We. Want. Gold.

Take any of us back two weeks ago, and we'd shake our heads in doubt if you said the USA men's hockey team would be playing for the gold medal. Canada and Russia were just too strong on paper to even think about anyone else.

But here we are. And the little Yankee boys are making everyone fall in love with them. They're working hard and getting things done. Upsetting Canada. Scoring six goals in like ten minutes. Not to mention goaltender Ryan Miller has been ridiculously good. They're so much fun to watch. Now the whole country is paying attention.

Sean Leahy over at PuckDaddy tweeted that tomorrow will be the 50th anniversary of the 1960 men's hockey gold medal game. The "forgotten miracle" as they like to call it. Gives you the chills doesn't it?

I'm definitely more scared of Canada this time. A few days ago the US upset them 5-3 on their home turf. They're going to be angry. They're going to want revenge. They're going to want to prove to everyone that they are the best just like everyone assumed going into the tournament. They're going to be good. Really, really good. But I truly believe if the US sticks to its game and outworks Canada, they will succeed.

And America can fall in love with its hockey team again.

U.S.A.

Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

"We Know We Can Beat Anybody Now."

Wow.

If you missed last night's USA-Canada game, you missed one of the most intense and exciting hockey games anyone's seen in awhile.

It was the most watched sporting event in Canada's history. The American boys left them silent.

Some people are saying it didn't even mean that much. But it did. These kids were passed off as a team in its 'building stages' for 2014. They beat one of the tournament favorites.

No, it wasn't a miracle.

It was a pleasant surprise.

It made Americans pay attention to hockey.

It made us proud. 

Thank you. 

Now bring us the gold.

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Terriers Lose Trivino For Season

The Terriers swallowed another dose of bad luck when sophomore forward, Corey Trivino, fractured his right fibula during Saturday night's game against Maine. He's donezo for the year. Trivino had 15 points (4+11) in 28 games; considering the Terriers have struggled for scoring at various points this season, losing any amount of contribution is not a good thing.

You gotta feel for the kid; he battled an injury last year as well.

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AHL To Get Some Southern Lovin'

Lots of news buzzing around the American Hockey League these days. Namely the two big items are the new additions to the league for 2010-11.

The Edmonton Oilers will shift their affiliate from Springfield to Oklahoma City. Say what? I'll be interested to see how the team does down there. I mean hockey is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of OKC. Nevertheless sometimes locations like that surprise you. In the meantime Springfield's president is determined to find another NHL partner in order to keep the team there for at least the next year. As if that wasn't enough for him to do, the franchise also has to work out a new lease for their rink.

The other snippet is that Carolina will be moving their affiliate, the Albany River Rats, to Charlotte. It makes sense for the Hurricanes; their affiliate will be nearby which will cut down on the amount of travel players will have to go through. But it also makes me sad. The Albany River Rats have been around for what feels like forever. They have possibly the worst name and the ugliest logo, but they're also a classic. The River Rats have also been really bad for a really long time, and now that they're finally getting decent, they're moving. Poor fans. Hopefully they can get another team in there. President Garen Szablewski is already working on it.

Kreider's Beanpot Goal

Here's a clip of Boston College's Chris Kreider and his goal mentioned in the post below. Not sure Max Nicastro enjoys this one as much.

No Miracles This Time

Down 4-3 with 2:46 to go, Boston University fans started to believe. Deficits don't scare us as much after what happened in last year's national championship game. But this isn't last year, and last minute miracles (or any for that matter) are hard to come by in '09-10. So I left the Garden a little heartbroken that my Beanpot career as a student comes to an end with a record of 2-2.

If you were to rewind back to the fifteen minute mark in the third, the score was 4-1 in favor of Boston College. I wish I could say it was ugly, but it wasn't ugly at all. The game was unbelievable. Kieran Millan was the best I've seen him all season. He had some remarkable saves, and you can't fault him for Chris Kreider's work of art early in the third. On the other side, John Muse looked better than I've seen in awhile too. If he doesn't stop Nick Bonino with 19 seconds left, the game goes to OT, and then I put my money on BU. There was Kreider's goal and Dave Warsofsky's shorthander. There were nail-biting third period penalties and more. It was just a really great game.

Quick recap in terms of scoring: The Terriers opened it up in the first with Kevin Shattenkirk's goal. BC responded with three straight: two in the second from Steve Whitney and Carl Sneep and one in the third from Barry Almeida. It looked like BU might be up to its old tricks with Warsofsky's shortie and Colby Cohen's goal late in the third. But that's where the scoring would end.

So, yeah. I didn't get to win my last Beanpot as a senior. But it was a great game, and it's still the best college tournaments out there. And I mean, we have to let other teams win sometimes. It's the nice thing to do .... ;-)

Linkage:
+ Keeping the lid on (Boston Globe)
+ Classics like this make familiar title game anything but stale (Boston Globe)
+ Honors roll in for goalie Muse (Boston Globe)
+ Quite the experience for freshman (Boston Globe)
+ Eagles pot 15th title (Boston Herald)
+ Jack Parker Praises Terriers (Boston Herald)
+ Bean-tossed (Daily Free Press)
+ [BC] Men's Hockey Wins Beanpot (The Heights)
+ Boston College Edges Boston University to Capture 58th Beanpot Championship (USCHO)
+ BC Goalie Muse Named MVP (ESPN) 

Photo: AP, Winslow Townson

R.I.P.

So, so sad. 21 year-old Brendan Burke was killed today in a car accident. Burke is the son of Toronto GM Brian Burke. He had been in the news semi-recently for coming out that he was gay. It breaks my heart that his life was taken from him so young. We're the same age. It hits you hard.

Count your blessings folks.

Rest in peace, bud.




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