With no NHL season and most college hockey teams taking a break, it's a tough time of year for those of us who follow puck. Thankfully, we now have the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships taking place just down the road in Grand Forks, North Dakota and Thief River Falls, Minnesota to fill the void. On Saturday, I watched Team USA (the defending champs) battle the Russkies on ESPN2 in a highly entertaining contest that ended with a 5-4 U.S. victory.
Tonight, the U.S. faces off against the hated Swiss at 8pm (also on ESPN2).
This is dang good hockey featuring some of the best young players in the world including a number of sure-fire future NHL stars. The last time I saw Sydney Crosby play, he was fifteen and playing for Shattuck-St. Mary's in a game against my high school alma mater (which I attended with JB Doubtless immediately after the unforgettable 2003 Hugh Hewitt On Ice event). Now, Crosby is one of the stars for Team Canada, as evidenced by his three point effort in Canada's 7-3 tournament opening victory over Slovakia.
We very well could be headed for a rematch of last year's championship game between the Canucks and the Yanks. Now, wouldn't that be fun eh?
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