It's just upseting.

I still think the US had a better team. We were just so undisciplined down the stretch, just when it looked like we had a good offensive shift going, we'd take a penality. It really screwed us up. I am really, really upset at some of the penalty's called in the third against Finland, especially that 4 minute major. It was so clearly a follow through, neither of the NHL refs called it, but the Slovak ref did, its a shit shame he couldn't be overridden.

Anyone notice in all the games that everytime somebody falls to the ground crying, the European refs made calls? Not just the US game, but all of them. I think that cost Canada the game against the Swiss, personally.

Canada is out

The Canadians were absolutley horrible, they were to big and slow and this was shown against Finland and Russia

It would have made a huge difference if Spezza, Staal, Crosby, and Phaneouf played

This is beyond depressing. It's like if you get a paycheck to play this sport professionally, you can't play crap in the Olympics. The pentalties were insane in just about every game.

This is beyond depressing. It's like if you get a paycheck to play this sport professionally, you can't play crap in the Olympics. The pentalties were insane in just about every game.

2 Reasons, for both the U.S. and Canada = Two Oldest teams in the Olympics and European Refs = lots of penalties.

Stupid pentalties, whining from players when they should have been focusing on the team, next to nothing from the coaches, players who had no business being in the Olympics to begin with.

The teams were crap before they stepped onto the ice. The refs had nothing to do with it. The players were playing to NHL standards. The Olympics expects more, and has different rules which obviously no one was sticking to.

And Teemu Selanne is going to get his butt kicked when he gets back to Anaheim.

As a friend of mine said, Modano is a twit.

Modano skips out on final U.S. hockey meeting

By IRA PODELL, AP Sports Writer

TURIN, Italy (AP) -- Mike Modano packed up his stuff and left Italy on Thursday morning, skipping a final meeting with his Olympic teammates after they were eliminated a night earlier in the men's hockey quarterfinals.

USA Hockey spokesman Dave Fischer said the longtime Dallas Stars forward -- who sharply criticized team management after the Americans' elimination Wednesday -- was the only member of the 23-player squad not to gather at the arena where the Americans were knocked out by Finland.

Modano lashed out after he was benched by coach Peter Laviolette for most of the third period of the 4-3 loss.

"A lot of guys have been there for many years, and maybe we need some new blood in there to run things a little differently," said Modano, who has represented the U.S. in 11 international competitions. "It's probably time some things changed."

When pressed for details of his complaint, Modano cited logistical problems in getting the full team of NHL players and their families over to Europe.

"You'd think USA Hockey would be a well-oiled machine, but it's not," he said. "Basically we were on our own for hotels, tickets, flights, stuff like that."

Modano caught a flight home Thursday. The rest of the team was scheduled to leave Friday morning, before the start of the weekend's medal-round games.

"He's emotional after the games," Los Angeles Kings forward Craig Conroy said. "I don't know if he was just emotional or if he really meant it."

New Jersey forward Brian Gionta didn't join Modano in ripping USA Hockey leaders.

"I've only played in a couple of world championships and world juniors," Gionta said. "He's been around a lot longer, so he knows more than I would."

Modano is not expected to be in the roster mix for the 2010 Games in Vancouver, when he will be near 40.

Other mainstays not expected back for Vancouver include familiar names such as Chris Chelios, Doug Weight and Keith Tkachuk. They are likely to be replaced by younger players like Paul Martin, Ryan Miller and Bobby Ryan.

"We have a lot of good, young players at USA Hockey and a lot of guys coming," general manager Don Waddell said. "We can take the positives out of this game and out of the whole tournament."

USA Hockey is in transition, and not many expected the American team to skate off with a medal this year. At the same time, most anticipated the team would do more than just tie Latvia and beat Kazakhstan -- both teams with only a handful of NHL players.

Against elite clubs the U.S. lost all four of its games, each by one goal. Tkachuk, a former 50-goal scorer in the NHL, had no points -- nor did New York Islanders Jason Blake and Mark Parrish.

"We're out of the tournament, but certainly it's not like it's something we have to blow up and start over, because every game we were right in there," Waddell said.

Instead of going with a strict youth movement or a team laden with veteran leadership, Waddell and his staff tried to pick players off to good starts in the NHL season.

So 44-year-old captain Chelios made it as did immobile defenseman Derian Hatcher. Brian Leetch, an American stalwart on defense, wasn't chosen because of injury troubles. Martin is still developing his game with the Devils.

Waddell defended the approach.

"The oldest guy in the tournament was one of our better players," he said of Chelios. "Unfortunately not everybody had the jump that he had. If we did, we'd probably be talking about something differently."

For the coach, USA Hockey selected Carolina Hurricanes coach Laviolette, a former Olympic player and international coach, over candidates who included John Tortorella -- who led Tampa Bay to the 2004 Stanley Cup title.

The Americans' goaltending -- thought to be their biggest weakness-- mostly held up.

Miller, injured when the team was picked in December, was kept home as an injury reserve, even though he played the best in the weeks leading up to the Olympics.

John Grahame started the opening 3-3 tie with Latvia. Rick DiPietro then went 1-2 in the next three games despite allowing only five goals. After a one-game break in which Robert Esche lost to Russia in a meaningless contest, DiPietro returned but didn't show the same fine form in the final defeat.

DiPietro, who is 24, should battle it out with Miller, 25, for the top goaltending spot in 2010.

After three Olympics featuring NHL players, the U.S. has only one silver medal and two controversial departures to show for it.

In the 1998 Nagano Games, an also-ran finish led to the trashing of rooms by U.S. players. Now USA Hockey is dealing with Modano's cranky exit interview.

"It's very disappointing," Waddell said. "Sometimes players in the emotion of the game don't realize everything that goes on behind the scenes.

"As a player, I don't expect them to know that. Players are here for one purpose and that is to play hockey and win games and let us worry about the issues that arise from it."

An ankle injury kept Waddell off the 1980 "Miracle On Ice" team, but a successful career as an executive with the NHL and USA Hockey landed him a second chance at these Olympics.

Coming up short definitely hurt, and Waddell choked back tears as he tried to explain how much.

"Well, it's disappointing for sure," he said, "but we'll learn from it and find a way to move forward."

The US and Canada are living in the past they sent players over who were good in 2004 not in 2006 <_<

They both think they are better than everyone, and that it will just be them 2 in the final

Obviously the European teams are better than everyone thought, they were faster and better tactically than the Americans and Canadians, and they both deserved to lose

The Canadian got shutout 3 times :yuckky: they better there act together and learn from this

In Canada today they blamed everyone from Gretzky, Pat Quinn, Rick Tocchet, Steve Moore, to the Premier of Canada, the Black jerseys, and the ice was to slippery

tsn.ca comments on Canada and USA Hockey

McKenzie: Thoughts from Torino

Bob McKenzie

2/23/2006

For Hockey Canada, I don't think there's any question they're going to turn the page for 2010, and probably go with a much younger lineup, as it should be.

Having said all that, now that we've put the bow on this one, more than 24 hours after the disaster that was Torino, it's almost too bad that great warriors for Team Canada -- like Joe Sakic, Chris Pronger, Rob Blake, Adam Foote -- have probably participated in their last Olympic Games. The last time they'll wear the maple leaf. These guys were heroic over the course of their careers for Canada and it's really unfortunate that they, along with other guys, had to go out on a sour note.

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The same thing applies to Chris Chelios from the United States. This guy is a freak of nature. 44 years-old, playing in the Olympics, captaining Team USA, maybe he will be back in Vancouver, but it's doubtful as a player. I know a lot of the players on Team USA want Chelios to be the "Wayne Gretzky" of USA Hockey. They want him to step up and run the whole program. Now that Mike Modano has called for everybody in USA Hockey to be fired, Chelios might just be that man.

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The pride the Finns have been showing, along with the Russians, the Swedes and the Czechs, it just goes on and on. Full marks to those countries. They've done a great job, but I will say this -- and this isn't because Canada and the United States are out -- this is a freeze-dried hockey tournament. You can take it for whatever it's worth. There's a guy like Bret Hedican, who played for Team USA, who played eight games in 12 days, an one of those days, on top of it all, was a travel day.

What the NHL players have to do prior to this Olympic tournament; what they have to do to get to this Olympic tournament, and then go back to a compressed schedule in the National Hockey League, I seriously wonder if the greater good of hockey is served.

That's not because Canada and the United States are out; I thought the same thing in 2002 when Canada won. I know that the NHL is going in 2010, but I don't think you will see NHLers at the Olympics after that.

'Canes beat the Bruins tonight, 4 - 3, which is the third time this season Carolina has won by that margin against Boston.

Shut out for Calgary

Canes won AGAIN , top of the league. Woo Hoo! It was 5 - 0 at the end of the period, the Pens made it a game in the 2nd, amazingly.

12 goals were scored Anybody heard of DEFENSE?

On a bad note, that BITCH of a loser Orpik put Cole into the boards and out for the season, I hope we get Vasicek back soon to replace him. Second year loser defensman on the leagues last place team puts a cheap shot on the second leading scorer on the best team in the NHL . . . . HEADS NEED TO ROLL.

Is Ignla still with the Flames? I like him

Yup, Iginla is still there and still on fire. Amonte is doing really well too.

On another note, Phoenix didn't even make it into the top ten. I have no comment.

Don't blame him

GOOD game tonight, if you can get it . . . 'Canes vs Rangers, two of the hottest teams with two of the top three leading scorers going head to head. This will be a real test to see how this team does without Cole for the rest of the season, good news that he might be back for the Playoffs tho.

'Cains tie a franchise record for wins in a season tonight, with a shit-load of season still left to go . . . great game if you missed it, lots of good hits.

Speakin of hits, I was watchin highlights from the Ottawa game and, this is great, some dude ripped off another dudes helmet during a big fight and SMAKED the dude with his own helmet on the top of the head, lol, it was AWESOME. I so gotta find that on the 'net.

The Leafs are so bad this year At least there beating Montreal as of now 3-2 in the third

I want the Leafs to lose tonight so they have to blow up the team, a win will give them false hope which means they'll probally acquire more vetreans at the trade deadline <_<

Ferguson is the worst GM in the league, and Toronto the biggest hockey market in the world has got this idiot as GM. This guy should be fired, I definately don't want him making trades at the deadline

The Leafs really should trade away McCabe (His contract's up after the season and he wants at least $5 million) as Jovanoski, Redden, and Chara are all free agents after the season and there a hundred times better than McCabe They should also trade Belfour if someone wants a 40 year old goalie getting $4 million a year

Yup, Iginla is still there and still on fire. Amonte is doing really well too.

On another note, Phoenix didn't even make it into the top ten. I have no comment.

Iginla is having a poor season compared to his standards

Amonte's doing OK, I have him in my hockey pool

Trade deadline is today

The Montreal Canadiens traded Jose Theodore to the Colorado Avalanche for David Aebischer

The Leafs got Luke Richardson, who's gotta be at least 40

Phoenix got Jamie Rivers from Detroit. Don't know if he'll impact the defense at all though. Calgary didn't get anyone, but they didn't need anyone.

The leafs did nothing why am I not surprised