Olympic Hockey Quarterfinals

Ice hockey is big in the Czech Republic. And everyone here is hoping for an Olympic medal from Vancouver. The team ranks sixth in the International Hockey Federation rankings. Sixteen of the teams' players are in the NHL, including captain Patrik Eliáš.

In 1998, at the Nagano Games, the Czechs won the gold medal and the entire country went crazy. I've got to admit that it would be very cool to see something like that. The team won the bronze in the 2006 Torino Olympics.

Well the Czechs are off to a good start so far. In the opening match against Slovakia the Czechs won 3-1. Can you say rivalry? They then beat Latvia 5-2 but lost 2-4 to Russia. They came back last night to beat Latvia again, 3-2, to make it to the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinals start today. The USA goes up against Switzerland while the Czechs take on Finland. The winners of these matches will fight it out in the semifinals to make it into the finals. Yes, I really want the Czechs to do well but I still have to root for the USA. I hope they both make it to the semis on Friday. Although, work on Monday should be fun because my colleages will either be really happy or really upset.
EDIT: I hope I didn't jinx it for the Czechs because they lost to Finland and are out of the medals. But Slovakia beat Sweden so they have a chance at a medal. Now the USA just needs to beat Finland to make it to the gold medal match tonight. Go USA!!!