Two Cents Worth
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Thank goodness that’s over. Had gone into a bit of hockey overload the past few weeks. Keeping up with the NHL, the Spengler Cup and the Juniors, I have almost overdosed on what we here in Canada consider our sport.
The Spengler Cup has been around since 1923 and was mainly a European invitational tournament, held in Davos, Switzerland. The teams are made up of local talent with maybe a few ringers thrown in for good measure. Canada was invited in 1984 and has won 12 times. None of the names of the players or teams are recognizable but it’s good hockey.
The IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship has a much bigger audience. These players are our up and comers selected to the team by their individual skills and talents. They have been scouted, noticed and some drafted for development to NHL teams. Many are expected to be the NHL stars of tomorrow and they got to show off on a very big stage.
It’s good hockey for the most part. Some teams are considered the elite and others just fillers so for those of us who cheer on the underdog it was good to see Slovakia do so well. And I am going to say it out loud because I know we all think it, I always enjoy watching the Americans lose even if it is to Russia.
The gold medal game, a classic Canada-Russia match up, was almost more than I could bear so I kind of watched through my fingers. You know, like you do when watching a horror movie so you don’t get the full impact of whatever bad is going to happen. I saw the first goal but then flipped to something else, checking in to the game every few minutes. When we got more securely ahead I could handle it better. Then came the penalties and the great Russian resurgence. How did we let this happen? Too cocky? Over confident? I think the Russians, who right from the start picked and prodded, shoved and pushed, finally got under the skin of our guys and they began to lose focus for a bit. We regrouped and held our own until the final horn sounded. I am a vocal fan and jumped up joining in the celebration. I was so happy for those kids and for bringing the championship back to Canada after a six-year-long drought. Well done boys.
It seems to feel like withdrawal and I hope the NHL can bring a level of hockey excitement to match the exhilaration of the past few weeks.
Now back to the reality of our everyday existence – cold, boots/hats/mitts/heavy coats, work, shoveling snow, heating bills, diets, workouts. And complaining about the weather - also a great Canadian pastime.