Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter If you are a Canadian or a fan of hockey, you have taken the time to tune into the Olympic Hockey Tournament. Thus far, we are yet to witness anything that resembles a real hockey game, in fact, for the most part, we have witnessed a select few teams dismantle their opponents, most notably in the Woman’s tournament; especially Canada’s 18-0 record breaking drubbing of Slovakia. To be fair, the men’s tournament hasn’t exactly been riveting thus far either. Tuesday marked the beginning of the men’s games featuring Team USA vs. Switzerland, which, despite its 3-1 outcome, was a complete bore, followed by an 8-0 win for Canada vs. Norway and a convincing 8-2 win for the Russians over Latvia. Needless to say, if you are a fan of Russia and Canada on

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Four years after finishing an embarrassing seventh in Turin (2006), Canada’s Men’s Olympic Hockey Team started on it’s journey towards redemption in front of a capacity crowd—and the legend himself, Wayne Gretzky in attendance, in Vancouver. With the crowd decked out in a sea of red and white and the benefit of having Vancouver’s golden boy, Roberto Luongo, in between the pipes, Canada looked poised to demolish a virtually unknown Norwegian squad that primarily features players from the German, Swedish and Russian Leagues. Given Canada’s stacked lineup it is easy to understand why expectations are so high. That said, the Norwegian team has the benefit of familiarity—something Canada will have to try to develop as the Olympic Tournament goes on. It is this familiarity, combined with a defense first hockey system that much

Every four years, Canadian hockey fans wait impatiently for the announcement of Canada’s hockey roster. In the end, regardless of the names on the back of the sweaters, the expectation is always the same—a gold medal. Historically, Canada has fared well at the Olympics, but they are hardly the unbeatable force that many hockey fans label them to be. Canada’s hockey teams have a proud Olympic history, one which has seen Canada bring home two bronze medals (1956, 1968), four silver medals (1936, 1960, 1992, 1994), and seven gold medals (1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1948, 1952, 2002). A little quick math tells us that Canada has earned 13 medals in total. That means Canada failed to medal (never mind bring home the gold) on 10 occasions. What it all means is this: Regardless of expectations, Canada is no “lock” to

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Pride, determination, hustle, toughness, skill and loyalty- just a few of the characteristics that make up what it takes to be a Philadelphia Flyer. When you talk all-time rosters, the Flyers boast one of the most impressive lineups in NHL history. Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Brian Propp, Ron Hextall, Eric Desjardins, Eric Lindros, Bernie Parent and Mark Howe are just a few examples of the tremendous amount of talent the Flyers have had over the years. So, if you could turn back time, what would the Flyers all-time roster look like? Here is my take: ****Please note, all stats represent totals as a member of the Flyers, not career NHL totals- who cares what they accomplished elsewhere, right? First Line: The “LCB” Line…. Left Wing- Bill Barber: 420 goals, 883 points, a plus/minus

Heading into the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver every hockey fan has Saturday, February 21st circled on their calendar—the date Canada and team USA will clash in the preliminary round. Canada comes into the Olympic games as the team to beat. There are some that believe that the Russians, Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Team USA will give Canada a run for their money, but in the end I think the consensus will be correct with Canada front and center in the Gold Medal game. Comparatively, Team USA comes into the tournament as an underdog. Blessed with good goaltending, Team USA is regarded as one of the smallest lineups, with little depth at forward and limited offensive skills on defense. With all that in mind, let’s take a look at five reasons Canada will Beat Team USA in Men’s

The suspense is over—TSN is reporting that Ryan Getzlaf will be on Canada’s Men’s Hockey roster. Getzlaf, who had injured his ankle when he become tangled up with Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown in Monday night’s NHL tilt, underwent an MRI on Tuesday. The results of the MRI were inconclusive at the time, leading Team Canada Executive Director Steve Yzerman to ask Philadelphia Flyers forward Jeff Carter to be on standby as a possible replacement. Carter flew to Vancouver soon after the Flyers last game before the Olympic break and has since sat patiently awaiting Yzerman’s final decision. Sunday evening Getzlaf suited up for the Anaheim Ducks. It was the first game action he had seen since his injury and, by all accounts, was to be the measuring stick for which Yzerman would determine his readiness to play for