Interview with Chicago Blackhawks Goalie Coach Stephane Waite

Thanks to inGoal Magazine reader Jason Power, we were able to have a quick e-mail interview with Chicago Blackhawks goalie coach Stephane Waite. In the summer, Stephane works with Jason, as the head coach at International Hockey Schools.

Stephane Waite is in his 6th season as Chicago's Goalie Coach

inGoal: What is a typical day in the life of an NHL goalie coach?

SW:

For a 7 PM game day:

8:00 AM Prepare my morning skate practice (drill for my starting goalie based off last game and extra drills for my back up goalie)

8:30 AM Watching video on visitors’ goalies.(I have to prepare a report on them for our team’s meeting and coaching staff)

9:30 AM Video session with my starting goalie ( just 10 minutes with a positive approach, usually show recent saves and good plays)

10:15 AM Goalie warm up on the ice (starting goalie)

10:30 AM Team practice (after practice, I do some extra drills with my back up goalie)

11:30 AM Watch the visitor team morning skate (watch the goalies tendencies)

5:15 PM Quick review on opponents players tendencies.

5:45 PM My goalies and I have a meeting with the penalty killers.

6:00 PM Short meeting with my starter (the 3 keys of the games. ) e.g. beat the pass , be patient , battle

7:00 PM Watch the game in the press box. Focus on my goalie,take notes, prepare my next video session and my next practice from the notes I have. Meet with the coaches between periods. I’ll talk to my goalie between periods only if I notice something very major in his game. I don’t like to bother my goalie for details because he’s in his zone.

Cristobal Huet

inGoal: What do you do on the ice with pros that young goalies should be doing?

SW: Every day I build my practice like this: I have one moving drill, one technical drill and one or two reaction drills. As a goalie coach you need to be well prepared before going on the ice.

inGoal: What are the biggest mistakes that coaches or young goalies make?

SW: The biggest mistake is to not allow enough time to work on movements. Positioning is everything for goalies. When a goalie moves well, it allows him to challenge more, to beat the pass, to be square and set, to be more patient etc. Don’t be afraid to spend time on t-glide, shuffle, long across t-push, backward, forward, recovery etc.

inGoal: Is there was one piece of advice you’d give to all young goalies?

SW: Stay on your feet as long as possible! Too many young goalies go down for nothing or too early and that’s a very bad habit. In order to play proper butterfly style, you need to be very good on how you move in net. Moving well and being patient will make your game much easier.

inGoal: Can you tell us about your development program at International Hockey Schools?

SW: We have a very good organization at IHS. We are very well prepared for each on-ice session with a high quality coaching staff. My development program is very intense with a perfect mixture of moving drills, technical drills and reaction drills. The goalie’s progression is guaranteed if the student his ready to make a good enough commitment and dedication to the week.

Thanks to Shay Haas for the photo of Cristobal Huet

Shots on Goal: Goalie Mask Photos-John Curry and Brad Thiessen, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins

During the recent game between the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins and Lowell Devils I had a chance to get some detailed shots of the Penguins’ goalie masks.

John Curry

John Curry’s mask was created by Ray Bishop. You can view more of Ray’s work at Bishop Custom Designs.

Curry (20-16-0) is currently in his third season with the Penguins and has been called up to the parent club, Pittsburgh Penguins, twice this year due to injuries to Marc-Andre Fleury.  Prior to turning pro, Curry spent his college career at Boston University where he was ranked fourth in the nation with a 2.01 goals against average, sixth with a .928 save percentage, ninth with 2,154 minutes played, and first with seven shutouts.

Goalie John Curry, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Photo by Scott Slingsby

Goalie John Curry, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Photo by Scott Slingsby

Brad Thiessen

I’m not sure who did the artwork on Thiessen’s mask, so if any of our readers know who the artist is, please drop us a line in the comment section at the end of the post.

Thiessen (6-9-1) is in his first season with WBS Penguins. He came to the Penguins after his Junior year at Northeastern University where he had a 25-12-4 record, 2.11 GAA, 3 shutouts, and a .931 save percentage. He was the 2008–09 Hockey East Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.

I had the opportunity last season to shoot one of Thiessen’s games when he was still with the Northeastern Huskies. If you’re interested in viewing  the pictures just click on the Northeastern vs Merrimack link.

Goalie Brad Thiessen, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Photo by Scott Slingsby

Goalie Brad Thiessen, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Photo by Scott Slingsby

Book Review: The Hockey Goalie’s Complete Guide by Francois Allaire

The Hockey Goalie’s Complete Guide

An Indespensible Development Plan by Francois Allaire
Firefly Books, 2009

soft cover, 175 pages – available on Amazon.com (not an affiliate link)

Firefly Books recently sent me a copy of Francois Allaire’s latest book, The Hockey Goalie’s Complete Guide: An Indispensable Development Plan to review for inGoal Magazine readers. They have also offered to give copies to two lucky readers – more on that below.

My first reaction on getting the book was one of excitement. Here is an up to date guide by the most famous goalie coach in the world. The man who popularized the butterfly with protege Patrick Roy put together a “complete guide” and it arrived in a very professionally designed package. The book is well laid out, with great visuals, on high quality stock with a title that seems to suggest it has everything you would ever want to see in a book on goaltending.

Unfortunately, the book did not at all live up to first impressions. Yet, I would still recommend it for your goaltending library. How’s that? Simply put, I think that Allaire has delivered a useful manual and the publisher has brought it out at a very affordable price (less than $14.00 on Amazon) but it is packaged it for the wrong audience.

The title of the book suggests all things for everyone – a “complete guide” – and then implies it will take a goalie through their whole career – “Indespensible Development Plan.” Very early in the first chapter the author then lays out the three distinct phases in a goalie’s development – Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Throw in a few periodization charts and the book was looking like something an advanced coach, or someone who has studied sport science, could really sink their teeth into.

When you are set up like that, the rest of the book can only seem incomplete at best, and a real disappointment at worst. The problem is that this book is quite clearly a beginners guide to goaltending, or a guide for coaches of beginners. Allaire goes no further than teaching a beginners skill set. This book is not a complete guide.

So, what makes it good? Well, as a beginners guide, if the title were more appropriate and the first chapter clearly laid it out expectations then I believe anyone who bought the book would walk away impressed. That it can be purchased for under $15, there isn’t much to lose by picking it up and having a look.

Basic positions are clearly described, basic skills are given with a significant number of drills to help a goalie, or  their coach, to work on those skills. There is also an extensive section on dry-land training.

One piece that I believe sets this book a part is the work on on-ice and off-ice evaluations. These fit perfectly with the concept of development plans. Simply introducing them and putting them in context is fantastic. Allaire could have gone much further though. The testing sections could provide some standards – what would a begginer, intermediate, advanced or pro achieve? He could also relate training suggestions to these evaluations – if you score X then you should be doing these drills or this many repetitions.

I was also very impressed by the chapters on coaching a young goalie – guidance that coaches (and parents) don’t get enough of. How to progress teaching a skill, how to communicate, how often to correct and more.

The good material in this book leaves you wanting more and the resource Allaire has compiled is a useful tool in anyone’s kit. It’s just too bad it is laid out to be something so different. You really can’t judge this book by its cover.

How to get your free copy

Firefly has offered to give one copy to each of two inGoal readers. To be eligible all you have to do is follow me on Twitter (@dhutchis – so I’ll be able to DM you if you win) and then send a Tweet about this review or any other inGoal story. Be sure to include @dhutchis with your tweet so I’ll see it. I’ll randomly select two winners and DM them – you have until 11:59 PM PST on Wednesday March 3. Only one tweet per reader is eligible.

Contest is now closed! congratulations to @SeePuckCity and @NickyRobinson our randomly chosen twitter winners! We’ll get the publishers to send out your copies ASAP.

Shots on Goal: Goalie Photos-Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins’ Brad Thiessen vs Lowell Devils’ Mike McKenna

Penguins’ goalie Brad Thiessen picked up his second shutout of the season and extended Wilkes- Barre’s winning streak to five games with a 1-0 win over the Lowell Devils.

(Click on Penguins vs Devils to view more game shots.)

Penguins Goalie Brad Thiessen

Brad Thiessen won his fourth straight for the Penguins and improved his record to 6-8-0 after stopping all 24 shots on goal. With the victory, the Penguins are 6-0-0-0 versus the Devils in the all-time series.

Penguins' goalie Brad Thiessen #39 uses the blocker to deflect a first period Devils shot. Photo by Scott Slingsby

Penguins' goalie Brad Thiessen #39 lost his stick and makes the save with his teamates smaller stick. Photo by Scott Slingsby

Devils Goalie Mike McKenna

Mike McKenna had a great game in net but unfortunately came up on the short end of the 1-0 game. McKenna turned away 20 of 21 shots on the night with the only blemish being a Luca Caputi snapshot that found the back of the net at the 5:49 mark of the third period. With the loss, McKenna’s record drops to  17-11-3.

Devils' goalie Mike McKenna #1 sends a third period rebound into the left corner. Photo by Scott Slingsby

Devils' goalie Mike McKenna #1 covers the rebound late in the the third period. Photo by Scott Slingsby

Luongo steps out Brodeur’s shadow with Olympic gold

Roberto Luongo waited his entire career for a chance to step out of the Martin Brodeur’s shadow, between the pipes and into a championship-game spotlight.

He finally got that opportunity on the Olympic stage, playing in his hometown NHL arena with local fans loudly screaming “Luuu” every time he touched the puck and an entire country holding its breath with every save he made.

Luongo took over Canada’s crease after Brodeur struggled in a 5-3 loss to the U.S. in the final preliminary game. And with national pride on the line, he won four-straight elimination games, putting the exclamation point on a gold medal with 34 saves in a memorable 3-2 overtime victory over the U.S. on Sunday.

“You work your whole life for a moment like this and it’s great to get rewarded,” Luongo told inGoal after speaking to the rest of the media, his voice cracking as he fought back tears. “There are so many thoughts going through my head, thinking about so many people that helped me out along the way.”

None of those thoughts were of the many that questioned his ability to win a big game. The answer was hanging from his neck Sunday.

“I’ll leave it up to you guys to be the judge of that,” Luongo said when asked what the win meant for his legacy. “But I got a gold medal around my neck and nobody can take that away from me.”

Some were already trying to tarnish it a little.

American forward Ryan Kesler, a teammate with the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL, said during the game Luongo was fighting the puck, and predicted a tying goal. That Luongo had little chance when that goal came with 24.4 seconds left to play didn’t seem to matter.

Many wondered why he couldn’t squeeze a shot a short while earlier, with the puck bouncing out of his glove and starting a scramble that eventually led to Zach Parise jamming in a deflection rebound. (Maybe it was that new glove mandated by the IIHF, a rule that saved Canada a game earlier).

“I’m wearing gold. I really don’t care what they think,” Luongo told a large media scrum, bristling at the question. “Are you kidding me?”

Despite the medal, Luongo was compared unfavorably to Olympic MVP Ryan Miller, who was again brilliant for the U.S. But tough comparisons are nothing new.

He was raised in the same Montreal neighborhood as Brodeur, and their parents still bump into each other at the deli. Brodeur, who leads the NHL in career wins and shutouts, had a local arena named for him in 2000. Luongo’s name went on another nearby rink last summer.

While Brodeur racked up victories, shutouts and Stanley Cups in New Jersey, Luongo was stuck on bad teams in New York and Florida.

Luongo emerged as a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2004, but lost the award for the NHL’s top goalie to Brodeur and was dogged by questions about why he couldn’t get Florida into the playoffs.

Luongo finally answered the postseason questions after being traded to Vancouver, leading the Canucks to the playoffs and matching an NHL record with 47 wins in 2006-07. But Brodeur won 48 games to set a new record in New Jersey and beat him out for another Vezina.

Even Luongo’s World Championship success — gold in 2003 and 2004 — came because Brodeur was still in the playoffs with New Jersey. And Brodeur got Canada’s starting job during the NHL lockout in 2005.

After Brodeur got hurt at the 2004 World Cup, Luongo stepped in and beat the Czech Republic in the semifinals. But Brodeur healed in time to take back the net for the title game. Luongo was back on the bench behind him for all but two games at the 2006 Games in Turin, and riding pine again in Vancouver for all but the first game, a token start for local fans in a 8-0 romp over Norway.

After Brodeur stumbled here, though, Babcock made it clear Canada was Luongo’s to lead, putting the weight of a nation’s expectations on the broad shoulders of the 6-foot-3 stopper. But even after wins over Germany, Russia and Slovakia, including a sprawling game-saving stop on Pavol Demitra with eight seconds left, Luongo faced questions.

Memories of his last playoff meltdown were as close as the American bench after U.S forward Patrick Kane reminded the media he’d scored three of seven on Luongo during an elimination game last season.

Kane said Luongo was a “goalie he wouldn’t mind facing,” and seemed to back it up by setting up both goals Sunday. But he never got another chance before Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal, allowing Luongo to enjoy one more special moment with the home crowd.

After accepting his medal, Luongo stepped forward and acknowledged the fans, holding up his finger to match the No. 1 on his jersey as they again screamed “Luuuuu!”

It was music to the ears of Kane’s Chicago Blackhawks’ teammate Jonathan Toews.

“I told him I was kind of sick and tired of the chants when Chicago would come here to Vancouver,” the Canadian forward said. “But it never sounded better than tonight. He was amazing for us.”

“I just wanted to give back a little,” added Luongo of the celebration. “This medal is not only for myself, but for Canada and the people of Vancouver and the fans who have supported me since the first day I got here.”

Especially the ones that did so without question.

Kevin Woodley is a rec-league target and former contributing editor of the Goalie News magazine. He has written about the Vancouver Canucks and NHL for The Associated Press, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and The Hockey News for the last decade, and is currently at the Olympics for AP.

Olympic Final Post-Game Interviews with Roberto Luongo and Ryan Miller

See Kevin’s latest story on the game, just published this morning.

Check out our pre-game interviews with Roberto and Ryan as well.

Roberto Luongo

An obviously emotional Roberto Luongo was fighting back tears as he spoke with inGoal’s Kevin Woodley after the Gold Medal Game.

inGoal: How does it feel to be an Olympic Champion?

“it’s unreal. You work your whole life for a moment like this and it’s great to get rewarded.”

inGoal: What happened with the Pavelski shot in overtime?

“He got the puck in the slot and I knew he was going to shoot it right away by the spin-o-rama move he made. I was able to get an elbow on it and it stayed in front of me and kept the play going.”

inGoal: This was your first chance to be the go to guy on such a big stage?

“Right now there is so many thoughts going through my head, and thinking about so many people that helped me out along the way and it’s just a great feeling.”

inGoal: What did you think of Ryan Miller’s performance?

“He played unreal, he’s been playing unreal all year, giving his team a chance to win every night and as a goaltender that’s what you have to do.”

inGoal: What now?

“I just want to get back to the locker room and enjoy it with teammates and can’t wait to see my family.”

Ryan Miller

inGoal: How are you feeling now?

“I’m just very frustrated. We got ourselves in a position to win from two goals down and sudden death kind of stings, especially in this situation.”

inGoal: You had a great tournament though…

“I was happy, proud, the way I handled myself these two weeks.”

inGoal: Despite how it ended, you must be leased with what your team accomplished?

“We have every component to win, it just came down to OT.”

inGoal: What happened on the wining goal?

“The puck got caught up in the ref’s feet or somebody’s feet against the half wall and that spun our guys around for a second. Sidney as walking out as a lefty there and I thought he had his head down for a second but he got his head up right as I was going to make him make a decision. I’ve been aggressive all tournament and I wasn’t going to change my game just because we were in overtime.”

“I knew we lost. You just feel like s—.”

Before meeting with Kevin, Roberto also met with the general media group answering questions from the “scrum.”

What was that like?

“That was real fun. Not the last 20 seconds of the third, but the feeling that goes through your body when Sid scores like that, it’s unreal.”

Did you see Crosby’s goal?

“I didn’t know for sure. it was a sharp angle. But I’ve seen that release before and it’s hard to pick up, obviously when you shoot it quick like that it’s hard to close it.”

Were you surprised it was Sidney?

“It was fitting that Sid would get it. I couldn’t think of someone better who could put this in for us.”

What were you going through during the tying goal?

“It was disappointing. I thought we were so close to getting it there. It was bang-bang play. I made the first save and the puck ended up on his stick. He banged it home. But once we got back in the locker rooom, it was important to refocus. Not only for myself but for my teammates. We did that and played a great overtime.”

What was it like putting on a gold medal?

“It’s unreal. I worked hard my whole life for something like this and it’s nice to get rewarded. This medal is not only for myself but it’s for Canada and the people of Vancouver and the fans who have supported me since the first day I got here.”

The Americans, including your teammate, said you were fighting the puck. Did you feel that way?

“I’m wearing gold, I really don’t care what they think. Are you kidding me?”

What does this do for your legacy?

“I’ll leave it up to you guys, you guys can be the judge of that. But I got a gold medal around my neck and nobody can take that away from me.”

What about the skate around the ice during the medal ceremony?

“I had to pay a little bit back. They’ve been supporting me these two weeks. Obviously, they’ve been tremendously loud every time I touched the puck. I just wanted to give back a little.”

What’s next?

“I’m going to go and enjoy in the locker room with my buddies here who i’m going to have a bond with the rest of our lives. Then I’m going to spend some nice family time with all the people who came to see me.”

“What’s this week been like?”

“I had a blast this whole week. I think I came in with the right mindset and I enjoyed every minute of it. To have win it in overtime is an unreal feeling.”

Canada’s and Luongo’s Olympics saved by IIHF-mandated equipment change

See also – inGoal interviews with Roberto Luongo and Ryan Miller

Luongo’s Interpretation of IIHF Rulebook may have resulted in game-saving stop on Demitra

Roberto Luongo’s sprawling glove stab off Slovakia’s Pavol Demitra on Friday night may yet go down as the stop of the Olympics for Canada, a game-saving act of desperation that left an entire nation holding its breath and put them into the gold-medal game.

As nice as Luongo’s save was – a mirror image of the egregiously soft sharp-angle goal that made it necessary – it came with an unlikely assist.

Turns out Luongo might not have made the stop, and Canada might not be playing for gold, if not for an odd International Ice Hockey Federation equipment rule that forced him to swap out his usual Reebok glove for an earlier model.

Only his puck-stopping peers may have noticed this, but Luongo has switched from the Reebok P3 glove he wears with the Canucks to a P2 with Team Canada.

The Reebok P3 - Luongo's preferred glove that he was not permitted to use at the Olympics due to the one piece cuff.

The Reebok P2 Luongo was forced to switch to this model for the Olympics because it has a separate cuff

When inGoal magazine asked Luongo about the switch after practice Saturday, he said it was because IIHF rules mandated a separate cuff on the glove, which the new one-piece P3 does not have. And while a review of the IIHF rulebook didn’t make that clear beyond showing a picture of a cuffed glove – after all the pads they showed were from the late-90s and would have worked only for Martin Brodeur – Luongo’s interpretation may have saved Canada.

You can see the P3 here in the first game Luongo wore the new gear he intended to wear in the Olympics

You can see clearly the P2 in action here

How? Because the one-piece P3 cuff curves down from the thumb towards the bottom of the wrist, while the P2 cuff runs straight across from the cuff. So where did Luongo point when he was asked Saturday where Demitra’s shot hit him? To the top of the cuff, near the thumb, a space that wouldn’t have been filled by his usual P3 blocker.

Did it make all the difference? Tough to say, but looking where Luongo pointed and considering how little he got of that shot, it seems likely.

“Yeah, it was a reaction,” Luongo said of the save. “After the first save, when I looked over I saw one of their players and I just tried to get as much as I could across. Luckily, it hit the cuff of my glove.”

Luck – and a fateful interpretation of the IIHF rule book.

USA, Canada get inside scouting reports on Luongo, Miller

American forward Patrick Kane fired the first salvo at Canadian goaltender Roberto Luongo as early as Friday afternoon, saying after scoring twice in the U.S. romp over Finland, “that’s a goaltender I wouldn’t mind facing again.”

Kane, of course, scored three times to knock Luongo and the Canucks out of the second round of last year’s playoffs, a loss that added to a can’t-win-the-big-game reputation for the Team Canada stopper, who took months to get over it.

In fact, Luongo may not be over it yet.

“If he’s got a book, good for him,” Luongo bristled when Kane’s comments were relayed after the win over Slovakia. “I’m just going to play my position.”

Exactly how both Luongo and U.S. counterpart Ryan Miller play their positions was a big topic of conversation on the eve of Sunday’s showdown for gold. The U.S. exploited Canadian legend Martin Brodeur’s old-school stand up style with shots along the ice in a 5-3 win a week earlier, thanks in large part to the scouting of current and former Devils teammates Brian Rafalski, Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner. One of Luongo’s teammates sees a similar possibility.

“He has a couple areas I think we can exploit and I’m sure not going to keep any secrets,” Canucks and U.S. forward Ryan Kesler said of Luongo, who isn’t always at his best on plays from along and below the goal line. “It looked like he was cheating on the one, so maybe we’ll be throwing sharp-angle shots at the net.”

As for Miller, it’s clear the Canadians, whose coaching staff includes his Buffalo Sabres bench boss Lindy Ruff, plan to get a lot more bodies in front of and on top of the slightly built U.S. star. And while that may seem like a standard NHL response to any goaltender on a hot streak, in this case it’s driven by a scouting report that Miller likes to play aggressively out of his crease, and has been using the larger IIHF blue ice to do so even more.

While many goalies use a “heels out” philosophy (heels of the skates on the edge of the crease) to establish initial depth, Miller takes it out even further. And that is something the Canadians want to target by pushing him back towards his goal line, just as they did to Slovakia’s Jaroslav Halak on Friday by getting bodies to the net, eliminating his reaction advantage by making it tough to see and making him play down to his 5-foot-10 size with tips and deflections.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re real strong in our own net and then we’ve got to go get him,” said Canadian coach Mike Babcock. “We need traffic and we’ve got to go get him. We have to be at the net, we have to get more second chances. We didn’t have enough hard chances against them (in the last game against the U.S. last Sunday. We never got into their D enough and spent a lot of time around the front of their net. Just make it harder. The chances we had looked like good chances, but on good goalies when they are in the zone, you are not going to score unless you have traffic or second opportunities.”

Canada’s Babcock not shying away from Luongo’s defining moment

Rather than try to ease the pressure of erasing Luongo’s not-a-big-game-goalie reputation, Canadian coach Mike Babcock wants his goalie to embrace it.

“Lou’s got to be good tomorrow, he knows that,” said Babcock. “It’s interesting, we all have these opportunities in our careers to make a name for ourselves and he has that opportunity. Some people might think that’s pressure. I think it’s just the opposite. Why wouldn’t you want to be great? He’s a great big man, this is his home building, he’s got to love it when they go “Loo” like that. I would. I think he’ll be great. Be good tomorrow, have fun, just enjoy the opportunity.”

Roberto Luongo Interview before the Olympic Gold Medal Game

"I'm less than 24 hours away and I'm just excited and getting ready to go."

What about the early start?

“It’s an early start so it’s a bit different, I’m going to get up early have a nice breakfast and pretty much head to the rink right away. Not much time to sit on it, so that’s a good thing. Get to the rink early and start preparing. Making sure, once the puck drops I’m ready to go.”

Will you see your wife?

“Not tomorrow morning for sure. Probably after. In a moment like this, it’s such a big opportunity you have to make sure your intentions are on the game and you’re fully focused.”

Have you thought about that last save Friday night on Pavol Demitra?

“Yeah, the fact that it’s Demo makes it so much better. I can’t wait to see him on Tuesday (laughing). It was great, it is for moments like that you play the game. When you’re a kid in the streets you play for moments like that. You try to imitate those moments and I’m happy something like that happened.

Why were you laughing with Demitra at the handshake?

“That’s the whole thing. I didn’t know it was him. That was my reaction when he told me he was the guy who shot that puck. I was kind of surprised and that’s why we started laughing there.”

What are your thoughts on facing a sizzling Ryan Miller?

“He’s playing great, but I’m not worried about Ryan Miller, I’m worried about their forwards and their D-men. That’s my job, to make sure I stop those guys. I can’t control the way Ryan plays. He’s been playing great. We got to make sure we do a good job on him tomorrow.”

What Challenges do the US team present?

“They play a North American style. They go north-south, they will throw some pucks and bodies at the net, point shots, screens and tips, all that kind of stuff, it’s NHL style hockey and obviously it’s something I’m used to.”

Do you understand the magnitude of this game in Canada?

“Right now, it’s like you are in a bubble. You don’t realize certain things. But for me personally, I’m excited to play. It’s a great game. It’s a lot of fun, it’s an unbelievable stage. This is what you work your whole career for.”

What did you think of Marty being the starter when this began?

“Like I said the first day I got here, I’m here to help the team the best way I can and that’s been my mindset all along.”

Are you shocked it’s you now?

“I didn’t expect anything coming in here, I just wanted contribute to the team. There’s always a possibility, you know in the past, I’ve been on Team Canada before and twice there have been injuries and I had to go in. So, you just have to stay ready and never know what can happen. At the end of the day, I had the right mindset coming in and hopefully after tomorrow it all works out.”

You’ve called this fun — have these tense moments always been that way?

“Those are the best moments. Those are what define goaltenders in a way. Being such a big stage–the Olympics at home in Vancouver–the whole setup is what made it so much fun.”

What’s it like stepping out on the ice to that sea of red sweaters?

“It’s fun. You come out on the ice and you see everyone screaming, wearing red. It gets the guys going even more. It’s fun to be part of something like that, in an experience we will probably never get to live again. So I’m just looking forward to tomorrow and the craziness of the building.”

Ryan Miller Interview before the Olympic Gold Medal Game

Ryan Miller caught the same flight to Vancouver with his Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff, and even bought him a McDonald’s sausage ‘n egg mcmuffin at the airport. But the friendliness ended there.

“I told him that was the last favor I was going to do him,” Miller said. True to his word, he was the difference in the preliminary round as he stopped 42 shots en route to a 5-3 win over Ruff’s Team Canada. He’ll need to be on top of his game once again to lead the U.S. to gold in the final against Canada.

Here are the rest of Miller’s thoughts on the day before facing Canada for gold:

You grew up and now live near the border, so do you know more about rivalry?

“All the guys in the U.S. room, we’ve all been there, we’ve all played in Canada. I remember as a kid going into tournaments and you are 11, 12, 13 years old and (pauses to laugh) you got the Canadian parents yelling at you.”

What role will the last game against Canada play in this one?

“It was a turning point for both teams. We got some extra positive energy from it, maybe got some confidence. And it kind of jolted them awake and they smoked two really solid teams and held on against a very talented Slovakia team.”

What is your approach to such a big game?

“It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s a big game but it doesn’t change the way we play. It’s a hockey game, it’s ice, it’s a puck, the kind of stuff we’ve done for years. Just going to go out and hopefully tie my skates on the right way and play a hockey game. It’s something we do every day. I’m just going to try and have fun with it. It is a great chance.”

What do you think of all the back and forth about who is favored?

“I don’t think anyone is picking for this one, are they? I guess things have changed a little bit but we’re not going to have a whole lot of fans here in this country. We’re working to something no one thought we could do. I just like how it all kind of spins around in circles. It’s really funny. They’ve played some good teams and won, we’ve played some good teams and won. It’s the end of the tournament and I don’t think anybody should be underdog or overdog.”

You’re listed as weighing 175 pounds, but that seems high?

“It’s less than that for sure, especially this tournament. I’m like 170, 172. In the summers I’m not bad, like 176, 177. If I really pushed it, I could really get up there, but what I do doesn’t really line up. All those fad diets, just throw 25 pounds of gear on and work out for three hours a day, you are going to be skinny. I stopped worrying about it. My body works for what I do. I’m in pretty good shape so I’m not worried about being thin, being skinny. If I get pushed around I know how to survive and I am strong enough to do my job and if anybody if coming at me or hitting me I know how to survive out there. I’m never going to be a big person. I’m always going to be tall and skinny so I need to maintain my body that way. It’s been a slow thing. Every year you find something that works for you and you tweak it.”

Luongo talked about having fun, that it wasn’t like Stanley Cup run?

“In a way I’m not sure quite how I feel. Whatever happens is going to happen. You have to accept that. It doesn’t mean I don’t try my hardest. I put my best out there and accept that at end of night if I’ve done my best I can feel good. I think that’s what he is getting at. He’s just going out, playing the best he can and whatever happens, happens. He’s having fun with it and I feel that to a degree. Just trying to enjoy every moment of it.”

Where does your calm demeanor come from?

“I’m getting older I guess. As much as is made about a goaltender stealing big games, playing well in a tournament, a goaltender really does reflect his team and if you guys really sit down and break down our film, you can see our team is playing really well. Prime example is last game against Finland. We’ve cleaned up some of the neutral zone stuff, the rush stuff was basically our forwards were getting anxious and trying to make plays. We’ve got a third guy who has been more responsible and we’ve had a lot more puck control. We’ve done well in our D zone, we’ve been desperate, our penalty killing has been good. So the poise comes from having a group of guys. It’s been a lot of fun to play with and we keep it very positive from the top down, from management to coaches. So you just kind of come in and it just feels good to go out and play.”

Did you play this game as a kid?

“I don’t know, there were all kinds of different games, Game 7 Stanley Cup, Michigan State University, CCHA championships, and the Olympics was obviously big. I got to watch a few of those as a kid. It’s exciting to be in it.”

Can you compare this to the Stanley Cup playoffs?

“I don’t know, we’ll see. So far it’s just been a lot of fun. I don’t know why, I’ve just felt really comfortable that things are going to work out the way they are supposed to work out and just going to go out and play hockey and do my job. Sometimes in the past for me it’s been playoffs are every other day and you play three, four good games you are barely through a series. This environment it is a little bit more night to night so it’s hard to predict how it’s going to shake out so you just kind of let yourself go and say whatever happens, happens and now were are here in the final game and you try to carry that feeling forward.”

There is lots of talk about getting more traffic, do you rely on teammates to stop it?

“Even they can’t really stop it nowadays. We’re not getting interference calls now. It’s up to the referees to watch the crease. We’ll see how the international rules affect it because they can be in the crease and get a warning and if something happens it’s not necessarily a waved off goal. We’ll see how they handle things. I’m sure the ref will be well aware of what’s going on because they came hard to the net in all their games.”

How important is this game, this rivalry, for the sport in the U.S.?

“It’s great for the sport. They are two countries with a lot of interest in the game and obviously in Canada it can define the sports culture. In the United States we are hoping to grow the game and a situation like this is a prime example of that. We have a venue, we have the attention, we’re going to try to make the most of it, not only for ourselves but because USA Hockey has a chance to expand and reach new households and create some more fans and maybe kids take interest and want to play.”

Luongo denies Demitra to clinch semi-final and gets a chance for payback

Last night’s semi-final was looking like it would be a relatively easy win for Canada – the Slovaks only threw nine shots at goaltender Roberto Luongo through two periods as Canada grabbed a 3-0 lead. But Luongo had to come up with a remarkable desperation glove save on Canucks teammate Pavol Demitra in the final seconds to preserve Canada’s 3-2 semi-final win and move his team into the Olympic final on Sunday.

The two embraced in the hand shake line, obviously recounting the play that will get talked about for some time in the Canucks locker room. “Oh, man! I can’t believe he made that save,” Demitra said, minutes after the finish. “I was sure it was going to go in.”

Asked what went on between them Luongo added, “He said a couple of words that I can’t repeat. I can tease him about it once it’s all said and done.”

Tomorrow, Luongo will face Ryan Miller and the Americans getting an opportunity for payback in a couple of ways.

It may not have been Luongo in net when Team USA beat Canada in the preliminary round but you can bet he and his teammates want to avenge that loss.They’d love to win what coach Mike Babcock was calling “the rubber match” yesterday. “They won the World Juniors, we won the women’s gold and here’s the rubber right here. They have a young team over there and they’ve done a good job and their goaltender is outstanding. I was asked a long time before this tournament, who are you nervous about? I always say the best goalie always makes you nervous. And I think that kid has been really good for them.”

But for Luongo personally, it is also a special opportunity. Rightly or wrongly he is getting the tag of a goalie who has yet to win the big game. Tomorrow gives him that the chance to do just that, while extracting a bit of personal revenge. He’ll face down American Patrick Kane who had his number scoring on three of four shots as Kane’s Chicago Blackhawks eliminated Luongo’s Canucks in game six of the Western Conference Semi-Final last spring.

But now isn’t the time to dwell on the past. Luongo was none too pleased and left quickly when asked if Kane had anything on him – “If he’s got a book (on me), good for him.”

Kane, on the other hand, was happy to talk about the last time the two faced each other in a big game – perhaps even offering a nice quote for the Canadian locker room as motivation, “I’ve had my luck against him, personally. So he’s a goalie I wouldn’t mind facing.”

Less than 24 hours from now we’ll see who gets the last laugh.