Finnish Secure Gold

After a fine start tonight, and scoring the first goal of the game, the Finnish seemed to lose steam in a second period that saw the dangerous Slovaks score 3, to lead by 2 goals after the fist two periods. Finland charged back to take the lead 4-3, before icing it with an empty-netter late in the game. Personally, i think the Slovaks deserved a win after taking down the heavily favoured Russians, but it was not to be as Olli Jokinen led the charge with the immortal Teemu Selanne.

The bronze medals(seen here)looked great as the players held them aloft for the crows to cheer. They really are very nice medals, especially compared to older models. (1980's Calgary Medals) Apparently some of the heaviest ever minted, and without the doughnut hole in the centre, a la Turin, Italy.

Russian Disappointment

The Russian Prime Minister has apparently cancelled his trip to Vancouver following a dismal effort in the mens qualifying ice hockey game on wednesday, doping allegations leveled at them by the IOC, and an all around disappointing showing on the podium, garnering less than half their expected medal output. The only question in my mind is: After being the only country accused of doping (yet again), bribery, and more bad sportsmanship than you can shake a stick at, is anyone surprised? I for one am not.

As I sat down in front of the TV to watch the Russia vs Canada hockey game, I was amazed at the score. I thought perhaps I had the channels wrong and I was watching Belarus go through the Canadian wringer. The Russians had spent ample time accumulating and subsequently assembling some of the most skilled finishers in the game. However, they clearly neglected to attain grinders, and heart players. In essence, there was nobody to feed the puck up the ice to the waiting sticks of Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, Radulov, and more. The KHL line, Russia included to showcase the skill of the Kontinental Hockey League, looked slow and simply put, outclassed. It didn't help that Morozov had an exploded knee joint, which he was attempting to skate on.