Canada wins - long way to go still
While it was a good victory for Canada - a 3-1 win - last night at the Corel Centre, it was obvious that this team has some more gelling (is that a word?) to do. I thought there was a little more chemistry between some of the American forwards than the Canadians which there probably should be as the core of the US team has been together for a while.
The US defence is in trouble though. With Gill going down last night the team is struggling to find quality replacements. When Jordan Leopold couldn't continue, the US selected Paul Martin to take his place - Paul Martin? The guy's a mediocre prime minister - not a world calibre defenceman (I can hear your groans from here!) Seriously though - I don't think many hockey fans would pick Martin as a top US player.
Theodore and Luongo played great and Esche made some big saves for the US. Conklin - get ready for a cliche - would have liked to have a couple of the goals back I'm sure.
As for the experience - it was great. We could see Gretzky and Bob Nicholson sitting and watching the game from a 1st level box. The expressions on the players faces going into the corner to take or deliver a hit is something you can't experience as well in seats further from the ice. You really get to see the size difference between Lemieux and St. Louis, realize how big a man (just 20 years old) Bowmeester is, and how much skill Sakic and Lecavalier have in tight situations. Lucky for me, I'm seeing Slovakia/Canada in the same seats on Saturday.
The US defence is in trouble though. With Gill going down last night the team is struggling to find quality replacements. When Jordan Leopold couldn't continue, the US selected Paul Martin to take his place - Paul Martin? The guy's a mediocre prime minister - not a world calibre defenceman (I can hear your groans from here!) Seriously though - I don't think many hockey fans would pick Martin as a top US player.
Theodore and Luongo played great and Esche made some big saves for the US. Conklin - get ready for a cliche - would have liked to have a couple of the goals back I'm sure.
As for the experience - it was great. We could see Gretzky and Bob Nicholson sitting and watching the game from a 1st level box. The expressions on the players faces going into the corner to take or deliver a hit is something you can't experience as well in seats further from the ice. You really get to see the size difference between Lemieux and St. Louis, realize how big a man (just 20 years old) Bowmeester is, and how much skill Sakic and Lecavalier have in tight situations. Lucky for me, I'm seeing Slovakia/Canada in the same seats on Saturday.
