If you are a fan of U.S. Hockey, then today feels like Christmas. At 7pm EST the US mens hockey team will take on the heavily favored Canadians. The game, being in Vancouver, will naturally have a very pro-Canadian crowd on hand, and the depth of the Canadian squad is unparalleled in these games. They have arguably the greatest goalie to ever play the game in between the pipes. They have a ridiculous offense (in which Toews is on their forth line) and a punishing defense. Most people in hockey community will say advantage Canada. Those same people will predict a victory for Canada and a bye into the quarterfinal round.
I must however take a page out of ESPN College Football analyst Lee Corso's book and say, "not so fast my friends." The Canadians have struggled at times in this tournament and posted a very unimpressive win against the Swiss in a shootout. The US should not be looked at as the same team of your fathers generation; this team is comprised entirely of NHL caliber players. They may not have the depth of the Canadians but they are certainly capable of beating any team in this tournament. They are lead by a world class goaltender in Ryan Miller and by one of the best natural goal scorers in the game in Zach Parise.
The Canadians will be motivated early by their lackluster performance against the Swiss as well as the raucous crowd. If the Americans are not able to weather the storm early then it could get ugly. But, if they escape the 1st period in a close game (which I predict they will), and if Ryan Miller stands on his head (which I predict he will), then I expect to see the upset in full force tonight in Vancouver.
USA 4 Canada 3.
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Nice predictions. Who knew the US would rise to the challenge and put Team Canada to shame!
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