U.S. Hockey: We're Going Medieval

[snopes]

Brian Burke, the general manager of the U.S. Olympic hockey program, has a new plan to win gold in Vancouver. Forget the graceful, athletic style of play that dominates on Olympic ice. He's planning to conquer the world the old-fashioned way: by hitting people.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...003331132.html

[UEL]

Methinks his plan may backfire when his team gets on the ice with European referees.

Just need to watch the World Hockey Championships every spring to see that a lot of punishing hits are not tolerated.

But of course, Team Canada will be right there to hit back!

[Insensible Crier]

Originally Posted by UEL

Methinks his plan may backfire when his team gets on the ice with European referees.

Just need to watch the World Hockey Championships every spring to see that a lot of punishing hits are not tolerated.

But of course, Team Canada will be right there to hit back!

I agree. It seems sometimes they'll let players practically kill each other before calling a penalty in the NHL.

And go Team USA! We totally kicked everyone's butts and took the gold last... I mean in... that "Miracle on Ice" against the USSR was great wasn't it?

[Ratboy]

Originally Posted by UEL

Just need to watch the World Hockey Championships every spring to see that a lot of punishing hits are not tolerated.

In the article, David Backes is mentioned and his hit on a Swiss player is shown in a picture. If I remember correctly, he was suspended for one game for that dirty hit (which can be viewed here).

And since Switzerland was hosting that World Championships, he was also subsequently booed whenever he was on the ice for the rest of the tournament. Maybe that isn't relevant, but I just thought that I should mention it.

[UEL]

The reason I brought it up was the result of Canada's World Hockey Championship performance about seven years ago. The team was loaded with big players (I'm talking huge) who were selected to physically dominate the game. The only team that wanted to play that style was the US, and that game was a punishing one for both teams.

However, the referees started making a lot of calls that would not be interpreted as infractions in North American Leagues. In one game, any Canadian hit along the boards seemed to be called for boarding. Any hit in open ice was called for charging. Even in one instance, a Canadian player got a penalty for holding the other player's stick, with his own stick.

It's hard to win when you are perpetually in the penalty box.

Now don't get me wrong, I am all for penalising and dealing appropriately for contraventions of the rules or dirty hits. But when one team's play is characterised by speed and grace, don't penalise the other team that characterises its play by force and strength.

[Rocky Sassoon]

So is this going to be the real sequel to Slapshot? I can't wait!