Liiribox
Nur angemeldete User dürfen liiren.
National hockey League
In a game that was supposed to be a warm-up for tougher opponents, Switzerland shocked the Canadian men's hockey team 2-0 at the Torino Olympics Saturday morning.
After stunning the Czech Republic Thursday with a 3-2 win, using speed and great goaltending, the Swiss displayed the same formula to upset Canada at Torino Esposizioni.
Former Montreal Canadiens forward Paul di Pietro scored two goals and goalie Martin Gerber of the Carolina Hurricanes played superbly, making 49 saves for the shutout.
Team Canada outshot the Swiss 24-1 in the third period.
The loss doesn't affect Canada's chances of winning a goal medal, but it may change its seeding for the quarter-finals and beyond.
Defenceman Chris Pronger said the Canada didn't take its rivals lightly.
"I don't think so, it certainly didn't seem like that in the locker-room," Pronger told CBC Sports.
"Along that road you're going to face some adversity and this is certainly an obstacle we need to learn from."
It's Switzerland's first-ever win against Canada in international competition.
Looking sluggish from the start of the game, the Canadians couldn't generate consistent pressure on the fast-skating Swiss. Canada's power play struggled for the second straight contest, missing several opportunities.
Gerber, starting in place of No. 1 goalie David Aebischer, made several great saves, including two from in front of the net on Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton in the third period.
Despite being outshot in the first period, Switzerland took a surprising 1-0 lead at 18:19.
Thornton gave the puck away in the neutral zone as the Swiss were allowed to control the puck in Canada's end. Patric Della Rossa was able to fight off two Canadian defenders behind the net and flipped a pass to an open di Pietro in the slot.
The winger then beat Canadian goaltender Martin Brodeur with a quick shot to the stick side.
Canada got into penalty trouble in the second period that resulted in a 2-0 deficit. With the Swiss controlling the puck off the draw, di Pierto scored at 8:47.
Brodeur had anticipated the point-shot coming through but the puck was deflected to di Pierto who made no mistake on his one-timer.
It appeared Canada cut the lead to 2-1 on the power play after Rick Nash's shot looked to cross the goal-line while the puck was in Gerber's glove.
After the play was reviewed for several minutes, the officials disallowed the goal. Gerber's glove save was still spectacular as he originally seemed out of position.
The Canadians had several chances to take the lead in the first period but went 0-5 on the power play, including a 30-second two-man advantage.
"We had a lot of scoring chances but the goalie saw them," Pronger said. "A lot of times the goalie is going to make that first save."
DiPietro, born Sault Saint Marie, Ont., played 192 NHL games with Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles. He scored 31 goals and 49 assists during his career that was highlighted by a Stanley Cup championship with the Canadiens in 1993.
DiPietro has been playing for the Swiss league since 1998-99 and received his Swiss passport last February.
The Canadians finish their preliminary round against two difficult opponents.
They face Finland Sunday (CBC, 3 p.m., EST) and finish against the Czech Republic Tuesday (CBC, 10:30 a.m., EST).
After stunning the Czech Republic Thursday with a 3-2 win, using speed and great goaltending, the Swiss displayed the same formula to upset Canada at Torino Esposizioni.
Former Montreal Canadiens forward Paul di Pietro scored two goals and goalie Martin Gerber of the Carolina Hurricanes played superbly, making 49 saves for the shutout.
Team Canada outshot the Swiss 24-1 in the third period.
The loss doesn't affect Canada's chances of winning a goal medal, but it may change its seeding for the quarter-finals and beyond.
Defenceman Chris Pronger said the Canada didn't take its rivals lightly.
"I don't think so, it certainly didn't seem like that in the locker-room," Pronger told CBC Sports.
"Along that road you're going to face some adversity and this is certainly an obstacle we need to learn from."
It's Switzerland's first-ever win against Canada in international competition.
Looking sluggish from the start of the game, the Canadians couldn't generate consistent pressure on the fast-skating Swiss. Canada's power play struggled for the second straight contest, missing several opportunities.
Gerber, starting in place of No. 1 goalie David Aebischer, made several great saves, including two from in front of the net on Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton in the third period.
Despite being outshot in the first period, Switzerland took a surprising 1-0 lead at 18:19.
Thornton gave the puck away in the neutral zone as the Swiss were allowed to control the puck in Canada's end. Patric Della Rossa was able to fight off two Canadian defenders behind the net and flipped a pass to an open di Pietro in the slot.
The winger then beat Canadian goaltender Martin Brodeur with a quick shot to the stick side.
Canada got into penalty trouble in the second period that resulted in a 2-0 deficit. With the Swiss controlling the puck off the draw, di Pierto scored at 8:47.
Brodeur had anticipated the point-shot coming through but the puck was deflected to di Pierto who made no mistake on his one-timer.
It appeared Canada cut the lead to 2-1 on the power play after Rick Nash's shot looked to cross the goal-line while the puck was in Gerber's glove.
After the play was reviewed for several minutes, the officials disallowed the goal. Gerber's glove save was still spectacular as he originally seemed out of position.
The Canadians had several chances to take the lead in the first period but went 0-5 on the power play, including a 30-second two-man advantage.
"We had a lot of scoring chances but the goalie saw them," Pronger said. "A lot of times the goalie is going to make that first save."
DiPietro, born Sault Saint Marie, Ont., played 192 NHL games with Montreal, Toronto and Los Angeles. He scored 31 goals and 49 assists during his career that was highlighted by a Stanley Cup championship with the Canadiens in 1993.
DiPietro has been playing for the Swiss league since 1998-99 and received his Swiss passport last February.
The Canadians finish their preliminary round against two difficult opponents.
They face Finland Sunday (CBC, 3 p.m., EST) and finish against the Czech Republic Tuesday (CBC, 10:30 a.m., EST).
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Ein Goalie-Tausch, der hinter den Kulissen in aller Stille vorbereitet worden war: Nati-Goalie David Aebischer wechselt per sofort zu den Montreal Canadiens, wo er fortan in einem Team mit Mark Streit sein wird.
Umgekehrt geht Jose Theodore zu den Colorado Avalanche.
Hintergrund der Torhüter-Rochade ist das Geld. Theodore, 2003 noch als wertvollster Spieler der NHL ausgezeichnet, hatte in Montreal einen mit 16 Millionen Dollar pro Saison dotierten Vertrag, der noch bis 2007/2008 läuft.
Durch den Wechsel wurden die Canadiens also einen teuren aber nicht mehr effektiven Spieler los: Der 29-jährige Theodore läuft seiner Topform schon lange hinterher und ist momentan nach einem Treppensturz (Bruch der Ferse) bis Anfang April out.
Mit Aebischer hat Montreal einen mehr als valablen Ersatz, mit dem das Team den Playoff-Platz verteidigen können sollte.
Sofern natürlich Aebischer nicht das Schicksal von Mark Streit ereilt, der seinem Team schon seit längerem nur von der Bank oder gar Tribüne aus zuschauen darf.
Umgekehrt geht Jose Theodore zu den Colorado Avalanche.
Hintergrund der Torhüter-Rochade ist das Geld. Theodore, 2003 noch als wertvollster Spieler der NHL ausgezeichnet, hatte in Montreal einen mit 16 Millionen Dollar pro Saison dotierten Vertrag, der noch bis 2007/2008 läuft.
Durch den Wechsel wurden die Canadiens also einen teuren aber nicht mehr effektiven Spieler los: Der 29-jährige Theodore läuft seiner Topform schon lange hinterher und ist momentan nach einem Treppensturz (Bruch der Ferse) bis Anfang April out.
Mit Aebischer hat Montreal einen mehr als valablen Ersatz, mit dem das Team den Playoff-Platz verteidigen können sollte.
Sofern natürlich Aebischer nicht das Schicksal von Mark Streit ereilt, der seinem Team schon seit längerem nur von der Bank oder gar Tribüne aus zuschauen darf.
-
Partyanimal
- Elite
- Beiträge: 7767
- Registriert: 25. Feb 2003, 11:56
- Wohnort: Luzern
Der Schweizer Verteidiger Mark Streit trat beim zweiten NHL-Testspiel der Canadiens gegen Toronto (3:4) stark in Erscheinung. Der Captain der Nationalmannschaft traf im Bell-Centre zur temporären 2:1-Führung und liess sich zwei Assists gutschreiben.
Tobias Stephan, der im Sommer Kloten verliess, ist bei seinem zweiten Teileinsatz in einem Testspiel für die Dallas Stars erneut als Sieger vom Eisfeld gegangen. Beim 3:1-Erfolg gegen die Phoenix Coyotes (ohne Patrick Fischer) ersetzte Stephan im letzten Drittel Marty Turco und parierte neun Schüsse. Kurz vor Schluss kassierte er aber den einzigen Gegentreffer der Stars.
Als zweiter Schweizer Keeper stand Martin Gerber im Einsatz. In Philadelphie blockte "Gerbs" in zwei Dritteln zwölf Schüsse und ermöglichte so den 4:3-Erfolg der Senatoren gegen die Flyers.
Tobias Stephan, der im Sommer Kloten verliess, ist bei seinem zweiten Teileinsatz in einem Testspiel für die Dallas Stars erneut als Sieger vom Eisfeld gegangen. Beim 3:1-Erfolg gegen die Phoenix Coyotes (ohne Patrick Fischer) ersetzte Stephan im letzten Drittel Marty Turco und parierte neun Schüsse. Kurz vor Schluss kassierte er aber den einzigen Gegentreffer der Stars.
Als zweiter Schweizer Keeper stand Martin Gerber im Einsatz. In Philadelphie blockte "Gerbs" in zwei Dritteln zwölf Schüsse und ermöglichte so den 4:3-Erfolg der Senatoren gegen die Flyers.
-
Extrem-Boarder
- Member
- Beiträge: 32
- Registriert: 28. Nov 2006, 08:25
-
Ofen
-
Tassenwirt