Vancouver, semifinals

So, we got the elimination games right, but the quarterfinals gave us a few surprises. Both of our mistakes, we believe, were down to not guessing that the teams in question were done in the tournament before the games started.

A lot of ink has been spilled, and a lot of commentators, not least of whom is Finland's own irritatingly clueless Niki Juusela, have gushed hysterically over how wonderfully Canada played against Russia. We didn't really see that at all; what we saw was a Russian team that didn't seem to be one bit interested in playing. That game wasn't Canada being great, or even particularly good; it was Russia being worse than they've ever been under Bykov. It was astonishing to watch them "play". Our prediction was based on the idea that the Russians wanted to win this tournament. Turns out we were wrong!

As a side note, had the referees actually called penalties for, say, boarding and checking from behind, Canada would have spent the entire first period in the box. In the very first shift, Maxim Afinogenov got run into the boards from behind. No penalty was called, and that was the line throughout. We'd really like to see an international hockey tournament that had any consistent refereeing at all.

The same goes for Sweden. We thought they'd run out of steam in the semis and end up in the bronze game, but they already ran out in the quarterfinals. We don't want to take anything away from Slovakia, who played an excellent game, but really, Sweden didn't even look like they particularly wanted to win.

**

With our quarterfinal record at a dismal 50%, it's time to take some semifinal guesses.

We believe USA-Finland is a very simple equation. Finland was shut out by Sweden and only managed one garbage goal against the Czechs. A large reason for this is head coach Jukka Jalonen's moronic insistence on playing the Saku Koivu - Teemu Selänne - Olli Jokinen power play combination, which has been totally unable to even set up scoring chances in the last two games. In spite of this, every time Finland got a power play against the Czechs, Jalonen put the same crew on the ice, and they continued to, frankly, suck.

We anticipate Jalonen will do the same, effectively scuppering Finland's minuscule chances to score. Unless he has a change of heart, or the Finnish team decides to show up again like they did in the first two games, Miller will shut Finland out. Whatever the exact score, though, Finland will end up in the bronze medal game.

As for the other game, we'd be mad not to bet on Canada. The only real chance Slovakia has is that the Canadians may get ahead of themselves and get their head in the final game while they should still be playing the Slovaks. So while there's a chance for a Slovak upset, we have to say Canada.