Highlights

Campus News

Wildcat Weekly Minute for Nov. 17, 2011

A look at what's happening on campus this week.

Faith

Cleansed through the Cross

Dr. Quarles speaks on the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice at weekly chapel

Sports

LC hoops teams wrap up homestand with pair of wins

Off to Ozarks, UT-Dallas next

Organizations

LC media student give to Toys for Tots

More than 100 toys will help local charity

Campus Life

February is Heart Health Awareness Month

Stay healthy and 'God Red'

Culture

All the Shakespeare you could laugh at… and more!

tlc's adaptation of 'Shakespeare Abridged' pulls out all the stops

Special Coverage

LC brings another successful ‘Follow the Star’

'Christmas on the Hill' and 'Gala' add to festive weekend

Don’t forget the offense in Olympic hockey

by J.R. Rozier

While Ryan Miller has dominated between the pipes, the American offense has led the way as well

As the United States Men's hockey team beat Finland 6-0 in the semifinal game to advance to the Gold Medal game, I began to think to myself, "why don't people believe in this offense?"

The United States is undefeated in the tournament even though they weren't even predicted to medal by most hockey analysts and experts. While these people had legitimate reasons such as the lack of experience on the team and the fact that Sidney Crosby plays for Canada and Alex Ovechkin plays for Russia, the one thing that people did not realize is that when pride comes into someone's competitive drive, especially pride in one's country, people can do unfathomable things.

In these Olympics, the United States surprised everyone outside our borders by defeating Canada 5-3. All of the hype was around the goaltender Ryan Miller as he allowed only 3 goals on 45 shots. The United States scored 5 goals on 23 shots. The criticism that the U.S. couldn't keep the puck on their end came flying in even after the amazing win.

I am not saying that Ryan Miller has not been the most influential player on the U.S., he definitely has, but the offense has been dominating. In hockey, it is impossible to win without both defense and offense working together. The Americans have done this better than anybody and that is why they are undefeated. While the U.S. only took 23 shots against Canada, they connected on more than 20% of their shots. If a team is taking a lot of shots that usually means that they are not connecting. When the U.S. has the puck on their side, they score and they have continued to do that all the way to the final.

There is no player that is scoring more frequently than others, the U.S. has played offense better than anybody expected as they tied for the most points in pool play with Canada as both teams scored 14 points in 3 games. While Miller has been excellent, the U.S. has rode their offense all the way to the final as well.

The U.S. has been perfect because of both sides. Their defense has been excellent. Their offense has been underrated and they responded by dominating every team they have played. With only the final game against Canada left, the United States will not have an easy final game. Canada is out for blood after the stunning loss. However, if Miller stays strong in the goal, the offense will score enough to bring home another gold in this Olympics.

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