OLYMPICS: Quarterfinal Wrap-Up & Pictures

Vancouver, BC - After another four games played on Wednesday, all of the Kings players are still alive at the Olympics!

Team USA beat Switzerland in the morning game and will now meet Finland (winners over the Czech Republic) in the semi-finals on Friday.

The other semi-final game will be Canada vs. Slovakia. The host country won in a blowout over Russia in the afternoon game. This was expected to be a close, exciting game - featuring two of the best players in the world in a Sid vs. Ovi match-up...instead, Russia never looked comfortable and Canada looked like they were out to make a statement.

Sweden was upset in Wednesday's late game by Slovakia. Ziggy, Stumpel, Lubo, Demitra and Zues just weren't ready to go home yet. The EuroKings live to play another day. Their semi-final game with Canada looks to be a tough one though.

The views today were amazing. Row 4 behind the U.S. bench for the first game. Row 2 next to the penalty box for the Canada-Russia game. Then, row 4 behind the Slovakia bench in the nightcap. What a day.

I'll have tons more news and views in the days to come. That was nine hockey games in four days! For now, I need some sleep.

There will be tons more pictures too...here are some to get you started...



















The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

For more Olympics coverage on MayorsManor - including some exclusive pictures - simply type OLYMPICS in the search box near the top left corner of this page.

OLYMPICS: Be careful what you wish for...

Vancouver, BC - That's all I kept thinking when the guy behind me kept screaming "We Want Russia" early in the third period. Sure, Team Canada was dominating Germany. But, come on. All in good time brother. The game will be epic - Sid vs. Ovi...the NHL has to be thrilled.

Before we get to that game though, let's start with the morning game: Switzerland vs. Belarus.

Igor Larionov was in the house to catch the game. I had a chance to chat with him for a few minutes and he remains very high on Kings prospect Andrei Loktionov. You may recall Loktionov was working out with the Russian legend when he first came to North America. Larionov also played with Loktionov's father as a youngster in Moscow.

Along with the sold out Hockey Place (it will return to 'GM Place' after the Olympics), he was treated to a rather dull game for the first forty minutes. Belarus came out with all guns blazing in the third and turned it into a thrilling finish. They came up short though, still tied after 10 minutes of overtime...and eventually losing in the shootout. The Ducks' Jonas Hiller was in net again for the Swiss. He and his countrymen will now get a rematch with the U.S. in the Quarterfinals on Wednesday at noon PST.

All of Canada was probably secretly holding their breath for the 4:30pm game with Germany. Sure, they were supposed to beat them soundly. However, if the sea of red maple leaf wearing fans have learned anything this past week, it's that nothing should be taken for granted.

That said, things finally went according to plan for Team Canada - as Scotty Bowman looked on from one of the many corporate suites. Not to far away was a collection of former Oilers in another suite - Craig MacTavish, Kevin Lowe and some guy named Gretzky.

On the ice, Jumbo Joe Thornton had the only goal in the first, giving Canada a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. They must have taken a giant exhale during the intermission because from that point on it was all Canada and they came in waves. When it was all said and done, the 8-2 victory earned them a game with Russia tomorrow at 4:30pm PST. Can you say big game?

LA Kings phenom Drew Doughty was his usual stud self. He finished the game with 1 assist and was a +4 in just over 15 minutes on the ice. He seemed to do no wrong and even had a couple of near miss goals. One thing I can't stress enough is how much the Canadian fans LOVE this kid. They can't stop talking to me about him. Praise, compliments, astonishment and more - all rolled up into one. Some guy said to me tonight 'You watch him every night - is he really this good all the time or is he just having an outstanding tournament?' and before I could even answer he added 'He's probably been our best defenseman.' I keep hearing this over and over this week. The secret is out folks.

The night cap was the Euro Kings (Team Slovakia) vs. the upstart Norway team. For some reason all the Canadians in the arena were cheering hard for Team Norway. Perhaps they fed off the energy because some how Norway made a game of things. LA Kings (underrated) forward Michal Handzus put Slovakia up early 1-0. Former Kings Stumpel, Palffy, Lubo and Demitra seemed to be on the ice all the time in the first half of the game - each picked up an assist before the night was over. The Euro Kings won 4-3 and will face off with Sweden tomorrow evening. That could be a tall task for the Slovaks.

Interesting game note - Ziggy is playing with a wooden stick. Don't see much of that anymore.

At the other arena across town it took overtime, but the Czech Republic knocked off Latvia to advance to Wednesday's Quarterfinal game vs. Finland.

More soon...

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

For more Olympics coverage on MayorsManor - including some exclusive pictures - simply type OLYMPICS in the search box near the top left corner of this page.

OLYMPICS: Tuesday's Qualifiers

Vancouver, BC - After a much needed day off on Monday, men's ice hockey returns today for the 'real' start to the tournament. Courtesy of the IIHF website, the final pool standings are below - with the USA, Sweden and Russia the winners of their respective pools. With the best record among the non-pool winning teams, Finland also received a bye into tomorrow's bracket.

Things kick off today with Switzerland-Belarus. The winner will play Team USA at noon on Wednesday.

The entire country of Canada will be on pins and needles when Team Canada takes on Germany at 4:30 pm PST. The winner gets a loaded Team Russia tomorrow.

Czech Republic will meet Latvia at the Thunderbird Arena in game three today.

The night cap will be the Euro Kings (or Team Slovakia, whichever you prefer) vs. what should be a undermanned team in Norway.

Wednesday's pairings will be:
USA vs. SUI/BLR, SWE vs. SVK/NOR, RUS vs. CAN/GER, FIN vs. CZE/LAT

I'll have more later.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

For more Olympics coverage on MayorsManor - including some exclusive pictures - simply type OLYMPICS in the search box near the top left corner of this page.

Hockey's Most Exclusive Club

Vancouver, BC - Most of the best hockey players on the planet have descended upon Vancouver this month. Most are here to play in the Olympics. Some are here to watch, having played before.

Twenty two of those players were honored earlier tonight for their accomplishments.

This wasn't just any group through and this wasn't your normal awards ceremony. These 22 were here because out of the more than 4,000 hockey players that have skated at the Olympics, these 22 have won the gold. Out of the more than 9,000 players that have tried to win the Stanley Cup, they've done that too. And although more than 15,000 players that have tried to win an IIHF gold medal, this group has one of those as well.

It's a small club. Just 22 members. Each of them having achieved the ultimate hat trick, putting them all into the Triple Gold Club.

With only 22 members it has to be the toughest team in hockey to be part of. The group reads like a who's who of every great game or series you can probably remember. Guys like Brendan Shanahan, Peter Forsberg and Nicholas Lidstrom. Igor Larionov, Rob Blake and Nicklas Lidstrom are members too. Need more? How about - Henrik Zetterberg, Chris Pronger or Jaromir Jagr...they were all there too.

During the ceremony at Molson's Hockey House, in the shadows of the arena hosting this year's Olympic hockey action, each player received a customized Triple Gold Club jersey, a Tissot watch with his name engraved and a special membership pin.

According to the IIHF, there are 42 active players who have won two of the three titles.

Six of those 42 are here in Vancouver looking for a gold medal to complete their entry into hockey's most exclusive club - Eric Staal (Canada); Pavel Kubina and Josef Vasicek (Czech Republic); Jere Lehtinen (Finland) and Sergei Fedorov and Ilya Bryzgalov (Russia).

Guess we'll know by Sunday night if the club is expanding.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

For more Olympics coverage on MayorsManor - including some exclusive pictures - simply type OLYMPICS in the search box near the top left corner of this page.

One of the longest and best days of my life...

Vancouver, BC - It's almost noon on Monday and I just woke up. My voice hurts, my feet hurt - heck, my whole body hurts. However, it was all worth it. Taking in three hockey games in one day is tough on anybody, regardless of your love of the game.

I've been fortunate enough to see the Kings play in Canada a number of times - Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, you name it - the host fans have always been more than gracious. Very polite, accommodating people - glad to have you in their town. Flying up here I expected the same for the most part. In 2002 Salt Lake was a fun atmosphere, the spirit of the Olympics was alive. Great hockey, great people. I was looking forward to more of the same this time around.

The first game didn't disappoint. Russians wanted nothing to do with me in Salt Lake when they played Team USA. Here, the fans were great. Russia-Czech Republic was a party like atmosphere. Flags everywhere, people chanting in different languages...and a tight, close game kept the energy level up until the very end - minus about a seven minute period in the middle.

Right at center ice, on top of the Olympic logo ironically, Ovehckin laid an incredible hit on Jagr. As he skated away with Jaromir flat on his back, all I could think was 'Well, that didn't embody the spirit of the Olympics.'

That was the turning point in the game. It took quite some time for the Czech team to get their composure and confidence back after that hit. When they did, there just wasn't enough time on the clock. Russia looked good in their win...and despite their suspect defense (Denis Grebeshkov, anyone?), they look like a strong bet for a medal.

Leaving that game I knew the entire day was about to change. Canadians take their hockey VERY serious. This town had been buzzing about the USA-Canada game all week. People were whipped up into a frenzy and it I just knew it was about to get worse.

Then something changed. I don't know when, where or how it happened exactly.

This town -which had been so boisterous about their team...where people of all ages couldn't wait to tell you how superior their team was...suddenly, none of them had something to say.

And I'm talking about BEFORE the game started.

Walking into the arena for Canada-USA was like walking to a funeral. If you weren't here, you would never believe it. It was quiet...and I mean drop dead quiet. You could feel the proverbial noose tightening around their necks. All the hype, all the pressure was starting to get to them. They had talked so much all week long, now reality was hitting. Could they back it up?

Forty five minutes before game time it was VERY quiet inside the arena, even though the entire place was a sea of red. No cowbells rattling, no 'Oh Canada' chants. Nothing. Did we make a wrong turn? Were we in church or at one of the biggest hockey games of all time?

Perhaps it was the beer, perhaps it was the music in the arena, I don't know. But once their team hit the ice for warm-ups the Canadian fans woke up. The energy level rocketed up...quickly.

A guy next to me kept elbowing me out of the way during warm ups. He was intent on showing his sign proudly proclaimed 'Hockey is Our Game' across a Canadian flag. When some kid tried to get a puck from one of the American players he was quick to let him know 'It's just a Canadian tire, it's not even worth a dollar.' Again, not exactly feeling the Olympic spirit here guys.

By the time the puck dropped for game time it was a sea of red...ninety percent of them wearing a Team Canada jersey. Flags were flying. Men, women and children were chanting, cheering and causing commotion everywhere.

Then, it happened. Forty one seconds after it started, Brian Rafalski puts one in the net. USA 1-0 and they all began to grip hard. No, real hard.

Throughout the building they tried to shake it off. They tried to tell themselves and their neighbors it was going to be OK. You heard it all - bad goal, no big deal, their only goal of the night, whatever. They were trying to convince themselves they were still going to win the game. However, you could see it their eyes, they didn't really believe what they were saying.

8:53 of the first - Eric Stall scores to tie the game. The Canadian fans were clapping and high fiving. But, then it happened...

Just 25 seconds later Rafalski scores AGAIN to put the U.S. up 2-1. Their looks said it all...could it be? They were baffled at intermission how they could be down by a goal.

Before I move on I'd be remiss not to mention Canadian fans love for Doughty. They won't stop talking about him - and this is even before they know I'm from LA. Tons of praise. They're starting to realize how special he is.

Heatley scored early in the second to tie things up. Finally they started to show some confidence. The next 13 minutes featured some of the most exciting hockey you'll ever see. Back and forth action that had the entire arena on the edge of it's seat. That is until Chris Drury scored for Team USA with just a few minutes remaining in the second.

Down 3-2...and trailing for the second intermission in a row...people were holding their breath going into the third. One of my favorite moments might have been when I was in line to get food and some lady looks at me says 'How does it feel knowing all these people want to punch you in the face?' E-A-S-Y lady. Calm down a bit, would ya...eh!

You probably already know the rest - at least you better! - Lagenbrunner scores early in the third to put the U.S. up 4-2 (my cynical mind has me worried at this point - I'm thinking about the U.S. team letting Canada back into things at the World Juniors on New Years Ever)...the refs started looking to even things up (not a complaint, just a fact) - so Canada gets a couple of powerplay opportunities...Crosby scores with 3:09 left in the third to give the entire nation hope...a few minutes later they pull Brodeur - hoping to get that big goal to tie in, forcing over time.

It doesn't happen. Home town Canuck, Ryan Kessler, scores into an empty net to ice it for Team USA. They did it! They beat Canada on their home turf. And poor Kessler will probably get boo'd when he returns to the NHL after the Olympic break. Locals may not let him forget the knife he put in their back while wearing the red, white and blue.

Ron Wilson also deserves a ton of credit. Perfect game plan, perfect execution. The team remained calm, focused and never let the crowd get into their heads.

The Canadian fans were very gracious in defeat, acknowledging Team USA was the better team on this given day.

After the third and final game (Sweden-Finland) we eventually ended up at a local pub to unwind and celebrate Super Sunday here in Canada. One local summed it up best as we discussed the USA-Canada game...'Your goalie stood on his head, our goalie shit the bed.'

That's about it, eh!

The Mayor

www.twitter.com/Mayor119

note - I've posted several pictures from the games (including current and former Kings) on my twitter account. Click here to see the links and photos.

For more Olympics coverage on MayorsManor - including some exclusive pictures - simply type OLYMPICS in the search box near the top left corner of this page.

Saturday preceds Super Sunday

Two-thirds of the way there and the U.S. is in pretty good shape...or are they?

A win versus Canada on Sunday gives the Americans a bye into the next round. With a loss they COULD have to play an extra game (on Tuesday, during the 'play in' round). However, even with a loss, they could still get the fourth seed....thus, still getting the bye. Especially if they send the game to overtime.

Oh, the possibilities. They seem endless. Let me think about it and get back to you.

For now, check out the current standings (to the left), courtesy of IIHF.com.

Saturday features my second favorite team, the European Kings...or as the IOC likes to call them, team Slovakia.

Super Sunday features the six best teams in the tournament...all in head to head action. Of course, that also means Canada-USA...the game that even scalpers can't seem to get tickets for.

Fear not, I'll be tweeting live from the game.

Before that though, I'll be reporting from THE PLACE to be in Vancouver....Molson Hockey House...live Saturday night...and we're working on a couple of possible guests.

Shhhh.....can't tell you who just yet.

Stay tuned.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

final note: let me just send a big THANK YOU to my boy Hee Seop Choi...you came through again...best man...best friend....miracle worker...thanks a million!

USA Leading & Former Kings Everywhere

Random Ramblings from Thursday's Olympic hockey match ups...

We had the USA-Norway at noon, followed by Canada-Switzerland and then Russia-Slovakia. Let's start with the Canada game. Why not, that's what the hockey media throughout North America seems to be focusing on.

In that game I felt sick. My stomach seriously hurt as I found myself cheering for Jonas Hiller. For three periods I was forced to suspend reality. I tried as hard as I could to forget that he's a Mighty Duck. For today, he was just some kid goaltender on an otherwise anonymous team from Switzerland. A team playing in a jersey that was so ugly, it was actually cool.

The Swiss are physical. Damn! They played rough against the Americans on Tuesday and brought their bounce house style of play again today. Perhaps the coach told them Sidney Crosby is just an overgrown Raggedy Ann doll (or would it be Andy?) because they were throwing him around from one end of the ice to the other. I guess Sid got the last laugh with his game winning goal in the shootout through. Which, by the way was his SECOND turn. You see, after the first three shooters, guys can go again. What? Who came up with this crazy rule? So weird.

Extremely exciting game - just a disappointing result. So close, so close. In fact, for a few hours it was the best game of the tournament so far.

But first, notes from the U.S. game played earlier in the day...

Nobody should be wearing #9 with USA across their chest unless the guy wearing it is Mike Modano. Period. Not even open for debate.

Jack Johnson is the man! Period. He played strong in game one and upped his game again vs. Norway today. He picked up an assist and could have easily had a goal or two. And his defense looks real good too. The short handed goal was not his fault. So don't even start. He was left out to dry on a two on one. Keep it up Jack. Sunday's your chance to show that Doughty isn't the old young stud the Kings have on D right now. Don't look now, but Jack is tied for the team lead with a +3 rating.

Dustin Brown? Well, that's a different story. It seemed like he would go long stretches without seeing the ice. Was Wilson triple shifting Drury / Parise / Kane? It sure seemed like it.

Remember when the Kings hosted Hockey Fest back in August? Tons of former players were brought back to tell stories, take pictures and sign autographs. Well, the 2010 Winter Olympics are kinda like that - just different. Everywhere you look there are current or former Kings. However, rather than mingling with the fans - they're here to play!

Tim Gleason? Hi, how are you.

The night cap featured names like Palffy, Demitra, Grebeshkov, Visnovsky, Stumpel and Handzus. I will say, it's weird not seeing Frolov out there for team Russia though. And every time I see Palffy I think of Andy Murray. Is that weird?

Zues - my man...you were a hot mess in overtime. First you lost your helmet. Next shift your stick. Thankfully both skates were strapped to your feet.

There were also two coulda been Kings - Kovalchuk and Gaborik.

And...oh no...another goalie with ties to the Ducks...Bryzgalov for Russia. Thankfully, I was cheering against him - hoping for a Slovakia win.

What a game. Slovakia-Russia was the best game of all the (men's) hockey played this week. It very easily could have been a game 7 for the Stanley Cup...only with a shootout to decide it. Slovakia had so many chances in the third and in overtime. Then came the shootout...

First up for the Kings, Stumpel. 1-0 Slovakia.

Russia's captain, Morozov up next. Miss.

Second shooter for the Kings, Demitra. Poke checked away. Still 1-0 Slovakia.

Who else for Russia but #8? The greatest player in the NHL ties it up 1-1.

Hossa denied. Then, Datsyuk denied. So, it's 1-1 after the first three shooters.

Ovi again for Russia? Didn't we already see the 'do over' thing in the Canada game? Yep. Thankfully, different result this time. Ovi can't score on his second try of the session.

The Kings press repeat themselves and send Stumpel back out. No goal. On to round 5.

Kovalchuk for Russia...wide.

Here we go...MICHAL HANDZUS to win it for the Kings...denied. DAMN IT!

OMG! Ovi again for Russia. Third time is a...denied.

Gaborik is stopped by Bryzgalov. We're still tied.

Malkin skates in for Russia, plays with the puck and just can't get a shot off. No goal.

Demitra up next. He does the big wide turn-in thing that he does...shoot, score. In my best Bob Miller voice "Kings Win! Kings Win! The Kings win the game!"

I know it was Slovakia, leave me alone.

AWESOME GAME!

For a final tie in to former Kings...Friday will be Wayne Gretzky day over at Molson Hockey House...the place that has quickly become The Place to be in Vancouver.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Olympic Round Robin Standings

All 12 countries have now played the first of their three Round Robin games. The U.S. is holding on to the fourth and final spot in the 'winners' group.

If you're unfamiliar with the way the standings work, teams are first ranked by their W-L record. The first tie breaker is goal differential, then total goals scored.

The top four seeds will advance directly to the Quarter Finals next Wednesday. The other eight teams will play a single elimination 'play-in round' on Tuesday.

Per IIHF.com the standing are as follows:


note: the brackets to the far left indicate the match-ups for the play-in round (based on current standings)

Game two will be played Thursday or Friday, depending on the country. Game three is Saturday for the lower seeded teams...and then the big three games will be played on Super Sunday (Russia-CzechRep, USA-Canada, Finland-Sweden).

Thursday's game line-up (with TV times)
Pool A - USA v Norway at 12:00 PM PST
Pool A - Switzerland v Canada at 5:00 PM PST
Pool B - Slovakia v Russia at 9:30 PM PST

The U.S. game is critical if they have any thoughts of getting one of the four byes directly into the quarter finals. Team USA not only needs a win, they need to score a bunch of goals (to increase their goal differential total). Plus, if Michal Handzus, Ziggy Palfy, Joseph Stumpel and the rest of Team Slovakia can somehow beat the Russians in the evening game, that would REALLY help America's chances of finishing in the top four.

Will Jack Johnson continue his strong play? Will Dustin Brown score his first Olympic goal? Ryan Miller will start in net - however, Jonathan Quick is scheduled to back him up. Quick's first view of the Olympic action from ice level.

Tune in to USA Network at noon PST to catch the first game.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Kozun named WHL Player of the Week...again

For the second time this season Kings prospect Brandon Kozun has been named the WHL's Player of the Week. He was previously awarded the honor for his play during the week of October 19-25th. His Calgary Hitmen teammate and fellow Kings prospect, goalie Martin Jones, was selected for the award last week.

The WHL is full of some of the Kings elite prospects right now, including 'Mr Nasty' Colten Teubert of the Regina Pats and Brayden Schenn of the Brandon Wheat Kings. Along with Thomas Hickey, who is in Manchester this year, the trio represents three straight years of first round draft picks from the WHL by Kings GM Dean Lombardi.

Kozun meanwhile was taken in the sixth round of this past June's draft.

Brief highlights from the WHL press release:

"Kozun picked up eight points, scoring six goals and two assists to go with a remarkable +8 rating, in four games over the past week, helping the Hitmen post a 4-0 record in that span.

...

Kozun’s eight points over the last four games has him sitting tied for 1st among WHL Scorers with 83 points (29 goals, 54 assists) in 51 games played. The Calgary Hitmen have stretched their winning streak to eight games and currently sit second in the WHL Eastern Conference with a 40-16-1-1 record for 82 points."

To read the full press release click here.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Vancouver Calling

Fear not hockey fans. Even though the Kings are off for a few weeks we'll have plenty of news and updates here on MayorsManor. I'm packing for Vancouver and will be taking in plenty of the men's ice hockey leading up to the medal games the last weekend of the month.

Team USA - the group nobody is predicting to win according to GM Brian Burke and head coach Ron Wilson - kicks things off tomorrow vs. Switzerland at noon PST.

Wilson has said Kings captain Dustin Brown will play on a line with USA captain Jamie Langenbrunner and hometown Canuck Ryan Kesler (one of 139 Ryan's on the team).

Will we see an all Ryan line for Team USA? Guess we'll have to tune in to see.

Jack Johnson is currently scheduled to be paired with Brooks Orpik of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It's looking more and more like Jonathan Quick will probably not see any ice time in Vancouver - despite playing lights out hockey coming into the games. Wilson told reports over the weekend that he hasn't budged from his earlier thoughts of Ryan Miller as the starter and Tim Thomas backing him up.

Get your DVR ready, here's a look at the TV schedule for this week's opening of Pool Play (all times local, PST):

Tuesday 2/16
Pool A - USA v Switzerland at 12:00 PM on USA Network
Pool A - Canada v Norway at 5:00 PM on CNBC
Pool B - Russia v Latvia at 9:30 PM on CNBC

Wednesday 2/17
Pool C - Finland v Belarus at 12:00 PM on MSNBC
Pool C - Sweden v Germany at 5:00 PM on CNBC
Pool B - Czech Republic v Slovakia at 9:30 PM on CNBC

Thursday 2/18
Pool A - USA v Norway at 12:00 PM on USA
Pool A - Switzerland v Canada at 5:00 PM on CNBC
Pool B - Slovakia v Russia at 9:30 PM on CNBC

Friday 2/19
Pool C - Belarus v Sweden at 12:00 PM on MSNBC
Pool B - Czech Republic v Latvia at 5:00 PM on CNBC
Pool C - Finland v Germany at 9:00 PM on CNBC

Saturday 2/20
Pool A - Norway v Switzerland at 12:00 PM on MSNBC
Pool B - Latvia v Slovakia at 4:30 PM on MSNBC
Pool C - Germany v Belarus at 9:00 PM on MSNBC

Sunday 2/21
Pool B - Russia v Czech Republic at 12:00 PM on NBC
Pool A - Canada v USA at 4:00 PM on MSNBC
Pool C - Sweden v Finland at 9:00 PM on MSNBC

The final day of Pool Play could be dubbed 'Super Sunday' as it's highly likely that those three games will determine the winners of each pool. This is critical because the winners get a bye into the next round - thus, not having to play on Tuesday 2/23.

Get ready. The Games are about to begin!

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119