[blueandwhite]

I can't believe Chelios is 44. And probably the most visible player on the team today. Exciting third period, but the Fins win- and if Canada's lucky - I mean skilled enough to get past Russia, there's their next match.

[ThePundit]

That tells you all you need to know when a 44 year old guy is the best player on your team. Although Gianta can play for me any day of the week.

The US has no excuses - they just weren't a good team.

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

Chelios had a great game today - seems like he never actually ages.

It will be interesting to see exactly what this US team looks like in four years without guys like Chelios, Guerin, and Modano, who have been around for what seems like forever.

The game today was fantastic, and I'm riding the Finland/Nitti bandwagon all the way to the gold medal.

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

The US has no excuses - they just weren't a good team.

That's exactly it. People will say they choked, which simply isn't true. People think that because we are the U.S., we are all-powerful, and if we don't medal, we obviously choked. But US hockey is in a weird place right now...they're in the midst of a changing of the guards of sorts. This year's US hockey team is a combination of the old school who are past their prime and the new school who aren't quite there yet, and together, they're really nothing more than mediocre.

[blueandwhite]

Sometimes though you can really miss the older guys. Canada sorely needs a Lemieux, an Yzerman right now. They were the huge morale boosters as well as the great players.

[anrobins]

It will be interesting to see exactly what this US team looks like in four years without guys like Chelios, Guerin, and Modano, who have been around for what seems like forever.

As great as these guys were ca. 1996 together, the future looks bright. We have some great talent in the junior ranks, as exhibited in the World Junior Tournament two years ago. Even though the tournament was largely ignored, the American team played with a lot of speed, skill, and emotion, which seems to be lacking from the U.S. team that just finished in Torino.

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

As great as these guys were ca. 1996 together, the future looks bright.

Oh, I agree! That's why right now is such a bad time for US hockey...we're between the two eras. In 4 or 8 years, I think US hockey will be in MUCH better shape than it is now.