Night 10 Open Thread

Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto try to upgrade their medal

Night 10 at the Olympics is a long one. In tape delayed action, we will get to see the results of the men’s Super G and ski cross.

NBC has Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto going for their shot at Olympic Gold, a strong Canadian women’s team goes for speedskating Gold, and 2 man bobsled concludes.

But the marquee matchup tonight takes place at Canada Place, as the United States and Canada face off in hockey to determine the winner of their pool.

Should be a big night, so hopefully you’ll join me.

6:13 – Sorry to jpq, GG and Jersey. I don’t check the moderation thing too often.

6:13 – For the record, my view on the NBC/MSNBC thing for hockey is this: Yes it sucks that hockey is on MSNBC with no HD, but I guarantee that ice dancing will get more eyeballs than hockey ever would, and would you really want a hockey game broken up to go watch coverage of bobsled or a human interest piece?

6:15 – Boer of the Netherlands goes into first. Trying to replicate what Mark Tuitert did in the men’s 1500 last night

6:19 – In curling, Britain blanks the 9th end. They have the hammer up by 1 in the 10th.

6:19 – With a stellar final lap, the Netherlands Irene Wust takes the lead in the 1000 meters.

6:26 – Groves of Canada, after leading for pretty much the whole race, clocks in with the 2nd best time. One pair left, including the 1500m winner.

6:32 – Christine Nesbitt of Canada fades on the final lap and finishes 6th. Irene Wust wins gold. Groves of Canada second and Sablikova of the Czech Republic third. Disappointing for the hosts.

6:36 – Great Britain beats the US 4-2 in mens curling. US medal hopes are over.

6:37 – Super G on NBC right now. Results are in the previous post if you want them.

6:45 – USA in their 1960 throwbacks.

6:46 – 41 seconds in and it’s 1-0 USA!!! Looks like Brian Rafalski got it.

6:50 – David Backes is probably my new non-Penguin. I love the way he plays hockey.

6:51 – Nice save by Miller on Crosby. Big hit by Rick Nash on the other end.

6:52 – Ryan Getzlaf getting sent to the box for goalie interference. Commence Canadian bitching.

6:55 – Really poor power play there. Couldn’t really get anything started.

6:55 – Joe Pavelski in the box for a high stick.

7:00 – Staal scores for Canada. 1-1.

7:01 – Another US goal! Another goal by Rafalski! 2-1 States.

7:05 – Nice backcheck by Crosby there to keep it in the zone.

7:09 – Rare is the game that lives up to its hype. I think we’ll have one here.

7:10 – Uh, ice dancing is on NBC if you’re interested.

7:19 – End of the first, United States lead 2-1

Quick notes on our goalie Ryan Miller. In 2000-01, Miller, a Sophomore goalie at Michigan State, won the Hobey Baker award (college hockey’s Heisman) with a 1.33 GAA and a .950 save percentage, an NCAA Record. He also had an NCAA record 10 shutouts.

Miller took that Spartan team to the Frozen Four, even though the only NHL player on that team was John Michael-Liles, who plays for the Avalanche. They had a grand total of zero players who scored a point per game.

7:34 – 2nd period underway.

7:27 – Some nice work by Erik Johnson there. There’s a reason he was the #1 overall pick.

7:39 – 2-2. Heatley for the Canadians.

7:44 – Michael Schmid of Switzerland wins the first ski cross Gold medal.

7:55 – Canada has been outplaying the US for awhile here, but it stays knotted at 2

7:57 – Joe Pavelski fires a shot off Brodeur’s mash and into the stands.

8:00 – Three Canadians run into each other. Interesting?

8:01 – Forget what I said about Chris Drury shouldn’t be on the Olympic team. He makes it 3-2 United States after Brodeur misplayed a puck, and scrambled out of his net.

8:04 – Couple huge saves on breakaways by Martin Brodeur there. Didn’t freeze the puck on the 2nd one, but got the whistle

8:05 – Eric Staal whistled for a penalty there. 55 seconds left.

8:80 – Last couple runs of the super combined on NBC right now.

8:23 – And we’re back. US with a couple good chances but couldn’t convert. Sidney Crosby to the box for a high-stick.

8:26 – Great penalty kill by Canada there. Not much you can do against that.

8:29 – Another Canada penalty to Corey Perry for slashing. PP time is obviously good news for the United States. A goal here would be huge.

8:32 – A Brian Rafalski slapper gets tipped in by Jamie Langenbrunner and the United States lead 4-2!

8:33 – And Ryan Miller with the best save you’ll see in awhile.

8:38 – Patrick Kane in the box for a trip. Big power play here for the Canadians.

8:41 – Big big kill there for the United States. Drury and Callahan played huge roles.

8:43 – Just over 5 minutes left in the game. This has been pretty fun huh?

8:44 – Erik Johnson goes to the box. Bogus penalty there.

8:47 – Two absolutely desperate saves there by Mller. 30 secs left on the power play.

8:47 – Goal by Sidney Crosby gets it to 4-3. Just over 3 minutes left.

8:52 – I don’t think there is a good enough writer in the world, and it’s certainly not me, to summarize that action. US still leads by 1, with just over a minute left.

8:53 – Ryan Kesler just proved that grit, effort and determination sometimes outweigh talent. Ryan Kesler dives around Corey Perry with a one handed shot for a 5-3 United States lead.

8:55 – I am stealing this one from Greg Wyshinski, aka Puck Daddy: DO YOU BELIEVE IN MILLERCLES? YES!

9:01 – I would just like to say that I am naming my first kid Ryan Miller Brian Rafalski Ryan Kesler Fetch. He’s destined for greatness.

9:05 – Soooooo, women’s curling is on CNBC if you’re interested.

9:17 – Davis and White just went in ice dancing. I’ll be honest, I missed their scores. Looked like they did well though.

9:18 – Nevermind I did see. With a personal best they are into first place!

9:38 – And now the Canadian pair is in first. Belbin and Agosto up next.

9:44 – Belbin and Agosto are in 4th place after their 2nd dance. Still, 2 US pairs have a shot for Gold.

9:55 – No surprise there, the US doesn’t medal in 2 man bobsled. Germany’s sleds go 1 and 2. Russia takes 3rd.

10:02 – Sweden up 3-1 in the 5th end. US has the hammer.

10:10 – US could only take 1. Sweden with the hammer, up 1.

10:31 – Alright, looks like the US is gonna lose again, so I’m going to call it a night. See you all tomorrow.