well you were proven wrong on that one. You're not really the clever wordsmith you'd like to think you are, and if you keep this schtick up, you're going to continue to bog down threads and generally get on people's nerves. It's kind of too bad, because behind all of this nonsense I do think there's a pretty good poster in there somewhere. Anyway, I got what you were going for (competitive enough not to lose to them every time, but not good enough to beat them half of the time...basically, if the US and Canada could play each other 10 times, the US wins 3 or 4 games), but you just have to stop making your points in what seems to be the most aggravating way possible, with the semantic hair-splitting. Back on topic: dr33 made a good post about some women's hockey teams making strides, which is good news. Hopefully one of two of them can at least give the US and Canada some scares in 2018. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Russia-Norway coming up at 7:30. Norway's gonna get bitch slapped lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Zuccarello out for Norway. So they have 0 NHL players on the ice. Not liking the chances of this being close... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevsftw Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) The biggest bookmaker in Norway gives you 3 cents on the dollar if you put your money on Russia. That said; While I leave us 0% chance today, we rarely get bitch-slapped! Edited February 18, 2014 by njdevsftw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 The biggest bookmaker in Norway gives you 3 cents on the dollar if you put your money on Russia. That said; While I leave us 0% chance today, we rarely get bitch-slapped! Hey I hope you win, the uproar in Russia would be hiiiiiilarious lmao. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevsftw Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Hey I hope you win, the uproar in Russia would be hiiiiiilarious lmao. I fear for some russian peoples lives if we win today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Kovy, 2-0 Russia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmann422 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) Regarding the women's tournament- Wouldn't the fact that there isn't really a high level women's hockey league play a big part in this? I mean the only competitive men's teams are made up of mostly nhl players, with a few khl or sel- guys who literally make their living off the sport. The most competitive women on the other hand are for the most part using the sport to get a free college degree. There's no real way to make a career out of it. So if youre a woman in Switzerland or Germany why invest so much into playing hockey if you know there's no career to be had down the line? Edited February 18, 2014 by dmann422 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Russia-Norway coming up at 7:30. Norway's gonna get bitch slapped lol. I would have looked a lot smarter had I replied when I saw this morning, but a few things: 1) Russia has shown that they aren't bitch slapping anyone in this tournament 2) Norway seems to have a pretty good defensive system, Big Ice has been a nice equalizer for less talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muevelos Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Gratz to Slovenia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoffeecake Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Holy sh!t, Latvia is up two on the Swiss. I was really hoping for Canada-Switzerland. Brunner for a hat trick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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