2010 Men's Olympic Hockey: Super Sunday Will Live Up to the Hype

Wow, so far this Olympic hockey has been off the hook and I can’t believe it’s going to get even better.

Don’t think for a second that the NHL isn’t being affected by these games as well.

Jaromir Jagr and Alexei Morosov’s return to the spotlight in North America may have Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux wondering if his team could be looking for a three-peat instead of a repeat if those two had stayed with the Penguins.

Niklas Hagman may see some added ice time when he returns to the Calgary Flames as he has looked good against the other international stars.

The upset of Russia by the Slovaks wasn’t even a thought with the star-studded line up for the Russians, and Slovak goalie Jaroslav Halak’s play may be turning wheels in Montreal.

Though they are one the weakest teams at the tournament, Norway’s goaltender Pål Grotnes, and forwards Mats Zuccarello Aasen and Patrick Thoresen might have scouts knocking on their door, as they have each shown they have some skills.

Today, Saturday, the three games on the schedule feature the bottom feeders and will pretty much set up the qualification rankings from 6 to 12.

The first game of the day is Group A and has Norway and Switzerland playing to regain some self-respect, as is the case in the late game featuring Group C’s Germany and Belarus.

The Group B game has a little more to it, as Slovakia can pass Russia and jump into the fifth spot with a win over Latvia and perhaps end up there depending on the outcome of the Russia-Czech game on Sunday.

Let’s get to the goods, Super Sunday as it has been dubbed, has it all, starting off with the aforementioned Russia 1-0-1 (4 pts) facing the 2-0-0 Czechs (6 pts) for tops in their group and a bye to the quarterfinals.

Both have star-studded teams and everyone knew the Czechs would be good, but as good as they’ve been, they have many thinking of them as a gold medal dark horse now.

The Russian team had pre-tournament questions from most about their defense, which hasn’t played that poorly.

Everyone was talking about the offensive fire power as I was expecting scoring at will almost with all the snipers on the team. Granted, they did score eight against Latvia, but it disappeared in the game against the Slovaks.

Which team will show up for Russia, and can the Czechs continue to roll? Who will be going to the qualification round will be determined in this huge game for both teams.

The second game Sunday is the North American battle of the ages between Canada and the USA and is going to have so much energy in the building I would bet from both sides that the roof may get blown off the rink.

This game is also for top spot though in Group A.

Look for my complete game preview and analysis on Sunday.

This game is going to be crazy!

The third and final game before the qualification round has the only two, undefeated in regulation, teams in one group facing off.

Sweden, the defending Olympic gold medal champions are playing Finland who has looked like one of the strongest teams in the tournament. The Finn’s have only given up one goal and share the highest goal differential with Canada at +9.

Teemu Selanne and the Finns look like a team possessed while Sweden seems to be just hitting their stride and is primed for action.

All of these games on Sunday are can’t miss instant classics and I am foaming at the mouth waiting for these games to get underway!

Enjoy, I know we all will!

Get your opinion in there on my show “Get The Puck Out” when you tune in for a live breakdown of the tournament and games, today, Saturday, Feb. 20, at 6 p.m. EST on www.morencysports.com or on www.ustream.com call 1-866-964-5710 during the show!

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