The Song Remains the Same

Puck drops as the boys take on the Norway team. Norway suffered a brutal loss to team Canada Tuesday night (8-0) so I looked for them to come in and play with some intensity. Missed the first few minutes of the period because of a test but as soon as I walked in Kessel had put the US on the board. US was pressing with speed in the first, glad to see that. Period goes on then Drury puts a rebound into the twine to send the boys into the 2nd period with a 2-0 lead.

2nd period showed the same thing the US have had problem with and a that's odd man rushes. Norway had plenty of chances to make this game more interesting, but since Miller has been great, he bailed them out for most of the game. I was thrilled to see Kane get a goal (I called it on Twitter) to make it 3-0 as this looks like it could be a blowout. Norway didn't slow up at all, skated hard and then their effort payed off as they get a 2-on-1 and put them on the board 3-1 and that takes us to the end of the 2nd.

3rd starts and Norway is still getting a few rushes but Miller is still standing tall between the pipes. This leads to the flood gates opening for the US in this period. Starts off with Malone swatting Johnson's rebound to make it 4-1. Ralfalski gets in on the action as he makes it 5-1 from a great pass from Parise. Then he decides to come back for more and scores his second goal off of a face off win to make it 6-1. That took us to the end of the game where the US wins again to make them 2-0 in the Games.

Just like the first game this game could have turned out much differently had Norway hit some of those odd man rushes they got. Miller is good but he's not going to be able to stop 7-8 odd rushes a game. Had the defense been better in both games Miller could have easily had 2 shutouts going into the huge game against Canada. However there were some things about the game that made me very happy. The speed is something that wasn't there in first game but they really picked it up in this game with the high octane offense. It's also great to see some of the lines gain chemistry. As Jeremy Roenick pointed out in today's game, Parise and Kane look to be on the same page and making great passes which lead to both of them getting points today. With those two making plays look for good things to happen in the future. The defense played well just a few mistakes here and there that if they can clean up will make their lives much easier when they play Canada Sunday. Last thing is that very glad Miller is still playing great. He didn't have a ton of shots to stop today but most of them he made them look easy.

This is one of those times when your heart tells you that sure the US can go in and steal a game from Canada, but your brain tells you your an idiot. Would I love to see Canada go down? You bet. Am I going to tell you that there is no way the US can lose? No. This is big game for both teams and with Canada having the team they have, I just don't see how the US can pull it off. They'll have to play damn close to a perfect game to win. Though until the game is over I won't give up on the boys. Blind optimism rules when it comes to the teams you hold dear and even though I've been let down in the past (damn you Rex Grossman), I'll still be chanting USA USA USA, even if I have to do it by myself. Look for the game at 6:40 pm our time. Should be a great one.