First Day of Games

Today the tournament officially started.  This morning we had a quick skate to help get the legs loose.  While on the ice we had a little relay race - the referee's vs the linesman.  I'm happy to report that the linesman won this round!  After our skate we had breakfast prior to our meeting.  I was pretty psyched to see they had hard boiled eggs - it makes me feel like I'm at home.  After breakfast we had our meeting where we reviewed some of the rules as well as went over the schedule.  During the meeting we also received some of our equipment.  At the higher level tournaments, the IIHF supplies you with equipment and clothing.  At this tournament we received a helmet and visor as well as a jersey. We are also supposed to be getting a track suit and coat but apparently all of that stuff is being held up at customs in Prague. This may sound great but unfortunately none of the equipment fits!  The jersey I got looks like a dress on me and the helmet doesn't fit my head well.  I brought all of my own stuff, however because of sponsorship rules I have to wear the helmet they provided (CCM is the sponsor and I have a Bauer).  I was able at least cover the logo on my own jersey and wear that - if I had to wear the jersey they provided I would have looked ridiculous!  I also had to cover the logo on my pants (Bauer) since they aren't one of the sponsors.  Apparently the same rules apply for the teams and they can be fined huge amounts if they wear any unapproved logos.  Who would have thought they would be so strict on that stuff!

The other thing that happened at the meeting was we got our money for the week.  At these tournaments you are supposed to get half of the money in Swiss Francs and the other half in the local currency, however here they gave us everything in Swiss Francs.  This presents a little bit of a problem because all of the banks are closed because of the holidays and I have no Czech Koruna.  I'm hoping the banks are open on Monday so I can get some cash!  Most places take credit card but I definitely could use some cash so I can buy little things like Diet Coke - I think I'm going through withdraw right now!

There were 4 games today - two in Zlin and two in Prerov.  I was assigned the first game in Prerov, Canada vs. Switzerland with Malin from Sweden and Michaela from the Czech Republic (I'll do a post on all of the officials later).  I was expecting a blow out so I was really surprised when the first period ended and the score was 2-1.  I think the Canadians were a bit surprised as well with how much of a fight the Swiss put up because after the 1st period they came out flying.  The final score ended up being 13-1 and the shots were 72-26.  It is sometimes tough to stay focused in a game like that but I think as a crew did a good job overall.  It certainly helped that we were in front of a big, animated crowd.  The arena in Prerov holds approximately 3000 people.  The official attendance on the scoresheet was 1400 but I think there was probably closer to 1800 people - the building was definitely more than half full. 

After the game Malin and I showered and came back to the hotel to have a late (4:30) lunch. Michaela had to stay in Prerov because she was the standby linesman for the next game.  The arena here in Zlin is only a 5-10 minute walk from our hotel so we decided to head over and watch the USA vs Russia game at 5:00.  The US dominated that game as well, winning 8-0.  That said, the Russians came in to the tournament as the lowest ranked team and they looked a lot better than I expected.

Now we are relaxing back at the hotel until dinner at 9:00.  I'm not sure if we will do anything for New Years Eve or not - and quite honestly I don't know if I'll even be able to stay up until midnight!  I'm definitely still feeling the jet lag!  Tomorrow we don't have to skate in the morning, the first thing we have is a meeting at 10:00 so I'm hopeful I can get a good nights sleep and get all caught up.  Tomorrow afternoon I'm working here in Zlin - Russia vs Czech.  These two teams should be very evenly match and are both coming off of losses so I'm sure they will play desperate hockey.  I'm working with the two Finns during that game, Anu and Anna.   I'm also the standby linesman for the later game, USA vs Sweden in Zlin so I will be spending my entire day at the rink.

Have a happy and safe New Years!