IIHF World Hockey Championship

Playoff Season, a time that everyone, fans and players alike, lives for. But when it comes down to it only sixteen teams make the playoffs. After a long season, the players on those fourteen other teams are done playing, just like that, or so it seems…

The IIHF World Hockey Championships, one of the many tournaments which the International Ice Hockey Federation runs throughout the year. Never heard of it? It’s because it happens at the same time as the NHL Playoffs. It’s a tournament where players gain experience that might be that edge to get them on an Olympic team, or just simply a place to play for your country for those who will never get a chance at the Olympics.

The World Championships are special for those who play and watch them, however this year they are even more special and note just because it is the IIHF’s 100^th anniversary. ‘And what can be more special than that,’ you might ask. Well, for the first time ever the championship is being held in the birth place of hockey, Canada.

In just under a week, 24 games have been played in Halifax and Quebec City. For any hockey fan in either of these cities, it’s like heaven. The biggest game in the tournament so far, could not have come at a better time for the IIHF.

Rivals in not only hockey, but just about anything you can think of, Canada and the USA. This game, which gave Canada their first really test, happened in the layoff between rounds 2 and 3 of the NHL Playoffs, and what a game it was. The Canadians were outplayed by the Americans for much of the game but were able to squeak by with 5-4 victory powered by the amazing play of the young goaltender from the Carolina Hurricanes, Cam Ward, and game winning goal by Dany Heatley, of the Ottawa Senators, who were swept in the first round by the Penguins.

Starting this later this week will be the Qualification round, which will decide which teams move on to the quarter finals. From there fans can sit back and see who are the worlds best, just about the same time we could be finding out which teams have survived the conference finals is going to play for the Stanley Cup.

The next time you are wondering how Shane Doan, Rick Nash, or Jay Bouwmeester are doing on the golf course, you really should be wondering how they are doing for Team Canada and that is every easy to check, just flip on TSN.

--kp

KP has done a wonderful job watching the World Championships, and obviously has too much time on her hands, but there is one thing I can add: Cam Ward is in fact Canadian (from Sherwood Park, Alberta actually) and not American like I had previously chosen to believe. In my defense, "Cam Ward" sounds very American to me... Crap, I lose.

-kc