Semi-final day has arrived.
Game 1 – Canada vs. the Swiss. We’ve seen the Swiss play very well and their goalie is outstanding. The first period is totally cat & mouse. I’m not quite sure who’s playing with who but the period is very carefully played by both sides. Shots on net relatively even, neither side taking any huge chances. 2nd period sees more action. Things open up and more chances are taken. Canada clearly dominates and the Swiss try to catch up but can’t. The 3rd period brings more of the same. The Swiss take more chances leaving their goalie vulnerable and the score gets run up a bit. Then the nasties start to happen. It’s too bad because we lost a defenseman in one of the last plays of the game in a completely needless hit from behind (our guy got a separated shoulder – out of play for 6 to 8 weeks and certainly won’t be playing in the gold medal game). I had immense respect for the Swiss team up to that time in the game. They’d kept it reasonably clean up to that point in the game. Off the gold medal round we go – will it be our 6th in a row or merely our 12th medal in a row?
Game 2 – US vs. the Swedes. The Swedes went 4-0 in the preliminary round. But we know how good the US squad is. Both teams come out strong. The Swedes are noticeably bigger but seem reasonably fast. The play is great but once again, the refs seem to favour the US and most of the calls are against Sweden. The shots on net are reasonably close and both teams have ample opportunities to score but the US strikes first. Unfortunately for the Swedes, they’re either too slow or the goaltending too weak, but they can’t keep up and Team USA wins to go onto the gold medal game against Canada. It’s certainly not what the crowd wanted, but the US obviously wanted the game more, and our boys are going to have to bring the best game of their lives tomorrow.
the world of jim 
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