World Junior Hockey Semi-Finals

For the first time ever, TSN was going to broadcast the games over the internet. This made me happy until I found out how slow the internet is here. Every five seconds the broadcast would pause and say "loading".

So instead I relied on the minute to minute update on the game. Apparently the game started at 6:30 am but I was not about to wake up that early. Still, I felt bad I missed the first two periods because we were facing our old rivals, the Yanks. *grrr*

Anyway, I came in on the end of the third period and gave a little start when I noticed the score What? The Yanks are up 1-0? What happened? This is the same team that was upset by Germany and they're kicking our butts? What's wrong with us?

I bit my lip for the 20 minute intermission. Finally, finally we scored about five minutes into the third but man that was close for a while. I silently start chanting, one more goal, one more goal. We don't get it. The game went into overtime and somehow our bullheaded team gets two penalites to give the US a two-man advantage. *grr* But we fight them off, big sigh. Overtime's done and the score is still tied so we move to a shootout.

That was the most stressful part of the game. The first round, both teams score, the second round, both teams don't. We move to the third and the fourth round. I'm madly clicking the minute to minute updates and both teams are matching each other, point for point. I'm beginnig to think this game will go on forever. I'm biting my nails, yelling at the labtop (which does absolutely nothing) and scrolling down to the shootout results.

Finally, in the seventh round, we score and the US misses. I can hardly believe it. I was expecting the worst and yet here we are, third year in a row, going to the gold medal round. I'm so happy I can't stop smiling. All I really want is for us to win that third straight gold. That's all I want, for now.