OMG HOCKEY OMG OMG OMG
So team Canada limped rather than rolled into the finale last night and it was, ngl, basically the worst and tensest five minutes of my life. In fact, I am still shaking.
I get weirdly superstitious during hockey games, so going into the third when Canada was up 3-0 and EVERYONE in the building and the commentators were acting like Canada had already won.... I WAS FREAKING THE FUCK OUT. Even my aunt with about 9 minutes to go was like "lol come on how can they lose now" and I was like ASSKJKJKJ DON'T YOU EVEN SAY THAT. TAKE IT BACK RIGHT NOW. I knocked on all the wood I could find, and yet... and yet...
In went the puck, and suddenly it was 3 - 1:
I felt horror.
Naturally, team Canada's response to this goal was to PANIC and generally flail around a lot and run into each other. GREAT. THANKS EVER SO MUCH.
So Slovakia scored again. 3 - 2 with about 5 minutest to go.
That's when the shaking terror began:
And didn't end for the last five minutes of play. Somehow, despite all of team Canada flailing all over the ice and Slovakia calmly driving to the net going "MUHAHAHAHA," Luongo kept his shit together and was basically like DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENIED.
The buzzer went and somehow, somehow, Canada came out of the game up 3-2.
I basically collapsed and died right there on the spot.
OMG, Canada, omg. Why do you do the things to me that you do.
LONG STORY SHORT, Canada will get what they and every single Canadian in this country wants more than anything else: A second crack at team USA and a chance at the gold medal.
I don't want to make any predictions about Sunday (due to the whole superstitious thing), but here are some thoughts on the breakdown:
Canada's advantages: The only people who want a re-match with the USA. more than the fans are probably the players. There is no risk of them not being fired up for this game. Offensively, they are probably stronger than the Americans, and are nearly unstoppable when they come out flying with everything they've got in the first period. Luongo has also played well under pressure, and hopefully will not fold like Brodeur folded last week. They've also had to battle and battle HARD to get to the finals whereas team USA. has basically been able to walk into it. With every setback, team Canada seems to learn from their mistakes and emerge out of it stronger. My hope is that after the Slovakia game, the word "MAINTAINING DEFENCE" will be on everyone's minds.
Canada's disadvantages: There's no question that Canada has a bad habit of getting up a few goals and then sitting back and getting lazy. DON'T DO THAT GUYS. They also seem to have more trouble against teams that play a strong defencive game (USA, Switzerland, and Slovakia) than offensive game (Russia). They're going to have to be better at being patient and avoiding third period breakdowns. And Luongo did let in a couple of week goals from the Slovaks, so he is a little inconsistent.
USA's advantages: If Canada desperately wants this, I have no doubt team USA also wants it badly - to beat Canada at home and take away the gold medal? Oh yeah, they'll want it. USA also plays a good, strong defencive game which has been Canada's Achilles heel - and they're not too bad at offence either. Also Ryan Miller. Ryan Miller, Ryan Miller, Ryan Miller. The guy is a star and I have no doubt he will be ON against the Canadians tomorrow.
USA's disadvantages: They haven't had to battle as hard as Canada to get into the final - so they might be a little overwhelmed when Canada comes out busting heads in the first period. The trick for them will be to hold on until Canada wears itself out. You see this in the playoffs all the time - top ranked teams being knocked out by eighth, seventh, and sixth ranked teams because they've been battling and head into the playoffs still battling. I'm also not sure whether the USA has quite the depth of talent that Canada does, though they certainly had a head start to working together as a team.
I have to admit that I've been very impressed by team USA's showing in the Olympics. They don't have an all-star team like Canada does and Russia did and they slipped under everyone's radar when people were busy going "OMG RUSSIA" and "OMG SWEDEN." It really shows what happens when you put together a team filled with grit and determination.
TL;DR: I've been waiting a week for this re-match against Team USA and along with the rest of the country will be busy shaking and going OMG OMG OMG OMG tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully they will drag Wayne Gretzky out on CTV first to give an inspiring speech and make everyone feel better. For some reason, it helps. YESSS WAYNE, BE THERE TO PAT US ON THE HEAD. XD
I get weirdly superstitious during hockey games, so going into the third when Canada was up 3-0 and EVERYONE in the building and the commentators were acting like Canada had already won.... I WAS FREAKING THE FUCK OUT. Even my aunt with about 9 minutes to go was like "lol come on how can they lose now" and I was like ASSKJKJKJ DON'T YOU EVEN SAY THAT. TAKE IT BACK RIGHT NOW. I knocked on all the wood I could find, and yet... and yet...
In went the puck, and suddenly it was 3 - 1:
I felt horror.
Naturally, team Canada's response to this goal was to PANIC and generally flail around a lot and run into each other. GREAT. THANKS EVER SO MUCH.
So Slovakia scored again. 3 - 2 with about 5 minutest to go.
That's when the shaking terror began:
And didn't end for the last five minutes of play. Somehow, despite all of team Canada flailing all over the ice and Slovakia calmly driving to the net going "MUHAHAHAHA," Luongo kept his shit together and was basically like DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENIED.
The buzzer went and somehow, somehow, Canada came out of the game up 3-2.
I basically collapsed and died right there on the spot.
OMG, Canada, omg. Why do you do the things to me that you do.
LONG STORY SHORT, Canada will get what they and every single Canadian in this country wants more than anything else: A second crack at team USA and a chance at the gold medal.
I don't want to make any predictions about Sunday (due to the whole superstitious thing), but here are some thoughts on the breakdown:
Canada's advantages: The only people who want a re-match with the USA. more than the fans are probably the players. There is no risk of them not being fired up for this game. Offensively, they are probably stronger than the Americans, and are nearly unstoppable when they come out flying with everything they've got in the first period. Luongo has also played well under pressure, and hopefully will not fold like Brodeur folded last week. They've also had to battle and battle HARD to get to the finals whereas team USA. has basically been able to walk into it. With every setback, team Canada seems to learn from their mistakes and emerge out of it stronger. My hope is that after the Slovakia game, the word "MAINTAINING DEFENCE" will be on everyone's minds.
Canada's disadvantages: There's no question that Canada has a bad habit of getting up a few goals and then sitting back and getting lazy. DON'T DO THAT GUYS. They also seem to have more trouble against teams that play a strong defencive game (USA, Switzerland, and Slovakia) than offensive game (Russia). They're going to have to be better at being patient and avoiding third period breakdowns. And Luongo did let in a couple of week goals from the Slovaks, so he is a little inconsistent.
USA's advantages: If Canada desperately wants this, I have no doubt team USA also wants it badly - to beat Canada at home and take away the gold medal? Oh yeah, they'll want it. USA also plays a good, strong defencive game which has been Canada's Achilles heel - and they're not too bad at offence either. Also Ryan Miller. Ryan Miller, Ryan Miller, Ryan Miller. The guy is a star and I have no doubt he will be ON against the Canadians tomorrow.
USA's disadvantages: They haven't had to battle as hard as Canada to get into the final - so they might be a little overwhelmed when Canada comes out busting heads in the first period. The trick for them will be to hold on until Canada wears itself out. You see this in the playoffs all the time - top ranked teams being knocked out by eighth, seventh, and sixth ranked teams because they've been battling and head into the playoffs still battling. I'm also not sure whether the USA has quite the depth of talent that Canada does, though they certainly had a head start to working together as a team.
I have to admit that I've been very impressed by team USA's showing in the Olympics. They don't have an all-star team like Canada does and Russia did and they slipped under everyone's radar when people were busy going "OMG RUSSIA" and "OMG SWEDEN." It really shows what happens when you put together a team filled with grit and determination.
TL;DR: I've been waiting a week for this re-match against Team USA and along with the rest of the country will be busy shaking and going OMG OMG OMG OMG tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully they will drag Wayne Gretzky out on CTV first to give an inspiring speech and make everyone feel better. For some reason, it helps. YESSS WAYNE, BE THERE TO PAT US ON THE HEAD. XD