The World Cup of Hockey Finals Start Tonight and International Hockey is Dead to Me
Canada takes on surprise finalist Team Europe tonight in game 1 of the best of 3 World Cup Finals. Hosts Canada were expected to be contending for the gold medal, but Team Europe has defied all odds and made an improbable run to the finals, where they will again be heavy underdogs.
Canada has lived up to their high expectations so far and has gone 4-0 through the tournament, recording wins over the Czech Republic, USA, and Europe in group play before passing a tough test against a strong Russian team in the semi-finals. The Canadians have relied on balanced scoring and tough defense throughout the tournament as they boast the top 3 scorers in Sidney Crosby, Brad Marchand, and Jonathan Toews, while goalie Carey Price leads the tournament in goals against average and save percentage.
Team Europe, on the other hand, has been the Cinderella story of the tournament. Everyone had pretty much written them off before they even arrived in Toronto, but to everyone's surprise, and Americans' dismay, they have proven they are for real. Team Europe opened the tournament by upsetting the United States before defeating the Czechs and falling to Canada in their final group stage game, but their 2 wins were enough to send them into the knockout round. In the semi-finals they faced international giants Sweden, where they rallied to beat the Scandinavians in overtime and delay their carriage from turning back into a pumpkin. They will need to play much sharper this time around against Canada, as they were thoroughly outplayed in their 4-1 group stage loss to Crosby and co.
The 2016 World Cup of Hockey went about as disastrously as possible for American fans. The senior team went 0-3 in a group that practically handed them a spot in the semi-finals, while, thanks to some unlucky tie breakers, Team North America found itself just outside of the knockout round, despite going 2-1 in group play.
Team USA's poor performance, while disappointing and unexpected, should not cause long term panic about the state of USA hockey. The Americans' sloppy start to the tournament, against Team Europe, was their ultimate undoing. Despite doubling the Europeans in shots on net 35-17, careless turnovers by the Americans led to odd man scoring chances and goals for the Europeans. After dropping their opener, the unforgiving tournament format tasked them with beating the host Canadians to even have a shot of making the knockout round, a feat which hasn't been accomplished since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic group stage. But even with the odds stacked heavily against them, the US really lost to Canada because of a 3 goal first period flurry over the span of 6 minutes to exchange their 1-0 lead for a 3-1 deficit. 3 of the 4 Canadian goals were fluky deflections off the boards, pants, and an American skate, respectively. Team USA probably should have beaten an aging Czech team, but by game 3 they had nothing to play for. I don't condone their lackluster game 3 performance, but I understand the emotional let down of essentially playing for nothing. All in all, the United States did not play to the level we fans expected them to, and their goal of reaching the finals was obviously not met, but I would not read too much into this tournament as the barometer for USA hockey.
The young Americans on Team North America however, offered an encouraging glimpse at the future of USA hockey. Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, and Johnny Guadreau showed that they are the rising stars of not only USA hockey, but the NHL too, and I expect all three of them to be on the 2018 Olympic team. Eichel and Matthews would still be on Team North America in 4 years if the tournament organizers decide to keep the current U23 format. Shayne Gostisbehere is the type of offensive defenseman that the US needs going forward and Seth Jones showed off his skill and size throughout the tournament.
Team North America's exclusion from the knockout round was unfortunate to say the least. Placed in a tough group with Finland, Sweden, and Russia, the young North Americans played with energy and fearlessness, going 2-1 in group play. After cruising past Finland 4-1 in their opener, North America fell to Russia 4-3 in a game where they led 1-0 after the first period. Russia answered with 4 goals in a 6 minute span in the second period to gain their ultimately insurmountable lead. With a 1-1 record heading into game 3, North America still held their fate in their own hands, but would need to beat 2-0 Sweden to ensure themselves of a spot in the semifinals. The 'Kids' were the last hope for American hockey fans and gutted out an impressive 4-3 OT victory over the Swedes, but in the end it was not enough to send them through. Russia's win over Finland the following night tied both teams with 4 points and the head-to-head tie breaker awarded the Ruskis the spot in the knockout round. A tragic ending to Team North America's outstanding tournament. They had become the darlings of the World Cup and, in my opinion, the most exciting team to watch and it is sad to think that this collection of players will probably never play together again.
