Conference 7.286::sports_91

    There's a World Hockey Championship going on?  Coulda fooled me, I
    haven't heard a thing about it.
    
    Does that tell you what coverage over here is like?
    
    A&W

I saw a game on last night between Canada and Sveeden. There was very
little defense being played to say the least! I believe Canada won something
like 8-6! The MVP's selected were Joe Sakic for Canada and of the Nordiques, 
and Bengt Gustafsson for Canada and fomerly of the Washington Capitals.
I'm not sure if this was a "tune-up" game or a real playoff game.



Steve 

    NESN covered a game last night.  The ::HOCKEY Notesfile has daily
    coverage of it!
    
    

The Hartford Courant has been running scores and standings, and usually a
daily article.

I do know that Todd Krygier scored the goal that put the USA into the medal
round.  Way to go Todd!

Other than that, there's not much coverage.....


'Saw

>                     -< World Hockey HooHaas in Helsinki >-
                                         ^^^^

Sheesh! I didn't know you had to copyright your own last name.

TTom

    
    In a moment of chanel switching I watched a couple of minutes of the
    game and was quickly driven away by the dreadful announcing.  Whoever
    it was just droned on with the game sorta being played in the
    background.  I could have done at least as well:  "The puck goes over
    to the left...now passed to the right...a shot...cleared out of the
    zone...a pass to center...skated away...shot back into the corner..."
    Not once did I hear him say *who* had the puck, or *who* made the great
    play, or even which team it was.  Not a professional job, IMO.
    
    Dickstah
    

Dickstah,

  The announcing over here is useless as well for several reasons:

- The announcers either don't know the names and pronounce them wrong or they
  know how the names were pronounced back in the Old Country, and pronounce
  them like that.  How the hail do you say "Sakic"?  The announcers keep saying
  Sak-ich, which is probably correct, but I don't know.  Otherwise, another
  wowser is Seen Burky instead of Sean Burke!!  

- When the announcers say the players first names, which is nearly never, they
  use the official names which are only otherwise used on the lineup card and
  by the players mothers when they are mad, e.g. James McCoun, Steven Yzerman,
  Geoffrey Courtnall, etc.

- The announcers always continue to try predicting the end because it is
  pretty easy in sports like soccer, but pretty damn crazy in hockey:
  Yesterday, it was quickly 4-0 for Russia and the jerk said "looks like another
  one of those 12-2 kind of games."  Then it was 4-2 and he had to back on it,
  then it was 5-4 and he already had it tied up, etc., etc..

Anyway, I haven't heard good announcing for a long time:  Bill and Foster 
Hewitt from Toronto were the absolute best, Danny Galvanized from Montreal 
and Dick Irvin were good, so was Jiggs McDonald from St. Louis.

rick   

My two favorite announcer were Dan Kelly and Jim Gordon, from the old
days of the NHL.  (I always get the first names mixed up with the last
with these two guys, so somebody help me if I screwed up AGAIN!)

Back when the NHL actually used to come on TV on a Sunday afternoon.  It was
like mid to late sixties.  Anyway, when they'd score a goal you'd here this
tremendous call

	He shoots, HE SC........ORES!!!!!

He'd yell so loud he'd actually cut out the mike for a second....

'Saw

>>	He shoots, HE SC........ORES!!!!!

Yup, 'Saw, you got it.  I was trying to think of Dan Kelly's name but couldn't.

Speaking of the Sunday afternoon games reminds me of the Saturday afternoon
games and the hero of which was this absolute ass called Bill Mazur.

He was quite an amateur, and during his short stint he said things when he 
thought the mike was off and did other silly things.

Anyway, one time they cut away to do a commercial and accidentally cut back
to Mazur a couple of seconds later, by which time he'd moved in towards the
camera so that his face covered the whole screen.  Then he let out this 
tremendous

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRP!!!!

and the camera cut away again.

Anyone else remember him?

rick

Rick --

	Probably a relative of Paul (CAM::) Mazur, a guy I work with
	and who read/writes in SPORTS.

	Paul has this inherent craziness that makes me think he MUST be
	related to Bill Mazur...

	Than again, has anyone ever seen Paul and Bill TOGETHER??????

man 8^)

'Saw

In yesterday's action, Finland thumped Switzerland 6-2.

Kurri has been awesome, and leads the scoring race (you Broons fans have heard
of him haven't you?).

Today it's Sweden-USA and Canada-Russia.  Should be a coupla wowsers - the 
USA played very well against the Russians - van Biesbruck (sp?) was great
after letting in a couple of softies at the beginning.

Hopefully the other game will feature a rematch between Fleury and that big
goon Constantinorotchvikovsky or whatever his name is.  Fleury wanted to fight
last year but I think the goon was scared ;^{).  

Fleury is definitely my favourite in spite of that troublesome little chip
on his shoulder - usually the fastest man on the ice, deadly shot, pinpoint
passing, and most importantly full of desire to win.

rick

           <<< SWECSC::SYS$SYSDEVICE:[NOTES$LIBRARY]HOCKEY.NOTE;1 >>>
                              -< Hockey on ice. >-
================================================================================
Note 203.29                  World Championship 1991                    29 of 29
SWECSC::AHLGREN "and the answer is... 42!"           49 lines   2-MAY-1991 21:01
                             -< 9th round (early) >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    I will give the scores tomorrow, but the 9th round just finished and
    the results are :
    
    Sweden	- USA		8 - 4
    Soviet	- Canada	3 - 3
    
    Standings :
    
    1. Sweden		1 1 0	11 -  7  3
    2. Soviet Union	1 1 0	 9 -  7  3
    3. Canada		0 2 0	 6 -  6  2
    4. USA		0 0 2    8 - 14  0
    
    Ok here it is for the final round :
    
    Sweden gets :
    GOLD : If they win over the Soviet Union.
           If they play a draw and Canada do not win with more than four
    	   goals.
    SILVER : If they play a draw and Canada wins with more than four goals.
    	     If they loose while Canada plays a draw or loses against USA.
    BRONZE : If they loose and Canada wins.
    	     If they loose with more than 4 goals and Canada plays a draw.
    
    Soviet gets :
    GOLD   : If they win over Sweden.
    SILVER : If they play a draw and Canada wins only by a single goal.
    	     If they loose and Canada loose or play a draw.
    BRONZE : If they loose and Canada wins.
    	     If Canada plays a draw and Sweden win with more than 2 goals.
    
    Canada gets :
    GOLD   : If they win over USA with more than 5 goals and Sweden plays
    	     a draw.
    SILVER : If they win and Sweden/Soviet loose.
    	     If they play a draw and Sweden looses with more than 4 goals
    	     or the Soviets with more than 2.
    	     If they win with 3 goals and Sweden/Soviet is a draw.
    BRONZE : Numerous...
    
    USA gets :
    
    BRONZE : If they beat Canada with 3+ goals.
    
    I probably missed some of them, but it gives you an idea what it's all
    about on Saturday...
    
    Paul.
    

Well, well, it all happened yesterday evening with WWIII, aka the Russians
vs. the Canadians.

Our brave lads played well, but took a few dumb penalties and relaxed a bit in
the 2nd to allow the tie.  Otherwise, Canada had 'em on the run more than they
had us.

Fleury did not fight that big goon, but was caught trying to twist a guys head
off the way you unscrew a Dry Beer (and I'm not exaggerating).  That one cost
a goal...

It comes down to tomorrow as Paul stated.  My bets would be:

- Swedes and Russia tie
- Canada squeaks by or ties the U.S. (U.S. better than the record would say)

Let's watch out for the Soviets in the years to come.  They have now switched
tactics and are fielding (icing?) 18 and 19 year olds to get exposure to the
North American style of play and the scouts in the hopes of getting some hard
currency.  They are pretty shrewd to say the least.

rick    

Well, the whole thing wound up with a tremendous bang as the Swedes beat the
Russians 2-1 in the last game.

In addition to getting some visibility for young players, I think the Russians
(and the Czechs for that matter) are pretty thin on talent as most of their
good players are playing abroad and only get together for a short time 
before the championships.

Who is still playing in the NHL playoffs from Russia and Czechoslovakia?
I know Rucziska (sp?) is one as he potted a goal in OT the other night.
Who else is there??

Anyway, it's good to see that they have the throw-a-team-together-in-ten
minutes-and-try-and-win-the-championship problem that we've had for years now.

Canada almost stole the show as they needed to beat the U.S. by more than four
goals in order to win the gold in the event of a tie between Russia and Sweden.

Sure 'nuff, it's 7-4 Canada with about a minute to go.  The Americans are on
a power play although we're taking the play to them.  The U.S. pulls the goalie
thinking that there's nothing to lose, and we score a goal to make it 8-4.
Final scramble around the U.S. net and the puck goes in at 19:59!!

All in vain since Sweden pulled it out.  Still was a great finish though!!

rick

    Well, here in Europe everyone is talking about the chaep trick the US
    and Canadians tried to pull off. The 2 last goals were gifts from the
    US team. The swedish coach said that he would have taken his goalkeeper
    out to let the russians score, if the game had been tied short before
    the end. And Tichonow said that he didn't want to tie the game at the
    end, just to be sure that the canadians would not become world
    champions. The way the championship is played makes this kind of tricks
    possible. It's too bad for hockey.

Hi,

I was pretty confused when the goalie was suddenly pulled by the U.S., but I'm
not that convinced that it was some sort of cheap trick.

The U.S. had a power play at the time but couldn't get it working - as I said,
Canada was carrying the play even though they were one man short.  Then, when
the play did finally go into the Canadian zone, I think that Taylor wanted to
pull the goalie in desparation - better to lose 8-4 having taken a shot at 
7-5 or 7-6....

After all, if the U.S. wanted to throw the game, they had 60 minutes to do it,
so it doesn't make sense that they would pull it off in the last minute.
Also, the 9th Canadian goal wasn't let in on purpose by the U.S..

Was it really a fix?

rick

    Petr Klima is another Czech still playing.....

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             World Championship 1991                    33 of 41
SWECSC::AHLGREN "and the answer is... 42!"          105 lines   6-MAY-1991 01:58
                              -< My VNS article. >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Sweden became new world champions on Saturday when they defeated
	the Soviet Union in the final round of the playoff's with 2-1.
	It was Mats Sundin that scored the winning goal for Sweden halfway
	into the third period, with a goal that is destined to be a classic
	in the annuals of hockey. He grab the puck deep down into the
	Swedish defense zone, came alone against three Soviets, fooled
	Fetisov halfway up the stands before scoring between the legs of
	the Soviet goalie.

	This was the fifth time that Sweden became the world champions and
	the first time they went undefeated through the tournament when all
	the best nations were competing. Sweden won 5 games and played 5
	draws, and by this they were the only undefeated team in the 
	tournament. There are four players that should be pointed out as
	the gold-getters in front of the others. First of course the goal-
	keeper since noone is winning the World Championships without a
	great goalkeeper, Rolf Ridderwall. Kjell Samuelsson, the Philadelphia
	defense player that got a lot of criticism before the championship
	for being slow and immobile. He turned out to be the best defense
	player of the whole tournament, and proved why he is considered
	a top man in NHL. Thomas Rundqvist the Swedish captain who is the
	normally the best defense center in Sweden, but in this tournament
	scored no less than 6 goals which equals the number of goals he
	scored in the three previous championships, and finally MATS SUNDIN,
	the Quebec player who scored so many vital goals for Sweden during
	the Championships, and believe me, he is going to be a superstar.

	It was actually close that the Championship ended with a big scandal.
	Canada needed to beat USA with at least 5 goals to have a chance to
	the gold. They also did this, but the scandal was the way they did
	it. Canada was leading with 7-4 with less than a minute to go and
	were one man short. When 30 seconds were left, Tim Taylor , the
	American coach, ordered his goalie off the rink to add an additional
	outfielder. With 15 seconds left Steve Larmer were able to score
	8-4 in the empty goal, and with 1 second left Canada were able to
	score again with a goal by James Macoun. Voila, Canada had what they
	needed. The Soviet coach said when asked about why he didn't remove
	his goalie in the end of the game ; "First of all I didn't think
	that we would be able to score two goals against the Swedish team,
	and secondly I don't think that what the US coach did belongs in
	a hockey rink, so I kept him on place as a protest."

	Canada scored the silver, but I personnaly thinks they were a little
	better last year, when they also had a player like Steve Yzerman
	which is one of my all-time favourites. Soviet Union were dissapointed
	with their bronze, since only five Soviet teams has scored less
	than a silver since 1954!. USA started out very good in the tournament
	but were not able to keep it up in the final rounds, unfortunately
	they will be remembered for what they did against Canada, not for
	the good hockey they showed through the tournament.

	On the whole the tournament this year was of a very high standard
	and the play shown promises us a very exciting Canada Cup this
	autumn. As all good reporters (as I hope I have been through this
	tournament) I would like to nominate my All-star team :

	Goalkeeper :    Sean Burke, Canada. Brilliant goalie, I actually only
		        saw him make a single mistake through the whole
		        tournament. 

	Left Defense :  James Macoun, Canada. A good offensive defense player
		        who scored many vital goals for the Canadians through
		        the tournament.

	Right Defense : Kjell Samuelsson, Sweden. A giant in the rink, both
		        as a player and as a person (198 cm). Best defense
			player, you could count the mistakes he did during
			the tournament on your left hand.

	Left Wing :     Mats Sundin, THE STAR of the tournament. Brilliant
		        technique and no nerves. He always knows where the goal
		        is. A superstar in NHL in two or three years.

	Center :        Thomas Rundqvist, Sweden. An eleven year veteran, that 
		        always has been good, but was great in this tournament 
			and he scored goals too! (see above).

	Right Wing :    Pavel Bure, Soviet Union. A technique that must have
		        been touched by God. Brilliant player, the NHL club
		        that gets him will be lucky.

	Signing off is,
	Paul Ahlgren

	Sweden - USA		8-4 ( 2-0,4-2,2-2 )
	Canada - Soviet Union	3-3 ( 1-1,1-2,1-0 )

	Sweden - Soviet Union	2-1 ( 1-1,0-0,1-0 )
	Canada - USA		9-4 ( 2-1,4-2,3-1 )

				W T L GF GA Po
	1. Sweden		2 1 0 13  8  5
	2. Canada		1 2 0 15 10  4
	3. Soviet Union		1 1 1 10  9  3
	4. USA			0 0 3 12 23  0

	Finland - Chechoslovacia 3-2
	Germany - Switzerland 3-3

	5. Finland		6 1 3	    13
	6. Chzechoslovacia	4 0 6	     8
	7. Switzerland		2 1 7	     5
	8. Germany		0 2 8	     2
	
    

Joann,

Thanks for posting Paul's note and for the ensuing hernia  ;^{).

I mean "a goal which is destined to go down as classic bla bla bla, blee ble
blee..."

Every Atom hockey player knows the trick pulled by Sundin:

1.  Move in
2.  Go to the right (or the left if you shoot left)
3.  Amazingly, you will also see that the goalie moves with you!!
4.  When he moves, shoot it between his moving legs and if he's no good with 
    his stick it'll go in.

Hardly one for the annals (sp?  he he), classics, etc.,  More like one used by
the weaker shooters.

Me, I prefered Fleury's goal Saturday:  Coast in and make the goalie and 
defense wonder when you're gonna pass.  Keep coasting till they break out in
sweat.  Zap it into the top corner - goalie doesn't move.

rick

    Rick,
    
    Not sure, but I was thinking of Sundin's goal as being remembered for
    being the GAME-WINNER; not necessarily the most beautiful.  It might
    also be that Paul's from Sweden?!?!? 8^)  Yeah, thats it!
    
    I think Cam Neely summed it up pretty good over the regular season
    in an interview:  "It doesn't matter HOW they go, just that they go
    in."
    
    As for the Sundin/Fleury goals, I can't comment on which one I think
    is/was more spectacular because I didn't see either of 'em.  The
    'pretty' goals are nice to see, but sometimes the hardworking goals
    are just as nice to see.
    
    Jo

  Jo

Thanks for your message.

Yes our man Paul is a nice dude but a bit too fanatical on the Swedes - I had
to stop reading HOCKEY as cleaning the barf off my screen was taking too much
time   ;^{0.

Anyway, it just killed me that of all the beautiful goals, he mentioned THAT
one!  It's over now anyway...

More importantly, where are we in the NHL today???????

rick

    Rick,
    
    The Broons lost lasted night, missed part of the game.  Moog replaced
    by Lemelin, DelGuidice was back-up goalie sitting on the bench.
    Didn't see, but Ulfie Samuelsson gave a supposed(? didn't see it!)
    cheap shot to Cam Neely, who didn't finish the game.
    
    Janney out with the flu.
    Galley played with the flu.
    Poulin left game with groin injury.
    
    The only saving grace is that Reggie played a most excellent third
    period and didn't allow a goal...not bad for a goalie who's been
    sitting since before the playoffs started.  Broons lead series 2-1.
    
    Northstars got their heads handed to them by the Oilers Saturday night;
    7-2.  Ouch!!!!  The fans at Northlands Coliseum even showed some signs
    of life.  Tonight is Game 3 at Minnesota. Series tied 1-1.
    
    Jo

    Hey listen! Just because we (Canadians) don't go ape-sh*t at every
    sporting or non-sporting event for that matter (i.e. The Price is
    Right) doesn't mean we aren't sports fans or alive.
    
    Ted. 

    Ted, Ted, Ted,
    
    Calm down!!!!  I never said anything about Canadians not going ape
    sh!t; just that the fans showed some life. Its generally too quiet
    for my taste.  'Course I'm a Broons fan and GaHden fans are obnoxious!
    
    8^)
    Joann

    Eh, leave him alone... maybe it's because the Cup stays in the US this
    year....