Saturday, August 10, 2013

Ivan Hlinka final: USA wins silver



The Ivan Hlinka entry for the USA in the 2013 tournament came up a little short.  After winning their pool, they faced the Czech Republic in the first medal round game.   The Americans were victorious,  setting up a gold medal showdown with Canada.

Of course, none of us saw this game, unless you were in Piestany - but my understanding is that the 'mercians got their ass kicked.  Folks in the hockey media are reporting that USA had zero scoring chances in the game.  That's generally going to work out bad for you.

If you were pulling for the Red, White & Blue  - as a 'Hawks fan you just have to re-visit your feelings after the 2011 & 2012 WHL finals.  In an 8 team tournament, 2nd place is pretty good - much like 2nd place in a 22 team league.  However, it also sucks.  The United States has never won this tournament, although this was the 8th silver brought home.

All three of the 'Hawks involved had good tournaments, although the only way to tell from here is looking at scoresheets.  There is one video clip of a sweet Paul Bittner goal:



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