The only Olympic game I watched start to finish, and it was a doozey. Long-time arch-rivals Sweden and Finland battled it out hard for 60 minutes of back and forth hockey.
Swede (the Zamboni driver at the rink where I skate) must be over the freakin’ moon.

You’ve got to understand… Sweden and Finland have a combined population of 14 million. Add to that Russia’s upset by the Czech Republic, and you’ve got one heckuva weekend of excitement in the world of hockey. The fact that Russia, Canada and USA failed to make the podium is phenomenal.

Okay Ben, did you see the women’s gold medal game? No surprise Candada won, of course.

But what about that Swedish power play. (I meant to ask Swede down at the rink today, but I forgot.) They set up with the puck behind the goal line and just played catch. The Canadian defenders didn’t know what to do at first. On the penalty kill, defensemen don’t want to wander far from the front of the net when the puck’s in deep, so they were just clinging to the corners of the net looking nervous.

The Swedes just passed it back and forth, waiting patiently. Suddenly they passed to the point, and get a one-timer goal.

Very creative and original power play. Canada learned pretty quickly, though, and shut it right down the next time Sweden tried it. Has anybody ever seen that play before? Nobody I talked to at the rink had. I’m not sure it would very effective twice against any decent team, though.

With an Olympic hat trick, veteran Katie King just led the US women to a 4-0 win in the bronze medal game. Chanda Gunn made 14 saves to get the shutout.

I tried watching the US men vs. Slovakia tape-delayed, but I had already heard the score. I just couldn’t get into the game. Same with US men vs. Sweden. Ya know, they’re just a bunch of NHLers, and this tournament just isn’t a big deal for men’s hockey. I really can’t get into it until the medal round, I guess.

Women’s gold game (Canada vs. Sweden) is on NBC in just a couple short hours. That I’m gonna watch, even if I hear the score.

Here’s a nice little profile of Kelly Stephens, who got her first Olympic goal today against tough Swedish defense and goaltending. Stephens is from Seattle, so that’s almost local.

My dear friend Ben sarcastically quips that “this site has no special interest in hockey.”

Okay, look, here’s the deal: The name of the blog is more whimsy than anything. I figure those who read it (Ben, WackyMommy, maybe even Tony) don’t care about hockey nearly as much as me. (As a teenager I played in a band called the Sloppy Drunk Blues Band. We did get sloppy drunk, but we didn’t play the blues. Later, I played in a band called Totem Soul. We weren’t Indians, and we didn’t play soul.)

So maybe I should rename the blog…. Or maybe I should discuss hockey!

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The Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League are having Breast Cancer Awareness Night tonight when they play Everett. As part of the deal, the ice will be pink, as will the players’ skate laces and stick tape. (Other teams have done this type of thing in the past, including wearing pink jerseys.)

God I love hockey.

Our Winter Hawks, who have slipped to 4th place (out of five), play last-place Spokane tonight, and will try to break a six game losing streak.