December 30, 2008
What we learned: This one is a tough one given the style of the game. Coach Ron Rolston said these types of games are tough to play so he gives his players smaller goals to achieve.
“You give them goals in the game and you give them a blueprint of how you want them to play. You want to look at the game and see how many of those you can check,” he said.
Good idea coach.
Entering the game I wrote down a couple things to look for so let’s break down how Team USA did.
Eliminate sloppy mistakes – The U.S. cut this down quite a bit, but adjusting for the opponent, there were still some loose ends. I counted two poor offsides and around 6 errant passes or missed transitions.
“Just making strong plays and smart decisions with the puck,” said Ryan McDonagh. “I thought we did well, guys didn’t try to get too fancy, which can sometimes happen against an opponent like this.”
Stay aggressive – Team USA did this extremely well. Throughout the game they were very active with the puck and kept their feet moving. This drew penalties and created scoring chances. As the game went on, the U.S. took their foot off the pedal a bit, but stayed intense enough to keep to their game.
“When you’re down low in your zone you’re going to go all out and not let them score,” said defenseman Ian Cole who had a goal and an assist. “You don’t want to be the guy that let them score the first goal of their tournament.”
If I had to break this down to one thing we learned, it’s that USA has honed its focus on the basics of their game plan. They dominated puck possession and did everything they should have from their own net out.
So how did Rolston grade his team?
“I thought our guys did a good job for the most part of sticking to the game plan. Usually when you play a game and the score gets like that guys try to get outside the box and do things that aren’t going to be ways to play for bigger games,” he said. “They had good habits throughout the whole game.”
Key play: There were some highlight reel goals by the U.S. but I’m going to give the key play to Danny Kristo, who dodged a check and flew in down the right wing for a goal in the second period. Very good speed and finish.
Ice chips: Jordan Shroeder’s two assists move him into a tie for 10th on the all-time U.S. tournament point scorer’s list and into 2nd place on the all-time assists list. He needs one more to tie Doug Weight for the all-time record.
James van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists, which give him sole possession of 2nd place on the all-time U.S. points scorer’s list, a tie for 3rd on the assists list and a tie for 2nd on the goals list.
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Rolston had his top line resting for the third period in preparation for Wednesday’s game against Canada. That was fine with top-liner Colin Wilson.
“We wanted to get some of our top players rested up for the game (Wednesday),” he said. “We obviously had that game in hand and we didn’t want to go tire ourselves out because our main focus is on Canada.”
Rolston said the third period rest helps the team with the short turnaround before the Canada game.
“I think they boys will be rested and be ready to go tomorrow,” he said.
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The U.S. spent most of the game in the Kazakhstan zone and goalie Thomas McCollum faced a mere 11 shots. I wondered if he was daydreaming with all that free time.
I’m definitely always following the puck, but I’m not going to lie, your mind can start to wander if the puck doesn’t cross the red line for 5 or six minutes at a time,” he said.
Before McCollum’s goalie coaches flip out, he added that he always had an eye on the play and the puck, but was mostly watching the 49-save performance by his goalie counterpart Andrei Yankov.
“A lot of the time I was thinking that the goalie was playing great, other than that I was just trying to focus on the puck,” McCollum said. “If he didn’t play we could have 25 plus goals easily … I have a lot of respect for him, he was battling all the way even in the third period when the game was out of reach.”
Up next: vs. Canada, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EST
END OF GAME. USA wins 12-0. Player of the game for Kaz has to be Yankov. He faced 61 shots. I'll be back later with a full recap.
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00:04 - GOAL: USA 12-KAZ 0: Rust taps home a rebound that was sitting in the crease.
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2:54 - U.S. back on the PP. Haven't seen Schroeder JVR and Wilson for a while. I think Rolston is resting some players.
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4:58 - GOAL: USA 11-KAZ 0: Mitch Wahl takes a errant clearance attempt that appears to have been broken up by Palushaj and puts it in.
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6:01 - GOAL: USA 10-KAZ 0. O'Brien made the move to the goal line and the puck was left hanging there before Jimmy Hayes knocked it in.
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6:10 - Cole just held off two Kaz forwards by himself.
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8:00 - U.S. has tossed 54 shots on net. Yankov still in there.
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9:52 - GOAL: USA 9-KAZ 0. Mike Hoeffel scored amid a pile in front of the net. The partisan crowd disagrees. U.S. powerplay continues.
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10:20 - Two penalties give the U.S. a 5-on-3
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13:30 - An official just wiped out trying to pick up the puck. Maybe one of you officials out there can help me out, what does he owe the rest of the crew now?
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13:49 - They just showed a pair of guys on the big board dressed like Borat and it prompted a huge cheer. That must be the reason everyone is cheering for Kaz, Canada loves Borat! It couldn't be they root against the U.S. ... right? Very Niice.
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18:00 - PP over, Yankov flashed some leather on his end, then a no-call in the U.S. end led to some chances for Kaz and the U.S. is lucky McCollum is staying sharp because they were good chances. Can't blaim Team USA there, Shattenkirk was hauled down.
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20:00 - We're back to the action. Yankov is still in there. I guess the Kaz coach wants him to get in 60 shots or something.
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End of Period - USA 8-KAZ 0. Kazakhstan committed a hooking penalty with 13 seconds to go so the U.S. has some power play time left to start the third. Team USA outshot Kaz 21-2 that period.
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2:55 - Ian Cole caught not moving his feet and gets a penalty for hooking. The PK is on and the crowd is going nuts wanting a Kaz goal.
--- 3:53 - Palushaj nearly had his hat trick, but his snap shot hit Yankov in the mask. U.S. kept the puck in the zone for two minutes that time.
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7:32 - GOAL: U.S. 8-KAZ 0. The powerplay had just begun when Palushaj took a pass from the wing and deflected it by Yankov.
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9:20 - Back at even.
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10:20 - U.S. on a powerplay. I missed a bit b/c of a lost internet connection. Danny Kristo scored from the right wing to make it 7-0 at about the 7 minute mark. USA 7-KAZ 0
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14:24 - GOAL: USA 6-KAZ 0 - van Riemsdyk deflects a shot from Shattenkirk. Very efficient power play as I didnt even have time to let you know it was going down.
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16:28 - Nice glove save by Yankov.
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18:49 - GOAL: USA 5-KAZ 0: Wilson gets his second as van Riemsdyk flew in front of the net but couldn't get a shot off, spun around and fed Wilson a perfect pass.
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19:08 -GOAL: USA 4-KAZ 0: Wilson smacks home a rebound off a van Riemsdyk shot. Schroeder gets the second assist.
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00:00 - We're underway in the second. The U.S. holds a 3-0 advantage on the score board and an 18-1 advantage in shots.
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End of period: USA 3, KAZ 0 - A strong finish saves the period for the U.S. I will say the three goals all came from things Rolston wanted to see happen. Good passing, hard work in the corners and power plays caused by controlling the puck and forcing penalties.
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1:01 - GOAL: USA 3, KAZ 0 - A long rebound makes its way to Cade Fairchild, who slipped it cross ice to Drayson Bowman who had an easy flip into the top part of the net. The goal came on a delayed penalty call.
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2:50 - GOAL: USA 2, KAZ 0 - Palushaj takes a drop pass from Rust and then fired it through the goalie's five hole.
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3:33 - GOAL: USA 1, KAZ 0 - Ian Cole rips a shot from the point just off the faceoff and the U.S. is on the board. Passes from Shattenkirk and Schroeder.
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3:39 - Tripping call gives U.S. another power play. Let's see if they can end ona high note.
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4:32 - U.S. fails to score.
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7:50 - It's a double minor so the U.S. will get a power play.
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9:16 - Blum taken down with a high stick so the PK is over. Blum went off though so we'll keep an eye on that.
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9:28 - Palushaj interfered with the goalie. U.S. on the PK.
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11:22 - No goal on the powerplay but the U.S. is outshooting Kaz 9-0. The fans are pro Kaz, but it's really been all USA.
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13:57 - U.S. on the powerplay. Kazakhstan player penalized for slashing.
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15:31 - McCollum has to make a shoulder save. The U.S. has created a couple turnovers and given Kazakhstan some chances. that can't make Rolston happy.
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17:52 - The U.S. kept it in the offensive zone for the first 1:35 of the game. only one scoring chance but the puck possession has been all USA.
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00:00 - We're underway. There are a few USA chants out there so it won't be all Kazakhstan in the crowd tonight. McCollum in net, and Blum, McDonagh, Palushaj, Rust and Tangradi starting.
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Pregame:
Canada, also known as Kazakhstan West, is showing their favorite non-Canadian goalie Andrei Yankov some love.
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They are announcing the U.S. roster and the fans are booing. You have to love rivalries. Canada basically has no interest in this game as far as the standings are concerned yet they take time to boo and will cheer mightily for Kazakhstan.
I'd expect nothing less in two years when we host.
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The quarterfinal and semifinal participants should be pretty much set after tonight's games, all that will basically remain is seeding.
The main battle should be between Finland and Slovakia for the last quarterfinal spot out of Group B. That group's top-2 spots will come down to Sweden and Russia tomorrow afternoon in what should be a fantastic game.
That would leave the U.S. and Canada fighting it out for the semifinal spot in Group A with the loser joining most likely the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.
The quarters are a cross-over format so A2 plays B3 and B2 faces A3.
This is all assuming Finland beats Latvia, Czech Republic beats Kazakhstan and, most importantly, the U.S. disposes of Kazakhstan tonight.
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U.S. head coach Ron Rolston spoke to me before the game and talked about how a game like tonight's is about focus and good habits.
Kazakhstan has proven it is at least a step behind everyone in the tournament (Which is unfortunate because I loved watching them play last year), so that gives the U.S. a big problem, albeit not on the scoreboard.
For a non-hockey analogy, imagine you had the laziest supervisor in the company who let you get away with everything. You took advantage and never performed up to standard because you never had reason to. Then a new supervisor takes over and you are not only far behind where you should be, you're likely on the chopping block.
The U.S. needs to ignore the score, the crowd and their opponents' feelings and play a hard-nosed game and try to do everything right.
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A good sign: The bus was dead silent on the ride over. The team seemed just as focused as previous games. Rolston seems to have done a good job of setting the mood.
Questions? Comments? Please send them to camerone@usahockey.org and I'll try to answer them as soon as I can on a future blog post. Keep in mind I will publish some questions and comments. |