http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?blogger_id=107Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:15:56 -0500 http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12692 NEWARK, NJ - It was an interesting and exciting first period for Panthers rookie center Shawn Matthias. Just last Saturday, Matthias was plugging along in the OHL for the Belleville Bulls. Now 6 days later he has made his NHL debut for the Florida Panthers. The 19 year old Red Wings second round pick came to Florida in the Todd Bertuzzi deal. Matthias has put up impressive numbers both home and ab Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:54:19 -0500panthers shawn matthias rookie nhl debut http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12382 I cannot tell you how good it feels to be back in the US. After 11 days of little sleep and a lot of work, it feels great just to get back and catch up on a little sleep. The weather was continually cold, and the sun only came out one day while I was there - but they say that's typical... contrary to popular belief, it wasn't me who made the clouds loom! The language barrier was definitely tough. Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:39:51 -0500wjc usa canada ruegsegger giroux weber russia http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12315 Greetings from the always cloudy and 23 degree Pardubice, Czech Republic. It's now the final day of the tournament. Anyone watching yesterday's marquee matchup between the US and Canada would have assumed that with a first shift like the one they had, the United States was going to roll to a big victory. Rhett Rakhshani, out of the University of Denver, nearly scored a goal just 10 seconds int Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:00:16 -0500relegation russia sweden usa canada wjc http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12289 PARDUBICE, CZE - Judgment day has come for the four remaining teams in the World Junior Championships in Pardubice, Czech Republic. You can bet that it will be a packed house in the CZE Arena to watch as Canada will battle the United States and Russia will battle Sweden to see who will advance to the gold medal game. Canada has had a pretty disappointing tournament - to the high Canadian standa Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:16:52 -0500 sweden russia usa canada wjc http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12251 Updates will be at the bottom. PARDUBICE, CZE - The host country of the World Junior Championships has only won the gold medal six times in the 30 year history of the tournament. Considering Canada or Soviet Union/Russia have accounted for 24 of the 30 gold medals that exist, chances are those tournaments took place in Russia or Canada. This game is easily the main draw of the tournament. Th Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:30:30 -0500czech republic russia wjc quarterfinal http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12240 Updates at the bottom. PARDUBICE, CZE - It's time for the first game of the medal round to begin here in Pardubice. After a few surprises and a big upset (see last blog), Canada will faceoff against Finland in the first game. The winner goes to face the United States in the semi-final. The media is really hyping this up that Canada is in trouble and that people should be worried that this Canad Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:56:35 -0500wjc quarterfinal finland usa canada http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12222 LIBEREC, CZE - Halfway through the World Junior Championships, a few surprises, upsets, and dominant performances have thrilled all those watching in the Czech Republic and abroad. Thankfully, from here on out, the NHL Network will carry all of the medal round games to viewers in the US. Our Canadian neighbors have had the privelege of watching most of the tournament thus far. UPSET Needless Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:44:59 -0500wjc usa sweden http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12165 Updates will be at the bottom. LIBEREC, CZE - The United States has its toughest test of the preliminary round today when they faceoff against Russia. All-time, the United States is 5-18-0 against Russia in WJC play. The last time the US beat Russia was in 2005 in the prelims - they've lost to Russia 7-2 and 5-1 most recently - though they did not play last year. The winner of this game will de Sat, 29 Dec 2007 06:57:41 -0500russia usa wjc http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12145 Updates will be at the bottom. LIBEREC, CZE - For those of you USA and prospect-heads, I will be blogging this game live for you giving you critical updates. Both teams have only played one game thus far - USA beat Kazakhstan 5-1 on Wednesday and yesterday the Swiss lost in a shootout to Finland 4-3. It was an impressive showing for the Swiss - who are 0-15-2 against the United States all time. Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:07:18 -0500usa wjc http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=12125 With the United States having today off, I caught up with a few of the players after their hour long practice. I was amazed at how humble each of these kids are -- here are some quotes. I capitalized some of the most impressive comments. Mike Carman, Forward, University of Minnesota - COL (3rd, 81) (On differences in playing at the Int'l level) "If you give up a turnover on the offensive Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:55:29 -0500world junior champions usa carman sweatt smith summers