Welcome to the ninth of a regular feature throughout the Olympic break, an open thread to discuss all that is going on in the sport of hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. (Note: John or I make these the night before, scheduled to appear at 10 AM. I should be up for the late games, so hang out with me, won't you?.)
Just so you know, the Devils are stepping up online for additional coverage. The official site has a hub for the Olympics; complete with a schedule for both tournaments. The team site also has a blog written by team correspondent Scott Modrzynski called The Devil is in the Details. All posts are listed on the hub; just scroll down past the players and you'll see it on the side. Zach Parise is also providing a few words to Tom Gulitti's Fire & Ice every day, so check that out.
Perhaps the biggest "non-upset" upset happened last night, as the Slovaks beat the Swedes, 4-3. It's not all that surprising, as the gold medalist for the 3rd time in a row has been dispatched in the quarterfinal round. But very few gave Slovakia a true shot at gold, so it's nice to see some new blood in the semis. Also... Hennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik. That is all.
Oh, also, Finland, Canada and Team USA won. USA-Finland and Canada-Slovakia Friday. But for now, the women get the big stage.
Special Rule: Do not use these posts to complain about how no one cares about Men's Ice Hockey. This isn't the place for that. Violators will be banned until March 1 assuming no other rules were broken.
Please use this post for all your comments, analysis, and thoughts about today's hockey games in Men's Ice Hockey games. Not the other Olympic sports, mind you.
Women's Ice Hockey - Final Round
2:30 PM ET/11:30 AM PT - Bronze Medal Game: Finland vs. Sweden (CNBC)
6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT - Gold Medal Game: USA vs. Canada (CNBC)
Want to watch the games online and legally? For the Americans, NBC has streaming options. For the Canadians, CTV has streams. Thanks to user C.J.Richey121 for the NBC information and to user dchoubak about CTV. Let's do this.