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Archive for the ‘Hockey’ Category

Team Canada wins Gold - Vancouver 2010

It was the shot heard from coast to coast – Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal to win this hockey game 3-2 and secure the record-breaking 14th gold medal for Canada.

A fitting feather in the cap of what have been incredible Olympic games. And they couldn’t have scripted it any better. Perfect photo finish.

A moment, to salute all our  Olympic medallists.

Now, let the celebrations begin!

We’ve now won 10 gold medals, which – at the moment, anyway – is more than any other team.

Our athletes are impressing the hell out of everyone, on the skating rink, the ski hill, the hockey arena, the bobsled track, hell, even the curling rink. (Is curling even a sport? Debatable. But we are pretty damn good at it. Even if the Norwegians have those awesome pants. But I digress.) The figure skaters have captured our imagination, from the near-perfection of Moir and Virtue to the inspiring courage of Joannie Rochette. And of course, in hockey, our women have claimed gold, while the men have just advanced to the finals against the USA on Sunday, with tonight’s nail-biter of a 3-2 win over Slovakia.

Everywhere, the red and white waves, crowds burst into spontaneous renditions of the national anthem, and the entire country from coast to coast has come together to cheer on our Olympians.

Has there ever been such a display of Canadian patriotism in recent history? Not that I can remember.

The Olympics had a controversial staging, a rocky start, and endless debates over cost overruns, podium pressure and everything under the sun. But leaving all that aside, it’s been a pretty incredible couple of weeks. And I have to believe that this has done a lot to buoy pride in the red and white in this country of ours, which, you gotta admit, is really fucking awesome.

There are two more days left in these Olympic games. Whatever happens – in the hockey finals or elsewhere – I’m really proud of our athletes and our country. Go Canada Go!

Shots: 45-23 for Canada. Final score: 5-3 for USA.

Ouch. ‘Nuff said.

*Sigh*. Onto the qualifying game, and hopefully we’ll get a chance for revenge.

Update: Canada fared somewhat better at Hockey Night in Kandahar; the morale game for soldiers serving in Afghanistan resulted in a 16-2 “ass-whooping” of the US by Canada. Too bad that’s not the score that counts in the Olympics.

Bob Gainey has announced his resignation as Habs’ GM:

“I’ve done my best and now it’s time for me to pass the torch,” Gainey said on Monday. “I believe that the general manager position requires a long-term vision and a long-term commitment. At this point, I’m not prepared to make a commitment of four or five or six more years in this position.

Assistant GM Pierre Gauthier has been promoted as the new GM.

Gainey took over the role in 2003 to great fanfare greater expectations. At first, he battled the naysayers and started the long process of rebuilding the team, achieving first place in the East two seasons ago.

But many of his decisions have been very questionable of late, and the trust was gone, namely, ill-timed overconfidence in Carey Price, the failure to secure big-name free agents despite public efforts, firing of Guy Carbonneau and hiring Jacques Martin in his place, and of course the great shake-up during last off-season.

I think a lot of people were fed up with Gainey. He won’t go down in history as the Habs’ worst GM (I’d say that role belongs permanently to Rejean Houle). He had an overall winning record, and he did do a lot of good things for the team, which was in shambles when he took the reins. But his legacy is mixed, at best. And of course, nobody ever remembers what you do best; they only remember what you do last.

Bye bye, Bob. Best of luck to you.

Habs are 3-0 since Cammalleri went down. And not against any slouch teams, either. Vancouver, the freefalling Boston, and Pittsburgh are our latest victims. And what’s more, we’ve looked really great in all three games.

Can we keep it up? Let’s hope so. Go Habs!

Habs’ defenceman Ryan O’Byrne, interviewed about his fight against Aaron Voros during tonight’s 6-0 shutout of the Rangers: “I just want to see it on You Tube.”

Well, here you go, Ryan. Your wish is granted:

(Oh, and woohoo, Go Habs Go!)

Jaroslav Halak is reportedly on the trading block, according to “rumours”.

What, you mean rumours leaked by the organization itself?

And in style, too, with a 5-1 win over the arch-rival Bruins, with Cammalleri getting the hat trick and Carey Price making 37 saves.

Before the game, pretty much every living Hab great in history was out there tonight on the ice for the 100th anniversary ceremonies, from Jean Beliveau to Guy Lafleur, from Dickie Moore to Yvon Cournoyer, from Patrick Roy to Ken Dryden. Butch Bouchard and Elmer Lach had their numbers retired as part of the night. Plenty of pomp and circumstance, to be sure, but this is a team whose stories deserve to be celebrated.

Happy Birthday, Habs!

Au revoir, Gui.