The men’s hockey tournament got into full swing in Sochi with an action packed and exciting weekend of match ups. The quarterfinal round is set to take place on Wednesday February 19th and if the qualification round was any indication, there will be a lot of exciting games to come. Here’s how things are looking for the Bolts playing in Russia.
Canada: Martin St. Louis skated for Canada in their Valentine’s day match up against Austria. The Canadians absolutely decimated the competition with a 6-0 shutout victory for Roberto Luongo. St. Louis saw time on the top line with Chris Kunitzand Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He ended the game with 12:58 in ice time and four shots on goal. In a bit of a controversial move, both Marty and P.K. Subban were scratched in Sunday’s game against Finland. The Finns took it to overtime, but Canada ended up with the win. Team Canada will face Latvia tomorrow in the Quarterfinals at noon. As of now, Mike Babcock has not announced the team’s scratches for the game. Marty was rotating on the fourth line wing in practice today.
Czech Republic: The Czech team suffered a tough 1-0 loss to Switzerland on Saturday. Radko Gudas was paired with Tomas Kaberle on defense. Ondrej Palat saw time rotating on the fourth line. Probably the most outstanding stat from the day was Gudas took two minor penalties which is complete shock to everyone. Today saw the Czechs take on their neighbor nation Slovakia in a heated rivalry game.
The Czechs ended up with the 5-3 victory, but this was a pretty thrilling match up. After gaining a 3 goal first period lead, the Czechs allowed the Slovaks to dominate the remainder of the game. Gudas saw 17:14 in ice time, a high for the tournament so far. The Czechs meet Team USA in their quarterfinal game at noon tomorrow.
Finland: The biggest story for the Lightning when it comes to the Finnish team is what a monster tournament Sami Salo has been having. He has had five shots on goal and one assist while averaging around 15 minutes of ice time per game. This veteran presence on the back end is a huge asset for a team that has been struck by so many injuries leading up to the tournament. And apparently he is selling the bike he received in the Olympic Village. The proceeds will benefit a children’s hospital in Helsinki.The Finns will meet the Russian team in their match tomorrow at 7:30 am.
Latvia: Lightning goalie prospect Kristers Gudlevskis got his first start of the Olympic Games in their Saturday game against Sweden. Sweden ended up winning 5-3 but the contest was a close battle through most of the game. Gudlevskis faced 30 shots and stopped 25. He also completely robbed Loui Eriksson on this glove save. Latvia meets Canada tomorrow, Gudlevskis is expected to be the back up for the game.
Slovakia: It’s been a tough tournament for the Slovaks. The United States beat them soundly in their opening match and their second game loss gave Slovenia their first ever Olympic men’s hockey victory. Slovakia fought to take their Sunday match up against Russia to overtime, but the home team ended with the 1-0 win in a shoot out. Their loss to the Czech Republic today means they have been eliminated from competition. Richard Panik ends the Games with one shot on goal and averaging 10-12 minutes of ice time per game.
United States: The Americans’ epic victory against the Russians will go down in history. It made T.J. Oshie a household name thanks to his mastery in the shootout. If you look closely at this shot of the US bench after his winning goal, you can see Lightning trainers Tom Mulligan and Ray Thill celebrating pretty darn hard. Team USA meets the Czech Republic tomorrow at noon.
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