olympic hockey prognostications...

thanks to qtlibrarian for her eyewitness reports on delinquent petroleum workers watching hockey on company time. they should get back to work lickety split or the next ralphie rebate cheque might be delayed.

however, i think this abhorrent behaviour will worsen for at least one more day.

the quarter final pairings have been determined. looky-here, we're playing our longtime pals from the other piece of tundra. yep, the russkies. we go way back.

it's going to be tough game. really tough. they've got superstars like ovechkin, kovalchuk, and datsyuk. they can make the best opposition look like a bunch of on-ice pylons.

my suggestions: nail their defense with big checks, shoot alot, counterattack hard, keep out of the penalty box, and pray that marty brodeur stands on his head. oh, i forgot. avoid, at all cost, a shoot out.

i think they will build upon the incremental improvement they showed in the czech game to carry them through.

prediction: tough to say. i surmise 2 scenarios. first, canada will be blown out of the rink. second, and i believe the more likely scenario to occur, it will be a nail biter. one goal difference in favour of canada. marty brodeur will keep us in the game and give us a chance to win.

other games:

US vs. Finland: the americans, to my chagrine, are alot better than their pathetic record in the round robin. prediction: americans 3-2.

Czechs vs. Slovaks: Slovaks will cash the Czechs (ha), 4-2. the fourth goal being an empty net.

Swedes vs. Switzerland: i predict swiss player paul dipietro (ex-canadian) will blast the puck from the centre red line towards the swedish goal. the puck will hit the goalie in the mask, pop up in the air, on the way down, hit the goalie in the back and roll into the net. that will be the winning goal. the swedish coach, at the post game press conference, will think aloud, "we should of played the canadians, in retrospect, 'cause those guys didn't look so swell in the round robin".

looks like i'm going to be either really happy or really depressed tomorrow. can't wait...