Canada plays Finland today in IIHF World Hockey Championship action. Game time is 3:30, and if you're a regular joe like me, that means you'll be stuck in an office for most of the game.

Throughout this tournament, being held in Canada for the first time, this has been the case. The games take place in the afternoon while we work. The only game I've seen thus far was our 10-1 drubbing of Germany on Saturday.

You'd think with the tournament taking place in Halifax and Quebec City that Canada would get the 7pm or 7:15pm slot. Go figure.

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I spent the day putting up dry wall but had this gold medal game on the radio before breaking to watch overtime on the telly. Matt Halischuk scored 3:36 in to give us a 3-2 win over Sweden securing our fourth championship in a row.

I hope we don't take this string of successes for granted. It's been a fantastic four years but it won't always be like this. We can't possibly win this tournament every year.

Having said that, I'm already looking toward next year when we host this tourny in Canada and ten of our players return. With Kyle Turris, Steve Stamkos and John Tavares leading the charge, we could easily go for five. Yikes, I'm already starting to take this success for granted...

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I watched this semi-final on tsn.ca and was I ever impressed. Their broadband network was so clear and fluid, I thought I was watching television.

For the seventh year in a row, we're going for gold. This time we face Sweden in the championship game, a chance for revenge. Sweden recently handed us our only defeat in the past three years.

Game time is tomorrow at 2pm. This time, I won't need the broadband network.

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I missed this quarter-final victory over Finland because I had to work but it sounds like Brad Marchand is the hero with two goals including the winner.

This sets up a tough semi-final between Canada and USA on Friday. Last year's semi-final featured the same match up and a thrilling shootout win for the good guys.

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We finished 3-1 in the preliminary round of the world junior hockey championship after disposing of Denmark 4-1. We're groomed to be disappointed with anything other than perfection in this tournament. Sweden went 4-0 to secure the bye so we've got a quarter-final game against Finland on Wednesday.

Not to look ahead or anything, but a victory against Finland would set up an exciting semi-final rematch against Sweden and a victory there could pit us against our continental rivals. And no, that wouldn't be Mexico.

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Up 2-0 in the third, I wasn't just thinking about our 21st win in a row, I was thinking about an unprecedented 3rd shutout in a row, and perhaps going the entire tournament without surrendering a goal. That's when Team Canada turned into the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That Tobias Forsberg goal was a heart breaker. It figures a kid named Forsberg would score the winner that ends our winning streak. We're not, it seems, invincible. I'm glad we discovered this unfortunate fact in round one.

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The Canadian juniors won their 20th in a row in this tournament with another shutout, this time posted by Steve Mason. Kyle Turris, a Phoenix Coyotes prospect playing with the Wisconsin Badgers in the WCHA, scored both goals.

Next up is Sweden on Saturday.

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Make that 19 straight wins in this tournament. That's an incredible streak and probably under appreciated at this point. John "The Next One" Tavares led the charge with two goals.

I watched this game and thought it was awfully close. If not for some solid goaltending from Jonathan Bernier, we easily could have been down early. The Canadians face Slovakia on Thursday.

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My favourite Boxing Day tradition is settling in to watch the Canadian juniors open their World Junior Championship. The World Junior Championships 2008 takes place in the Czech Republic and we play the host team in about 130 minutes.

The Star has a nice summary of players representing the GTA. They are:

STEVE MASON G
Oakville
(London OHL)
Columbus draft pick in '06 (third round) was OHL's goaltender of the year last season, set CHL record for assists by a goalie (13).

P.K. SUBBAN D
Toronto
(Belleville OHL)
Montreal draftee ('07, second round) can get physical but can also score from the point on the PP.

STEFAN LEGEIN F
Oakville
(Niagara OHL)
Columbus draftee ('07, second round), can play any kind of game, led OHL in short-handed goals last season with nine.

STEVEN STAMKOS F
Unionville
(Sarnia OHL)
Draft-eligible in '08, Markham minor hockey product has great wheels and plays well at both ends.

JOHN TAVARES F
Oakville
(Oshawa OHL)
Draft-eligible in '09, the Marlboros minor hockey product won OHL and CHL player-of-the-year honours last season.

SHAWN MATTHIAS F
Mississauga
(Belleville OHL)
Taken by Detroit ('07, second round) then traded to Florida for Todd Bertuzzi last February, is big and skates well.

MATT HALISCHUK F
Mississauga
(Kitchener OHL)
New Jersey draftee ('06, fourth round) makes his international debut; is an excellent two-way player and penalty killer.

WAYNE SIMMONDS F
Pickering
(Soo, OHL)
Los Angeles draftee ('07, second round) isn't the prettiest of skaters but has good hands and a nose for the net.

We're on quite the role having won the past three championships. We've also won 18 games in a row in this tournament, and we almost swept that Summit Series redux thing against Russia in September.

Go Canada Go!

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Last night's game five is the first piece of Super Series action I've taken in. We were dominant, beating Russia 8-1. It was pretty awesome, and those jerseys looked as sharp as ever.

We've clinched the eight-game junior hockey showdown with three games remaining, but that's no longer enough for me. I want to sweep this thing. I want to win 8 games to none.

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We're already up 2-0 in the Super Series and I've yet to blog about this tournament. This 8 game series commemorates the 1972 Summit Series we all know and love, only this time, it's our juniors against their juniors.

I'm not really into this series yet. It just doesn't feel as important as the Junior Championships each December. I'm not sure if I care, but I know I want to win.

Go Canada Go! Destroy those Ruskies 8-0!

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I caught my first game of this tournament this afternoon, and we looked great. We beat Finland 4-2 to win our third gold at the event in the past five years.

With Finland clawing back with a couple of goals in the third, Rick Nash scored a fantastic goal on a partial breakaway that sealed the deal. Nash was named the tournament's most valuable player and earned a spot on its all-star team.

This victory was particularly sweet in light of the political bullshit stirred up at home. Shane Doan helped us run the table and we won our ninth straight. O Canada!

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Admittedly, I don't see a lot of Calgary Flames games, so I don't know a whole lot about Matthew Lombardi. His profile tells me he was born in 1982, plays center and he scored 20 goals in 81 games this season.

Although I haven't seen a game yet, I follow the world hockey championships in Russia fairly closely. I keep reading about Matthew Lombardi and wondering why I know so little about him. He scored two goals in our 5-1 win over Switzerland today in the quarter-finals giving him five goals in his last six games. He leads all Team Canada players in scoring and this team includes Rick Nash, Eric Staal and some guy named Shane Doan.

This is Matthew Lombardi's coming out party.

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I'm not going to write about the whole Shane Doan controversy that has erupted in our esteemed House of Commons. A parliamentary committee has summoned Hockey Canada officials to explain their choice of Shane Doan as captain of the national team at the World Hockey Championship. At issue is an alleged derogatory remark by Doan toward a French-Canadian referee during a game in 2005.

Although I have a great deal to say about this, I've decided not to waste my time acknowledging this overreaction because apparently I don't have the time our members of parliament have. I'm not going to share the personal embarrassment I feel over this. I'm just going to let this one go...

Here's hoping Canada wins gold in Russia and Doan leads the charge. Maybe I'll write about that when it happens, but I'm not writing about this.

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Canada won its third straight gold medal at the world junior championship with a 4-2 win over Russia on Friday in Leksand, Sweden. Canada got goals from Andrew Cogliano, Bryan Little, Jonathan Toews and Brad Marchand to overcome the Russians.

Not only is this our third gold in a row, but it's the third time in a row we beat Russia in the finals. It's also our eighteenth win in a row over all. We rule!

See also...

• Canada 5, Russia 0 for Gold in 2006
• Canada 6, Russia 1 for Gold in 2005

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Work commitments forced me to miss this game, but I followed along online. It was a thriller with Jonathan Toews scoring in the seventh round of the shootout to secure us the victory.

It took a Luc Bourdon goal with a little over five minutes left to force overtime. We'll be going for our eighteenth win in a row and our third championship in a row on Friday.

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It's late in the third period and Canada trails USA by a goal in our semifinal game. TSN has been celebrating the fact they're streaming live video of all the games on their website. Am I the only one who has never been able to connect?

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, but if it won't work it's just annoying. Great news, I see Luc Bourdon just scored to tie things up.

Go Canada Go!

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While Maple Leaf prospect Justin Pogge was coughing up the Spengler in Switzerland, our Juniors were playing a nothing game in Sweden to finish off the preliminary round. Kris Russell scored another two goals to lead the offence to a nice and easy 3-0 win.

Our semifinal game is January 3rd at 1:30 pm.

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We've got Slovakia on Sunday, but no matter. Our 3-0 record is good for a first round bye. We're in the semifinals, baby.

The German team has played one hell of a good tournament thus far. They managed to score the first power-play goal against us in three games.

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This was a much closer game than the score would indicate. We seemed to be sitting back on a 3-0 lead early in the second period when the USA got within one.

It wasn't a shutout, but it was an entertaining game and a solid win.

We've got the upstart Germans on Friday afternoon.

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Remarkably, Canada has now won 13 games in a row in this tournament. Even sweeter, this is our third shutout in a row going back to the back-to-back shutouts Justin Pogge had to win gold last year.

Carey Price was solid between the pipes this afternoon, but the team in front of him wasn't spectacular. Perhaps the last two squads have raised my expectations, but I'm used to dominating. We were actually outshot 31-18.

We've got the USA tomorrow afternoon. I'll be watching.

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I wasn't alive in 1972 and I often forget that. "The Goal" was scored on September 28, 1972 by Paul Henderson in the Summit Series between Canada and the USSR. In "Fireworks", The Tragically Hip state "If there's a goal that everyone remembers, it was back in 'ol '72". This is absolutely true, even for those born in 1974.

It's scary how your mind plays tricks on you. I've seen that goal so many times and heard Foster Hewitt's call so often, I could swear I saw that goal live. If I close my eyes I can see Henderson getting tripped up and falling behind Tretiak. There's Esposito poking the puck on net, and Henderson's there for the rebound. One shot. Two shots. He scores! Henderson has scored for Canada!

I'm sure I saw that 6-5 win. I remember Henderson's leap and celebrating wildly. It's a goal we all remember, whether we'd been born or not.

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Us hockey fans have a conflict this afternoon. At 1:00 pm TSN is airing Carolina vs. Buffalo. That's a no-brainer, they have to air the NHL playoffs live, but they have the rights to the IIHF Semifinal between Canada and Sweden at the same time. They plan to air that game on tape at 4:30 pm, but I want to flip between both games live. What's a guy like me to do?

This table from TSN.ca suggests the Canada ~ Sweden game will air live on alternate channels. I'm a Rogers digital subscriber, so I should be able to see it on channels 1, 82 and 85.

Check out that table for Bell ExpressVu, Star Choice and Rogers Cable analog alternative stations. Go Canada Go!

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I feel as if I've let my country down. All day today I've been dealing with snickers and sneers because my team failed to deliver when it mattered most. Everyone wants to discuss where we went wrong and why our play was so mediocre.

Reading the Toronto Sun this morning, I almost choked on my toast upon reading a quote from our very own Pat Quinn. Speaking about his team that got shut out in three of six games, Quinn said the following: "They have not a thing to be embarrassed about. I know they feel they let a lot of people down, including themselves... This was their best game overall."

That statement tells you exactly what's wrong with Pat Quinn as a hockey coach. A gross lack of results doesn't embarrass him in the least. Falling well short of expectations gets a shrug of the shoulders and a weak reassurance that it was their "best game". Clearly, our best wasn't good enough in this tournament. Quinn is not a bad coach, he's got our Maple Leafs to the final four a couple of times, but he's loyal to a fault and insistent upon rolling four lines when one or two are struggling and another has the hot hand. With everyone looking for blame, Quinn is a good start. He makes the lines that failed to deliver, he failed to instill discipline when bad penalties at inopportune times were killing us, he's the head coach of a team that disappointed millions and should be held accountable.

I previously alluded to the fact that a Team Canada failure might benefit the Leafs because it would make releasing Quinn of his duties that much easier. It's difficult to fire a national hero, but it's easy to fire a national goat. Quinn's effectiveness as head coach of the Leafs has expired and we're in need of a fresh perspective and better understanding as to how the game is now played in the new NHL.

There were many good times, but nothing lasts forever. Farewell Quinn, we're better off without you.

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I remember February 20, 1998 vividly. On that date I watched Canada play the Czech Republic in the Nagano Olympics semi-final. I watched the game from Taryn's grandmother's condo in White Rock, British Columbia and I'll never forget that sinking feeling I had when Brenden Shanahan failed to score against Dominik Hasek in the shootout. Team Canada's best players were out and wouldn't be playing for gold. I was devastated.

Losing 2-0 to Russia yesterday has resulted in a very different feeling. This time, we were clearly not up for the challenge. In six games we were shutout three times. Other than brief spurts here and there, our best seemed totally uninspired. As soon as we lost 2-0 to the Swiss I knew in my heart of hearts that we weren't going to repeat as Olympic champions. A miraculous recovery was not to be.

For the next four years we'll be wondering what went wrong and working to ensure we don't embarrass ourselves at the 2010 games on home ice. As soon as the team was picked I questioned the ommissions of Eric Staal, Jason Spezza, Brendan Shanahan and Dion Phaneuf. What I failed to predict was the absolute ineffectiveness of dependable stars like Joe Thornton, Simon Gagne, Jerome Iginla, Danny Heatley and Rick Nash. When guys like this appear mediocre on ice, it's difficult to surmise precisely what went wrong.

The whole thing has me totally bummed. The crush of this premature defeat even brought this site down for a few hours last night, forcing me to sleep on this entry. The only cure for this hangover is improved play from my Maple Leafs and a birth in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Sadly, that too may be a miraculous recovery that's not meant to be.

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For 128 minutes and 11 seconds of Olympic hockey action, Team Canada was held scoreless. Then Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis and Chris Pronger found the net to put us up 3-0 early and we held on for the 3-2 victory.

From what I understand, Martin Brodeur played amazingly well making 31 stops. Our quarter-final game is tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. against either Slovakia, Russia or Sweden. It's must-win time, baby.

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Team Canada has scored a goal! In fact, they've scored three in the first period and lead the Czech Republic 3-0 in the first intermission.

I was starting to fear we'd never score again. When Brad Richards scored at the 7:37 mark you may have heard a massive and collective sigh of relief from approximately 32,805,041 concerned souls.

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Canada has earned its fourteenth medal at the Turin Olympic games.

Our women's hockey team has won gold with a 4-1 victory over Sweden this afternoon.

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The good news: I got to watch our Canadian hockey team play two games this weekend. The bad news: I watched our team get shut out twice and fall to 2-2.

The loss to Switzerland shocked me while this loss to Finland merely suprised me. Unlike years past, there are few weak goaltenders at this level. You can no longer depend on accumulating goals due to goaltender error. You have to make the most of your opportunities and finish plays when attacking. Today we fell behind early and couldn't recover.

The fortunate thing is, Team Canada is still guaranteed a spot in the Olympic quarter-finals, even if we lose to the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Strange but true. If we can somehow turn this around, we can all look back at this lost weekend and laugh.

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Something is definitely wrong with our mens Olympic hockey team. How can a team of this calibre fail to create any semblance of offense?

It's 2-0 for Finland after one and that score is flattering to us. I don't recall seeing any crisp passes, no odd man rushes and almost no decent shots. Most of the play took place in our own end with Roberto Luongo coming up big.

Methinks this team isn't as good as we thought it was. On the bright side, a total collapse in Turin betters our chances of giving Pat Quinn the heave-ho. It's always tough to fire a national hero, but firing a goat is easy.

For the second day in a row I'm hoping for a come back and fairly certain I won't see one. 40 minutes to play. C'mon guys, play our game!

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During the round robin of this year's Olympic games in Turin, our Canadian women beat host Italy 16-0, Russia 12-0 and Sweden 8-1. We then took out Finland 6-0 in the semi-final. That's a cumulative score of 42-1 which drew a great deal of criticism from Don Cherry and others. I didn't mind Canada running up the score because I knew home ice advantage would go to the team with the greater goal differential.

When Sweden upset the USA the other day, all that went out the window. The Swedes will get last change during the gold medal game tomorrow because when we met them previously in the tournament we had the last change. Silly IIHF rules like this infuriate me. The whole point of pounding our first three opponents 36-1 was to secure home ice advantage for the final and suddenly that's not true.

First of all, that goal differential rule should be thrown out the window. It encourages 16-0 scores which reminds everyone about the talent gap in women's hockey and upsets loud, old-school pundits like Donald S. Cherry. Secondly, they should just flip a coin in the final for home ice advantage unless the two teams have met previously. If they've met previously, which is the case here, the winner of that game should be rewarded with home ice.

42-1 and a load of bad press and it was all for naught.

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I don't know what to say...

In 1924, we beat the Swiss 33-0 in the Olympics. This, my friends, is a long way from 1924. Today, we hit a hot goaltender Martin Gerber who stood on his head and made 49 saves on 49 shots from Team Canada. What should have been a fairly easy win became a most difficult game to watch as our guys failed to deliver and one of our former guys, Paul DiPietro, potted two for the wrong team. As tough as this was to digest, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that it wasn't an elimination game. We've had our taste of defeat, let's hope we heed this dire warning and take out our frustrations on Finland tomorrow afternoon.

Where did I go in disgust after watching our boys get humiliated by the Swiss? Swiss Chalet, naturally. The only way to eliminate a bad Swiss taste in your mouth is to supplant it with a good one.

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After one period, we're actually losing to Switzerland. Former St. John's Maple Leaf Paul di Pietro, who I just assumed was as Canadian as maple syrup and bagged milk, scored on Martin Brodeur while Martin Gerber has been stoning us at the other end.

I'm not sounding any alarm bells yet, but I was hoping this one would be a little easier. How will we fare against Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and USA if we're tooth and nail to beat the Swiss?

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I sure wish I could watch these games. Canada is 2-0 with two decisive wins and I've been unable to watch or listen to a second of live action.

Five different players scored for Canada as we outshot Germany 40-12. Tomorrow is a day off before returning on Saturday to take on the Swiss, who somehow managed to defeat the Czech Republic today.

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The Italian hockey team should be proud. They made a game of it for over a period, even tying the game early in the second period before the World's greatest hockey team took over. Jarome Iginla led the way with two goals as we outshot Italy 50-20.

Of course, it's worth noting both goals by Italy were actually scored by Canadians. Nine members of team Italy were born and raised in Canada.

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Giulio Scandella just scored in the second period to tie the Canada-Italy hockey game at one. This is not a test....

My 9-0 prediction is looking less likely by the second. Red Alert! Red Alert! Red Alert! Red Alert!

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Team Canada's blue line has injury issues. Ed Jovanovski is a no-go and Scott Niedermayer may have to withdraw as well. When the team was announced back in December, I proposed adding another defenseman outright. I wanted Dion Phaneuf in Turin.

I hope The Great One realizes the time is now for this exceptional youngster. Team Canada will be a stronger force with Phaneuf than without him.

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I have seen the future of Toronto Maple Leafs hockey, and his name is Justin Pogge. Pogge posted a .952 save percentage for the tournament, his 1.00 goals-against average ties him for best in tournament history and Canada's six goals against set a record. He recorded three shutouts and went 150 minutes and 50 seconds without giving up a goal to close out last night's game.

Canada has won its first back-to-back world junior titles since 1996 and 1997. Head coach Brent Sutter is now 12-0 in his two years at the helm of the national team, making him the winningest Canadian coach in the history of this tournament. It was an easy win, much like last year.

Awesome.

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For the fifth straight year, Canada has advanced to the finals at the world junior hockey championship. Once again, our foe is Russia who we face Thursday at 19:00 EST for gold.

This year's squad plays a typically hard defensive game and relies on Leaf prospect Justin Pogge between the pipes. As Canadian teams go, this one is particularly offensively challenged. Late in the second and only up 1-0, I feared an upset. Still, against all odds, we're once again playing for all the marbles. The intangible Canadian spirit can never be overestimated!

Pog-ge! Pog-ge! Pog-ge! Pog-ge!

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I watched a lot of hockey. I cheered a great deal and was always pleased with the end result. Here's the details...

• December 23, 2005 - Toronto Maple Leafs 2, Boston Bruins 1
• December 26, 2005 - Canada 5, Finland 1
• December 26, 2005 - Toronto Maple Leafs 2, New Jersey Devils 1
• December 27, 2005 - Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2
• December 28, 2005 - Canada 4, Switzerland 3
• December 29, 2005 - Canada 4, Norway 0
• December 29, 2005 - Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Buffalo Sabres 3
• December 31, 2005 - Canada 3, United States 2
• December 31, 2005 - Toronto Maple Leafs 6, New Jersey Devils 3
• January 2, 2006 - Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

Tonight it's Canada vs. Finland in semi-final action. Going for 11 in a row...

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We've once again earned a bye to the semifinal game Tuesday night by finishing first in Group A. A big win over the USA was sealed when captain Kyle Chipchura scored an empty-net winner with 33 seconds remaining. Our junior team has won its last ten games.

I've witnessed nothing but victories for my teams during this Christmas break. I've watched two teams with a strong rooting interest and have yet to see either of them lose. It's a good time to be a fan of Team Canada and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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I didn't watch a lot of this game because the Leafs game was far more exciting. What I did see in the first period was disappointing. I suppose it's unfair to compare this team with last year's team which may just be the finest junior squad we've ever assembled. Dion Phaneuf, Sidney Crosby, Jeff Carter, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Anthony Stewart, the list goes on. The team I saw last night needs a dab of offensive finish.

Still, we outshot Norway 50-13 and won easily. The big test is a day away when we face USA.

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That was close! Penalty after penalty made it a game of special teams. I must say, we didn't look very good and not nearly as polished as last year's squad. We're supposed to handle these teams with ease. Canada is 16-0 all-time versus the Swiss in the world junior tournament.

With 57 seconds remaining in the second period and a pane of glass in need of repair, they actually started the second intermission and finished the period on the clean ice just prior to the third. I had never seen that before, but it seemed to work.

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It was a battle of Maple Leaf goaltenders as our first round pick this year, Tuuka Rask, faced our first pick from 2004, Justin Pogge. I wanted Justin Pogge to get the shutout, but I didn't want Rask pummelled. In the end neither happened and I was happy.

Dustin Boyd scored two and Blake Comeau added a goal and an assist to pace the offence. We face Switzerland on Thursday.

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Here is the team that will represent us in Turin and my thoughts about each selection. The three preceded with a * are alternates.

Goaltenders

• Brodeur, Martin - No brainer. He's the man.
• Luongo, Roberto - I don't have a problem with this pick. I can't think of a clearly better choice.
• Turco, Marty - Having a great season and deserves to be in Turin.

Defence

• Blake, Rob - No brainer.
• Foote, Adam - No brainer.
• Jovanovski, Ed - I like this pick. I've always been a fan.
• *McCabe, Bryan - We're an injury away from a Maple Leaf playing for Canada in this tournament. McCabe deserves his alternate status.
• Niedermayer, Scott - No brainer.
• Pronger, Chris - No brainer.
• Redden, Wade - No brainer.
• Regehr, Robyn - I'd bump Regehr for Dion Phaneuf, a far better choice. Yes folks, he's that good.

Forwards

• Bertuzzi, Todd - I'm really on the fence about this one. I love his style of play but he's having a so-so season and he got off easy for essentially ending Steve Moore's career. I'd have left Bertuzzi off the list and would have added fellow Michael Power alumni Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan belongs in Turin.
• Doan, Shane - There's no way Doan makes this team if Gretzky's not involved. The Olympic ice was made for Paul Kariya yet he's not on this team. Both Staal and Spezza deserve the ice time over Doan.
• Draper, Kris - There's nobody better in this role.
• Gagné, Simon - He was good in Salt Lake City and he's having a tremendous year. No brainer.
• Heatley, Dany - With the year Heatley's having, this was also an easy choice. I just wish we could put him on a line with Spezza.
• Iginla, Jarome - No brainer.
• Lecavalier, Vincent - No brainer.
• Nash, Rick - No brainer... can't wait to see him with Thornton again.
• Richards, Brad - Richards is having a good season which helped him get on this team, but I'm not sure I'd go with him over Patrick Marleau. I know I wouldn't pick him over Brendan Shanahan.
• Sakic, Joe - Next to Brodeur, the biggest no-brainer of them all.
• Smyth, Ryan - Close to a no-brainer... I like Smyth playing for Canada.
• *Spezza, Jason - I'd have put him on the actual team instead of making him an alternate.
• *Staal, Eric - I'd have put him on the actual team instead of making him an alternate.
• St-Louis, Martin - I can't think of a better choice. Can you?
• Thornton, Joe - No brainer.

In conclusion, we have another amazing team here. It will be a joy to watch these guys in February. If I had my druthers, I'd boot Regehr and put Phaneuf in his place. I'd also bump Spezza and Staal up and add Shanahan while leaving Doan off the team and making Bertuzzi and Richards the alternates. Who am I to second guess The Great One?

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Today is a big day for fans of Canadian hockey. At 16:30 EST we're going to learn who will be representing us in Turin. We're also only five days away from our Junior team's opening game against Finland in the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championship.

I'm a huge fan of this tournament and this year the man between the pipes is none other than Justin Pogge, the Maple Leafs' first pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. With Bryan McCabe likely on the wrong side of the bubble it's sweet having a little blue and white representation on a national team.

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Earlier today I wrote about Bryan McCabe being one of 60 players on Team Canada's preliminary roster for the Olympic hockey tournament next February in Turin, Italy. In fact, The Great One has announced a list of 81 hopefuls which includes five Leafs: McCabe, Ed Belfour, Jason Allison, Jeff O'Neill and Eric Lindros.

Here's all 81...

Goaltenders
Ed Belfour, Toronto; Martin Brodeur, New Jersey; Dan Cloutier, Vancouver; Curtis Joseph, Phoenix Coyotes; Roberto Luongo, Florida; Andrew Raycroft, Boston Bruins; Jose Theodore, Montreal; Marty Turco, Dallas; Cam Ward, Carolina.

Defencemen
Adrian Aucoin, Chicago; Rob Blake, Colorado; Jay Bouwmeester, Florida; Dan Boyle, Tampa Bay; Nick Boynton, Boston; Eric Brewer, St. Louis; Eric Desjardins, Philadelphia; Adam Foote, Columbus; Scott Hannan, San Jose, Barret Jackman, St. Louis; Ed Jovanovski, Vancouver; Bryan McCabe, Toronto; Kyle McLaren, San Jose Sharks; Derek Morris, Phoenix; Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim; Dion Phaneuf, Calgary; Chris Phillips, Ottawa; Chris Pronger, Edmonton; Wade Redden, Ottawa; Robyn Regehr, Calgary; Sheldon Souray, Montreal; Steve Staios, Edmonton; Brad Stuart, San Jose.

Forwards
Jason Allison, Toronto; Jason Arnott, Dallas; Patrice Bergeron, Boston; Todd Bertuzzi, Vancouver; Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Minnesota; Daniel Briere, Buffalo; Jeff Carter, Philadelphia; Marc Chouinard, Minnesota; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh; Shane Doan, Phoenix; Kris Draper, Detroit; Simon Gagne, Philadelphia; Dany Heatley, Ottawa; Shawn Horcoff, Edmonton; Jarome Iginla, Calgary; Paul Kariya, Nashville; Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay; Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh; Eric Lindros, Toronto; Joffrey Lupul, Anaheim; John Madden, New Jersey; Kirk Maltby, Detroit; Patrick Marleau, San Jose; Brendan Morrison, Vancouver; Brenden Morrow, Dallas; Glen Murray, Boston; Rick Nash, Columbus; Rob Niedermayer, Anaheim; Joe Nieuwendyk, Florida; Jeff O'Neill, Toronto; Michael Peca, Edmonton; Keith Primeau, Philadelphia; Mark Recchi, Pittsburgh; Brad Richards, Tampa Bay; Michael Richards, Philadelphia; Michael Ryder, Montreal; Joe Sakic, Colorado; Marc Savard, Atlanta; Brendan Shanahan, Brendan, Detroit; Ryan Smyth, Edmonton; Jason Spezza, Ottawa; Eric Staal, Carolina; Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay; Steve Sullivan, Nashville; Alex Tanguay, Colorado; Joe Thornton, Boston; Scott Walker, Nashville; Wes Walz, Minnesota; Steve Yzerman, Detroit.

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Hey Ry, break out the jersey. Bryan McCabe will be one of 60 players on Team Canada's preliminary roster for the Olympic hockey tournament next February in Turin, Italy.

The complete list of 60 will be unveiled Monday and the 23 man roster will be announced in late December. McCabe, fresh off an eight-point week in which he earned defensive player of the week honours, leads the Leafs in scoring.

And we thought he was all about the "can opener" check.

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Ah crap. The Czech Republic played us perfectly, smothering our top forwards and allowing few decent scoring opportunities. Despite finishing second, Canada retained its number one status in IIHF world rankings. That's a lone brightspot on an otherwise dismal day.

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Lord have mercy. I'm not as young as I used to be and my heart can't take that kind of a nail-biting finish. Up 4-0, we should have been home free but instead we let Russia steal the momentum and almost steal the game.

We were very luck to hang on. In the third period, the Russians kept coming and coming and looked destined to tie it were it not for a little luck and great goaltending. Sure, we scored an insurance marker from the blue line that was wrongly disallowed, but that just so we had an excuse should we blow this one.

When it counts, Canada finds a way to win and we'll be playing for our third World Championship in a row tomorrow at 13:30 EST. Go Canada Go!

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Joe Thornton scored with 4:22 remaining to give Canada a 5-4 victory over Slovakia in their quarter-final game earlier today, slapping a shot from the circle to the right of goaltender Jan Lasak that sent the puck sailing into the far top corner of the net for his sixth goal of the tournament. Simon Gagne, with two goals, Dany Heatley and Ryan Smyth also scored for Canada.

We get the winner of the Russia-Finland game later today in the semi-finals Saturday.

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From TSN.ca, I steal the following: "Canada generated only a handful of chances as the Ukrainians played five men back, used hooking and obstruction liberally and left little room to make plays."

There's our excuse. Now I feel better.

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When Rick Nash has to score a third period goal to give you a 2-1 lead over the Ukraine, you know you're in trouble. Methinks this team isn't as good as I think it is.

If we barely get by the Ukraine, and there's ten minutes left to play so we could still blow this thing, how the hell are we going to beat the good teams? The struggle against Latvia was a sure warning sign that this isn't our World Cup or Salt Lake City teams that truly were world beaters.

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Rick Nash and Patrick Marleau scored 51 seconds apart in the third period to lead Canada to a 3-3 comeback tie with Finland at the IIHF world hockey championship. It wasn't supposed to be this way. We're supposed to beat Finland who is without Saku Koivu, Tuomo Ruutu, Jere Lehtinen, Teemu Selanne and goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

The tie gives us five points which puts us in second place in Group F, behind Sweden who is playing the USA right now. We should be okay, but we'd better start winning again if we intend on winning this tournament for the third year in a row.

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Perhaps I jinxed us when bragging about the streak the other day. We went 6-0 at the World Cup last September and 6-0 at the World Junior Championship in January. Unfortunately, we won't be running the gamut at this year's world championship.

Up 2-0 in the first, I was ready to blow the Swedes out. I was feeling a little cocky and began looking beyond this game to tomorrow. What happened? The Swedes are a good team and our D didn't show up and there were too few players playing their ass off. We'd better show up tomorrow against Finland.

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Rick Nash is only 20 years old but he's leading the pack in Innsbruck, Austria, scoring two big goals in today's victory over the States. With the win, Canada clinched first place in Group B and will play Sweden, the Group C first-place team, in the qualification round on Saturday.

Canada is 34-3-0 all-time against the United States at the world championship. Even cooler is the fact we haven't lost in a while. We went 6-0 at the World Cup last September and 6-0 at the World Junior Championship in January. We're 3-0 thus far during these World Championships.

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Again, I'm stuck in front of a computer when I'd rather be in front of a television to watch Canada take on the USA this afternoon at 14:15 EST. It promises to be a great game and I don't intend to let a little work interfere with my following of the action.

Once again, I'll be streaming The Fan 590 so I can hear the action live. The live IIHF scoresheet I linked to last time didn't get updated once during the game so I won't be checking in on that this time. Instead, I'll see if TSN.ca throws up a live scoresheet.

Go Canada Go!

Update: Canada leads 2-1 after two periods...

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Canada absolutely dominated Slovenia, outshooting them 56-12. 8-0 was actually a rather generous score for Slovenia considering. This was the first world championship game ever between two-time defending champion Canada and the slower, less-skilled Slovenes.

A true test is Thursday when we face the damn Yankees.

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Canada takes on Slovenia this morning at 10:00 EST. If you're like me, you won't be able to park yourself in front of a television to enjoy, but you can still follow the action by following my lead.

I'll be streaming The Fan 590 so I can hear the action live and I'll be checking out this online live game stats page from the IIHF.

Go Canada Go!

Update: Early in the second, Canada leads 4-0 and is dominating. USA beat Slovenia 7-0, so we've got to match or surpass that. I know at some point Canada will go into auto-pilot to avoid embarrassing the competition, but I hope they don't do so until we've potted 8.

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Not quite what I was expecting. I was on the edge of my seat half way through the third with a slim one goal lead. To give the Latvians credit, they never stopped working and never gave up. They kept coming, causing the Great White North to feel rather nervous.

Rick Nash had a hat trick as we out shot Latvia 46-25. Next up is Slovenia on Tuesday morning. Lets blow them out of the frozen water.

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We hockey fans are hockey starved. It's April and I didn't attend a playoff pool draft, I didn't don my Leafs jersey a single time and I haven't heard a peep out of Bob Cole. It's been seven months since we've seen the world's best going at it and we're dying for a hockey fix.

I doesn't matter that we're without Mario Lemieux, Jerome Iginla, Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, Chris Pronger, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards. Martin Brodeur is between the pipes and we still have one hell of a team. It all starts tomorrow morning against Latvia at 10:00 EST and I can't wait.

Go Canada Go!

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Canada's world championship roster has been announced. Carrying the hopes and dreams of a nation on their collective shoulders will be:

Goaltenders

• Martin Brodeur
• Roberto Luongo
• Marty Turco

Defencemen

• Ed Jovanovski
• Chris Phillips
• Wade Redden
• Robyn Regehr
• Scott Hannan
• Sheldon Souray
• Dan Boyle

Forwards

• Brendan Morrison
• Dany Heatley
• Rick Nash
• Joe Thornton
• Kris Draper
• Kirk Maltby
• Ryan Smyth
• Shane Doan
• Mike Fisher
• Simon Gagne
• Brenden Morrow
• Patrick Marleau

Play gets underway April 30. This is going to be fun.

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At this very moment, it's a scoreless game between Canada and the United States in the final game at the world championship in Linkoping, Sweden. The game is already almost half way through the third period. It looks like it's going to be an awesome finish.

Go watch TSN and root for the red and white. Go Canada Go!

Update: Unbelievable. Zero goals allowed in 16 periods of hockey and we win the silver. Eight championships in row and this is how we lose to those damn yankees. I hate shootouts.

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When Gary Bettman broke this nation's collective heart, I found a silver lining in the clouds. I envisioned a World Championship with the best of the best going at it once more for hockey supremacy. Perhaps the Great One would build another super Team Canada. I had high hopes.

One by one, I'm reading about our superstars declining the invitation to Austria. Yesterday, I was particularly surprised to learn Vincent Lecavalier and Jose Theodore, two members of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey championship team, have said they won't compete for Canada. Others who have already said no are Mario Lemieux, Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic. I'm wondering who will lead this team.

Perhaps this will be Joe Thornton's team. Will Martin Brodeur be between the pipes? Will Scott Niedermayer, Ed Jovanovski, Adam Foote and Rob Blake be patrolling the blue line?

It won't be the best of the best, but it will be an awesome tournament and a nice hockey fix when we need it most. Go Canada Go!

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The World Junior Hockey Championship has returned to Canada for the first time since 1997. We were victorious at the 2002 Olympics, captured two consecutive IIHF world titles and won the World Cup of Hockey back in September. We rule the hockey universe, without a doubt.

I can't say enough about how dominating this team was the entire tournament. An even strength goal wasn't scored against us after our first game on Christmas Day. If you remove a 7-3 victory that day, we outscored our opponents 34-4 over six games. That's mind blowing stuff.

It was a great day for Canadian hockey, and more important than anything, Canadians got a positive shot of exceptional hockey without requiring the NHL. I can't wait for the IIHF World Championship this spring.

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This one's for all the marbles. Canada faces Russia for Gold at the World Junior Hockey Championship in minutes. As promised, I'm blogging the game.

I want this one bad. Boys, it's time to kick ass. Bring it home.

20:09 - Yes! Ryan Getzlaf scores on a great drop pass from Jeff Carter. I love an early lead... Canada 1, Russia 0

20:12 - I say pound the puck at Anton Khudobin in the early going. He seems a little shaky. Lets see what he's made of. Damn...Perry's in the box. It's penalty kill time. Canada 1, Russia 0

20:17 - Phew! Down two men for a significant chunk of time, the good guys killed it off. Glass was sharp, no pun intended. Canada 1, Russia 0

20:21 - A Canadian bounce off the boards produces a smart goal by Danny Syvret. I hope we bury these guys. Ryan Getzlaf looks like he could score five goals himself tonight. Canada 2, Russia 0

20:28 - Quote of the day from Pierre McGuire: "They should start calling diving on these guys. They go down like free beer at a frat party". Canada 2, Russia 0

20:42 - Shit. I was watching the clock and waiting for that horn. We've got to stay out of the box, nobody can score on us even strength. Canada 2, Russia 1

20:44 - I thought we played a great period until that late power play marker by Russia. As I said two minutes ago, if we play five on five they can't touch us. Canada 2, Russia 1

20:45 - They just aired a commercial for the new Samuel L. Jackson movie "Coach Carter". Haven't I seen that movie before? Wasn't it called "Lean On Me"? Or was it "Dangerous Minds"? Either way, I'm glad to see Butch Carter get his dues. Canada 2, Russia 1

21:06 - I knew Anton Khudobin looked shaky. A quick shot by Jeff Carter puts us back up by two. Move over Mr. Lindros, Carter now has twelve. Canada 3, Russia 1

21:16 - What a goal! Great hit by Dion Phaneuf, great rush by Sidney Crosby, great pass by Corey Perry and great finish by Patrice Bergeron....and another goal by Anthony Stewart! Ca-na-da! Ca-na-da! Ca-na-da! Canada 5, Russia 1

21:26 - Blur said it best, didn't they? Whoo-Hooo! Dion Phaneuf gives Canada an overwhelming five goal lead. Another dominating performance by the greatest Canadian junior team of all time. Canada 6, Russia 1

21:38 - This Russian team is hateful. I no longer want to beat them, I want to pulverize them. Twenty minutes to go before we're crowned champions. Canada 6, Russia 1

22:08 - I just broke out the calculator and see that we've outscored our opponents in this tournament 41-7. We've never trailed. That's incredible. Canada 6, Russia 1

22:20 - Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye...Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye... Canada 6, Russia 1

22:24 - Gold for Canada! At this moment, Canada is the Men and Women Olympic Champions, the Men and Women World Champions, the World Cup Champions and now the Junior Champions. I've never witnessed such pure domination. We are the champions! Canada 6, Russia 1

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As an experiment, I blogged Team Canada's 9-0 win over Germany in real time last week. It didn't detract from my enjoyment of the game and it provided an interesting account of the action, so I've deemed the experiment a complete success.

Tomorrow night our junior team faces Russia for gold. It's our fourth trip in a row to the finals but we haven't finished first since 1997. The NHL lockout has put a great deal more focus on this tournament than usual and this country is starving for a victory. Remember, we're the current World Champions, Olympic Champions and World Cup Champions. Winning the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship would mean unprecedented dominance in our national sport. It's a huge game and to mark the occasion I will once again be Game Bloggin'.

Drop by tomorrow night during the game to read my instant reaction to the action.

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For the fourth year in a row, Canada has advanced to the finals of the World Junior Hockey Championship. The final score was rather deceiving as the game never seemed close. Canada once again completely dominated play and outshot the Czech Republic 42-11.

The finals take place at 19:30 EST on Tuesday night against either the USA or Russia. We're not playing for silver. It's time to end the drought and bring home the gold. I'm cautiously optimistic that's exactly what will transpire on Tuesday.

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Canada completely dominated the World Junior Hockey Championship round robin. Over four games Canada out scored their opponents 32-5, setting a record for most goals scored by one team while coasting to an easy 4-0 record.

Of course, we've yet to face Russia, the United States or the Czech Republic, so it's only going to be tougher from here. Our next game is the semifinal on Sunday. Go Canada Go!

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Canada faces Germany at the World Junior Hockey Championship in minutes. I've settled in my basement to watch the game, only I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to blog the game.

I have no idea how this will turn out, so consider yourself witness to an experiment. Here goes nothing.

20:08 - The puck has dropped. TSN has just shown that we're 8-0 against Germany all-time having outscored them something like a million to three. I'm not too worried. Canada 0, Germany 0

20:14 - It's still scoreless, but Sidney Crosby just feathered a great little pass in front for Corey Perry. I love watching Crosby play. He's something special and I've been writing about him since October 2003. The future of Canadian hockey is very, very bright. Canada 0, Germany 0

20:24 - German goaltender Youri Ziffzer must be a Gerry Cheevers fan. I see a few stitches on his mask. Canada 0, Germany 0

20:28 - That's one two. Andrew Ladd finished a nice play by Mike Richards giving Pierre McGuire another chance to jump on his "no redline" soapbox before Clarke Macarthur followed that up less than a minute later. It begins. Canada 2, Germany 0

20:38 - Crosby was just high sticked which means we'll be up two men. We've got four powerplay goals thus far in the tournament and all four have been scored by Crosby. Canada 2, Germany 0

20:39 - Speaking of the devil... Sidney Crosby has his fifth powerplay goal of the tournament and we're up by three. Canada 3, Germany 0

20:41 - It's not really fair, is it? Every player on our team has been drafted by an NHL team or will be. Only one player on the German squad has been drafted. Cam Barker just scored the first powerplay goal by a Canadian not named Sidney. Canada 4, Germany 0

20:43 - The first period has come to a close and we're up by four. Lets hope Mike Richards isn't too badly hurt. I just did some quick math and see we've outscored our opponents 19-4 after seven periods of play. Canada 4, Germany 0

21:10 - That was a nifty little goal by Ryan Getzlaf. With the assist, Patrice Bergeron extends his point lead. Rejean Beauchemin is having an easy night, isn't he? Canada 5, Germany 0

21:21 - Anthony Stewart scores through the five hole as the onslaught continues. We're outshooting Germany 35-8 and I half expect them to start waving a white flag from the bench at any moment now. Canada 6, Germany 0

21:57 - Gord Miller just mentioned it and it's been on my mind as well. Considering how untested we are through two exhibition games and now three first round games, how do we know how we'll perform against a decent team like Russia or the USA? I've watched every minute of the past two games, and I'm still not sure how good either goalie is. Squashing our opponents with ease is a good thing, but I want the gold and I'm not interested in being surprised by one of the other contenders. Canada 6, Germany 0

22:05 - Anthony Stewart just scored his second goal of the game on a nice pass in front by Ryan Getzlaf. The offense has clearly shown up again, lets secure the shutout. Canada 7, Germany 0

22:18 - Another goal for Sidney Crosby has Canada up by eight. It's actually his first even strength goal of the tournament, believe it or not. Hey boys, save some goals for Finland on Thursday! Canada 8, Germany 0

22:24 - Colin Fraser just used Sidney Crosby as a nice decoy before scoring on our 51st shot of the game. Canada 9, Germany 0

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I enjoyed Game Bloggin' this lop-sided 9-0 victory over Germany. Everybody did their part and played a very disciplined game. In three games thus far, we're out scoring our opponents 24-4. Next up is Finland, Thursday at 16:35 EST.

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James and I thoroughly enjoyed cheering Canada's junior team on this afternoon. We overwhelmed Sweden, outshooting them 45-17 on the way to an 8-1 walloping. Sidney Crosby scored another two goals and now has four for the tournament. Next up is Germany, tomorrow night at 20:00 EST.

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Canada overwhelmed Slovakia in today's opening match up of the World Junior Championships. It was The Crosby Show as Sidney Crosby scored two and added an assist. Next up is Sweden, Monday at 16:00 EST.

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Every year around this time I get excited about the World Junior Championship tournament. It's fantastic hockey and great fun watching future stars play for national pride.

This year I'll be focused on our National Junior Team like never before. Without the NHL, this is the first chance we've had to get up about a hockey game since Our team looks awesome this year with phenom Sidney Crosby leading the charge. It gets under way for real Christmas Day in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Go Canada Go! I'm ever so sick of silver.

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On February 15, 2006, defending gold medalist Canada will play Italy to open the 2006 Turin Olympics hockey tournament. It just feels nice to see an important hockey game on the schedule that won't be threatened by labour strife.

Whether NHL players will participate or not isn't yet known because of the lockout, but I'll be watching either way. Hopefully the NHL will have resumed by then and the world's best will gather in Turin. We'll see how our Canadians fare against Italy's Canadians.

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The World Cup has returned to Canada after 13 long years. This marks four straight national championship wins for Canada as we were victorious at the 2002 Olympics and captured two consecutive IIHF world titles. There is no doubt as to which nation rules the hockey universe.

It was a great game and a great night but this morning I awoke to the realization we're all getting screwed. It was an awesome tournament and the good guys ran the gamut going 6-0 and winning it all but now the ACC is hockey-less for Lord knows how long. James and I donned our Leafs jerseys last night and gathered with the family to watch our game and it felt so right...it felt so Canadian. A strip of our cultural fabric is being torn away from us and there's absolutely nothing we can do.

I do have a contingency plan though and I'll write more about that later this afternoon. For now, I'm going to savour our big win and enjoy the fact that we are the champions of the world.

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To borrow a phrase from fellow Torontonian Neil Young, tonight's the night. It all comes down to this. One game will settle the score and determine who is the supreme hockey nation. Canada faces off against Finland at the ACC.

I'm quite looking forward to this game, but it's bitter sweet. After a hockey-less summer we've been blessed with this great hockey tournament and my biological clock is telling me NHL training camp is right around the corner. My Leafs Countdown page confirms this by indicating there is exactly 31 days, 7 hours, 26 minutes, and 26 seconds left until the Maple Leafs 2004/2005 season opener. It confirms this, yet I know I won't be sitting down with James to watch the blue and white 32 days from today. I'm not that naive. It's not going to happen and that bites.

So, I'll get together with my brothers and watch Canada win the World Cup of Hockey tonight but I'll do so knowing it may be my last taste of NHL-calibre hockey for a long time. The puck won't drop in 32 days. The puck may not drop in twelve months. It may be 2006 before the NHL resumes and while owners and players squabble over millions the only victims are you and I, the hockey fans.

Savour tonight. It's going to have to hold us a while. Go Canada Go!

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Bring on the Finns! Canada was outworked, outplayed for long stretches and outshot 40-24, but Vincent Lecavalier scored 3:45 into overtime to earn us a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Czech Republic on Saturday night.

I left a tie game when I entered the Molson Amphitheatre last night but word quickly spread that we were going into overtime. I literally felt butterflies in my stomach until Kid Rock announced that Canada prevailed. After that, the entire stadium erupted in cheer and Rock had to alter his playlist. There was no way we were going to settle down for a slow tune at that point. He ended up breaking into Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" and the party was really underway.

We survived the Czech Republic and play for the gold on Tuesday night at 19:00 EST. I won't miss a minute of this one.

Before I leave this topic, I have a couple of notes to scrawl down. Where is the radio coverage of this event? Last night I was in the car for a period of time during the second period. It was a scoreless game when I left the television but I was forced to listen for updates because there was no play-by-play. 640 Toronto has the rights to Maple Leafs games, so you'd think they might have this event as well. The fact is it's tv or nothing if you're following the World Cup of Hockey. As for the web, I can't say enough about the highlights provided on the official site here. They're lengthy, include all goals and scoring chances, and are just Bob Cole's call over the play. I'd love the NHL to provide the same feature for NHL games. It's awesome.

Go Canada Go!

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It's been tough catching all the games in this great tournament. I missed the entire quarterfinals last night because I was playing a ball game. From what I've seen Jarome Iginla had a great game with two goals and an assist while Martin Brodeur recorded the easy shutout.

So far we have dominated the tournament, going 4-0 while outscoring our opponents 15-3. Next up is the Czech Republic at the ACC on Saturday night. Just my luck, I'm catching Kid Rock at the Amp that night. As God is my witness, nothing will prevent me from watching the finals and another Canadian victory on Tuesday.

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So far, so good. Canada is clearly the team to beat in this tournament and nothing short of winning it will be acceptable to hockey fans in this great nation.

Although this clearly isn't the Russian squad that gave us fits throughout the 70s and 80s, it still feels awfully good to beat them in a competition like this. I thought Kris Draper played one hell of a game and Martin Brodeur once again proved he's our best asset.

Keep it going boys...

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I missed this entire game last night because I had a few ball games to play. I have seen the replays and am pleased to see us back in red and white for the second game of the World Cup. Canada = red + white.

It sounds like it was a rather convincing victory and it has assured us of a home game in the quarter-finals September 8 right here in Toronto. On the drive to the ball game we were predicting the final score for this one and I came closest guessing we'd win 4-1.

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I will never again make fun of Americans for being unable to follow the puck on television. I had a difficult time last night following my team. I've seen Team Canada compete in dozens of tournaments throughout my life and the one constant has been the colours red and white with the occasional black thrown in for stylistic purposes. Yesterday, I kept having to remind myself that we're the team in yellow. Yellow? Yep, yellow.

I know it was a tribute to the Winnipeg Falcons, but I hated seeing Canada in yellow. The uniforms kept reminding me of the Boston Bruins or perhaps the Swedish team. Yellow? Ugh.

As for the game it was a solid effort and a win's a win. We certainly started strong and looked like we could have been up 4-0 easy early in the second. The fact it was only 2-1 is more than a little flattering to the Americans who got some awesome goaltending from Robert Esche. We're a young, fast team and I'd love to see us play like we did in the first period yesterday for an entire game. If we do, no other country can match that intensity.

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In moments I'll be parking myself in front of the television to enjoy Canada vs. USA in World Cup of Hockey action. It's going to be great, but it's far from crunch time. A glance at the schedule reveals this first round is little more than a glorified exhibition series. No team will be eliminated meaning the "real" games don't get under way until September 6th.

It would be nice to win the division anyways just so we can play Slovakia in the first game that matters, but nothing's a sure thing at this level. I find it interesting that the "North American Divison" consists of four teams, including Slovakia and Russia. That's as silly as the Toronto Blue Jays playing in the American League or a team from Baltimore playing in the Canadian Football League.

Go Canada Go! Kick some yankee ass.

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I can't wait for the World Cup of Hockey to get under way on August 30. The best in the world suiting up for their nation...it's going to be awesome.

Canada plays their first of three exhibition games tonight against the USA in Columbus, Ohio. We've surprisingly opted not to dress the line of captain Mario Lemieux with wingers Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards. Hopefully this isn't indicative of Lemieux's questionable health.

With an NHL lock out imminent, this might be the only top notch hockey for quite some time. Make no mistake about it, I want to win this thing bad. Go Canada Go!

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Wayne Gretzky has announced the 26-player roster for this summer's World Cup of Hockey. You'll find the complete list here.

As predicted, Eddie Belfour is the lone Maple Leaf selected. That's the problem when your biggest stars are Swedish and Russian. Eddie deserved it.

Here are my feelings regarding the other 25. It's great to see Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman back for one last kick at the can. Both are glorious players I've had the pleasure of watching for years and years and both deserve to be on this team. The defense has changed little and that's a good thing. Our defensive corp is relatively young and skilled with the size necessary to wear down opposing forwards. Up front, there has been much turnover with Canada's young and fresh speedsters making their debut. I'm glad Martin St. Louis and Dany Heatley were chosen instead of overrated guys like Paul Kariya and guys on the downside of their career like Brendan Shanahan, Joe Neiwendyk and Owen Nolan. Shane Doan, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby will form our "Grind Line" to shut down the other country's top line. You can never go wrong with fantastic Canadian hockey players like Joe Sakic, Jerome Iginla, Joe Thornton and Martin Brodeur.

On the negative side, it's a shame Todd Bertuzzi screwe