Mr. Smith said:
the wrong team is favored due to the fact that USA has a far superior squad of talent.....
the only reason the Canadians are favorite is they will be playing in Vancouver in front of 20K fans watching.... with an entire NATION tuned in on TV.....
over in the states NOBODY, I MEAN NOBODY.... will be watching this game.... I dont even think it is on TV.....
Take the Max on Canada at PINNY.... & scalp out with a heavier WEIGHT on USA, you can push your odds up to +180 or more by doing this.....
or you can get a FREE SHOT on USA....
+.5 +100 at SIA is especially sweet.......
Canadian Press
12/31/2005 9:54:51 AM
VANCOUVER (CP) - The hard-hitting Canadians will try to shut down the high-flying Americans at the world junior hockey championship Saturday in a game that determines which country gets a bye to the semifinals.
Canada (3-0) will have its hands full against the tournament-favourite U.S. team and will have to execute head coach Brent Sutter's strategy to the letter in order to bypass the quarter-finals.
''Our motto is 'your next game is your biggest game' and it's really true now,'' forward Dan Bertram said. ''We'd like to get that bye. It would give us an extra day of rest.''
The U.S. tied Switzerland 2-2 on Friday and, despite their talent, have showed a lack of finish in their last two preliminary-round games.
Saturday's game against Canada is for first place in Group A. The U.S. (2-0-1) has to beat Canada for first place in the pool, while the Canadians can finish in top spot with a win or a tie.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right border=0><!--drop width--><TBODY><TR height=8><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Begin Ad --><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> if(!sops){if(p.sops){var sops=p.sops;}else{var sops="";}} if(dUnitBox==true){boxAd=true;} if(boxAd){if((!dUnitSky)||(dUnitBox)){place300x250();}} </SCRIPT><!--- End Ad ---></TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Earning the bye is a major advantage for a country in pursuit of the gold medal, so Canada or the U.S. won't save any fuel for the playoff round next week.
The team that gets to skip the quarter-finals gets an extra day of rest in a short and gruelling tournament and one less game where it can lose a player to injury. That country will also face a semifinal opponent tired from its quarter-final win.
Anticipation of the Saturday game, which can be seen on TSN and TSN HD starting a 6:30 pm ET/3:30 pm PT, was building before the tournament because it pits the host and defending champion against the tournament favourite, although Sutter says the reason his team is 3-0 is because the players haven't been looking ahead to U.S. until now.
''It's been the talk of everybody outside our dressing room,'' he said. ''This one game now means something because we've been able to accomplish our goals from then to now.''
The record number of penalties called by Russian referee Rafail Kadyrovin in Canada's 4-0 win over Norway Thursday was still the buzz on Friday because some were for half-speed body contact.
If the Canadians are unable to play a physical game against the Americans, they're sunk against an offensively explosive team.
Swedish referee Marcus Vinnerborg has been assigned to the game, a positive for Canada because he officiated the Americans' entertaining 6-5 win over Finland on Wednesday.
''We have to play to our identity and that's being an aggressive team and part of that is the physical part of it,'' Sutter said.
Special teams will still be key as both the U.S. and Canada have had discipline issues. Canada has been excellent on the penalty kill, but could stand some more pop in its power play as the team missed converting a couple of two-man advantages against hockey minnow Norway.
''If the officials call the game the same way, we're going to have to adjust and be smart with our sticks,'' forward Jonathan Toews said. ''If we're on the power play, we're going to have to capitalize.''
Sutter's club needs to reclaim that in-your-face mentality it had in a 5-1 win over the Finns to open the tournament in order to contain U.S. big guns Phil Kessel, Chris Bourque and Rob Schremp, and also to effectively forecheck the Americans.
Give the Americans a little room and they can throw the puck around like no other team in the tournament, except perhaps the Russians, and with their speed the Canadians won't be able to catch the U.S. players on the backcheck if they get beat.
''There's a lot of skill on this team, a lot of grit, a lot of everything,'' Schremp said. ''We've got big, fast, skilled forwards, so it's a pretty good team and well put together.''
The goal for the Canadians is to prevent the Americans from having the puck in the first place by winning the one-on-one battles and forcing turnovers.
''We can't let them have their space,'' forward David Bolland said. ''We've got to get on them quick and hit them hard and let them know, we're going to come at them.''
Cory Schneider and Jeff Frazee are both talented goaltenders so Canada has to get some traffic around the net and pay the price physically to get to the rebounds and the loose pucks, which players such as Bolland, Dustin Boyd and Steve Downie have been doing.
''You've got to make it difficult on goalies to see shots and so you've got to have guys to get there and not just standing beside the goalie, but being on top of the goalie outside the crease,'' Sutter said. ''We're a team that has to battle hard in those areas.''
Frazee is a good candidate to get the start because he beat Canada in the final of the world under-18 championship in April, but U.S. coach Walt Kyle said after Friday's game against Switzerland he had yet to decide who would start.
Justin Pogge has been mentally strong and steady in Canada's nets while facing few shots in his first three games. He's about to see a lot more action.
The U.S. is a team even younger than Canada with an average age of 18.4, and that lack of maturity may be a factor in their late-game letdowns.
The Americans were ahead 2-0 in the third period against the Swiss, who got the tying goal on a two-man advantage. The U.S. had a 6-3 lead against Finland on Wednesday, but then got defensively sloppy and let Finland pull within a goal with about a minute left.
12/31/2005 9:54:51 AM
VANCOUVER (CP) - The hard-hitting Canadians will try to shut down the high-flying Americans at the world junior hockey championship Saturday in a game that determines which country gets a bye to the semifinals.
Canada (3-0) will have its hands full against the tournament-favourite U.S. team and will have to execute head coach Brent Sutter's strategy to the letter in order to bypass the quarter-finals.
''Our motto is 'your next game is your biggest game' and it's really true now,'' forward Dan Bertram said. ''We'd like to get that bye. It would give us an extra day of rest.''
The U.S. tied Switzerland 2-2 on Friday and, despite their talent, have showed a lack of finish in their last two preliminary-round games.
Saturday's game against Canada is for first place in Group A. The U.S. (2-0-1) has to beat Canada for first place in the pool, while the Canadians can finish in top spot with a win or a tie.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=right border=0><!--drop width--><TBODY><TR height=8><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Begin Ad --><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> if(!sops){if(p.sops){var sops=p.sops;}else{var sops="";}} if(dUnitBox==true){boxAd=true;} if(boxAd){if((!dUnitSky)||(dUnitBox)){place300x250();}} </SCRIPT><!--- End Ad ---></TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Earning the bye is a major advantage for a country in pursuit of the gold medal, so Canada or the U.S. won't save any fuel for the playoff round next week.
The team that gets to skip the quarter-finals gets an extra day of rest in a short and gruelling tournament and one less game where it can lose a player to injury. That country will also face a semifinal opponent tired from its quarter-final win.
Anticipation of the Saturday game, which can be seen on TSN and TSN HD starting a 6:30 pm ET/3:30 pm PT, was building before the tournament because it pits the host and defending champion against the tournament favourite, although Sutter says the reason his team is 3-0 is because the players haven't been looking ahead to U.S. until now.
''It's been the talk of everybody outside our dressing room,'' he said. ''This one game now means something because we've been able to accomplish our goals from then to now.''
The record number of penalties called by Russian referee Rafail Kadyrovin in Canada's 4-0 win over Norway Thursday was still the buzz on Friday because some were for half-speed body contact.
If the Canadians are unable to play a physical game against the Americans, they're sunk against an offensively explosive team.
Swedish referee Marcus Vinnerborg has been assigned to the game, a positive for Canada because he officiated the Americans' entertaining 6-5 win over Finland on Wednesday.
''We have to play to our identity and that's being an aggressive team and part of that is the physical part of it,'' Sutter said.
Special teams will still be key as both the U.S. and Canada have had discipline issues. Canada has been excellent on the penalty kill, but could stand some more pop in its power play as the team missed converting a couple of two-man advantages against hockey minnow Norway.
''If the officials call the game the same way, we're going to have to adjust and be smart with our sticks,'' forward Jonathan Toews said. ''If we're on the power play, we're going to have to capitalize.''
Sutter's club needs to reclaim that in-your-face mentality it had in a 5-1 win over the Finns to open the tournament in order to contain U.S. big guns Phil Kessel, Chris Bourque and Rob Schremp, and also to effectively forecheck the Americans.
Give the Americans a little room and they can throw the puck around like no other team in the tournament, except perhaps the Russians, and with their speed the Canadians won't be able to catch the U.S. players on the backcheck if they get beat.
''There's a lot of skill on this team, a lot of grit, a lot of everything,'' Schremp said. ''We've got big, fast, skilled forwards, so it's a pretty good team and well put together.''
The goal for the Canadians is to prevent the Americans from having the puck in the first place by winning the one-on-one battles and forcing turnovers.
''We can't let them have their space,'' forward David Bolland said. ''We've got to get on them quick and hit them hard and let them know, we're going to come at them.''
Cory Schneider and Jeff Frazee are both talented goaltenders so Canada has to get some traffic around the net and pay the price physically to get to the rebounds and the loose pucks, which players such as Bolland, Dustin Boyd and Steve Downie have been doing.
''You've got to make it difficult on goalies to see shots and so you've got to have guys to get there and not just standing beside the goalie, but being on top of the goalie outside the crease,'' Sutter said. ''We're a team that has to battle hard in those areas.''
Frazee is a good candidate to get the start because he beat Canada in the final of the world under-18 championship in April, but U.S. coach Walt Kyle said after Friday's game against Switzerland he had yet to decide who would start.
Justin Pogge has been mentally strong and steady in Canada's nets while facing few shots in his first three games. He's about to see a lot more action.
The U.S. is a team even younger than Canada with an average age of 18.4, and that lack of maturity may be a factor in their late-game letdowns.
The Americans were ahead 2-0 in the third period against the Swiss, who got the tying goal on a two-man advantage. The U.S. had a 6-3 lead against Finland on Wednesday, but then got defensively sloppy and let Finland pull within a goal with about a minute left.
kingkong said:
Good point Kong.
This from bet365-
<TABLE class=tb1 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=tb6 vAlign=top><TD class=tb7 colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=h1>MoneyLine</TD><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR class=tb6 vAlign=top><TD colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=bnk vAlign=top width=505>Overtime/Shootout is included for North American hockey.
Settlement of European hockey is on 60 mins play only (Overtime is not included).
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
"Canada (3-0) will have its hands full against the tournament-favourite U.S. team and will have to execute head coach Brent Sutter's strategy to the letter in order to bypass the quarter-finals."
Well the shortage of skills was made up by the intensity of the Sutter coached Canadian team. It is certainly was a GREAT game. Empty net goal gives Canada the 3-2 win, saves the scalps and exposes the problem with the USA+0.5 bet.
Well the shortage of skills was made up by the intensity of the Sutter coached Canadian team. It is certainly was a GREAT game. Empty net goal gives Canada the 3-2 win, saves the scalps and exposes the problem with the USA+0.5 bet.
