Tuesday night marked the last elite-level hockey game played for the foreseeable future. Only hours after Canada defeated Finland 3-2 in the World Cup of Hockey championship game in Toronto, National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announced an indefinite lockout on behalf of the league’s board of governors.

Ironically, the second ever World Cup tournament was a collaborative project between the NHL and its players association — two sides that cannot agree on a new collective bargaining agreement under which to begin next season.

Team Canada was the favorite coming into the tournament because of its all-star roster stacked with speed, size, scoring ability and top-flight goaltenders.

Finland surprised most observers by reaching the finals, but they out-muscled and out-goaltended all opposition up to the final. Wingers Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu provided the scoring punch for the second-place squad.

Team U.S.A. did not have the highest expectations coming into the tournament due to a goaltending void left by the retirement of legend Mike Richter. However, replacement Robert Esche proved to be more than capable.

Ultimately, team U.S.A. was sent home after losing a nail-biting semifinal 2-1 to a group of Finns who played a determined game in front of their unflappable netminder Mikka Kipprussoff.

U.S.A. was the defending World Cup champion after their 1996 victory. They decided to come with a roster that did not look very different from that championship edition. In hindsight, some youth would have helped the Americans. While the names and faces may be the same, these are not the same players who won eight years ago performance-wise.

While it may have not generated much interest in the lower 48, the World Cup tournament was a display of hockey at its best. Fans got to see the distinct difference in style between the finesse of the Europeans and the rugged play of the North Americans. The Russians amazed with their speed and skill and the Czechs played exceptionally well despite the death of their head coach Ivan Hlinka in an automobile accident weeks before the tournament. Canada demonstrated mastery in all aspects of the game.

If a tournament of the best players in the world playing for national pride could not generate major interest in the United States, it makes one wonder what Bettman and his board of governors expect to see when all is said and done with the work stoppage they are so cavalierly heading into. Not many people down here will even notice that the NHL is gone, so good luck getting them to notice when the game finally comes back.
World Roundup

By Vlado Pupinoski

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