JB:s Daren och Dave spelar VM

Här har vi följt JB:s och USA:s Daren och Dave i deras framfart i VM 2010.
Bandy VM spelas i år i Moskva, Ryssland

Spelschema mm. hittar ni här...

Resultat:
 
24/1 USA - Norge 5-10 (2-2) 1 mål och 2 assist av Daren Richardson / se matchrapporten här...

25/1 Sverige - USA 14-6 (7-2) 3 mål av Daren Richardson / se matchrapporten här...

26/1 Finland - USA 13-2 (3-2) 1 mål av Daren Richardson / se matchrapporten här...

27/1 Ryssland - USA 19-5 (15-3) 1 mål och 2 assist av Daren Richardson / se matchrapporten här...

28/1 USA - Kazakstan 4-9 (0-5) 1 mål och 1 assist av Daren Richardson / se matchrapporten här...

30/1 USA - Canada 9-6 (3-1) 1 mål och 2 assist av Daren Richardson / se matchrapporten här...

Vinsten mot Canada innebär att USA spelar i A-gruppen nästa VM också.

Här en lite sammanfattning från D and D i Moskva:
(Dave and Daren in Moscow)

Day 1 - Flying from Stockholm to Moscow instead of Minneapolis to Moscow is great. The rest of the guys from back home have a very long day of travel. Not to mention it's really hard to adjust to the 9 hour time difference. Driving from the Moscow airport to the hotel you get an idea of how big the city is and how many people live here. The roads are absolutely packed with cars and the city seems to go on forever. On our way to the hotel, because there was so much traffic, we had to go straight to the rink for our only practice of the week. We didn't have much time to get ready and we had to get on old ice that they didn't resurface. In practice Team USA did not look good, but what can you expect after most of the guys have been traveling for 20 hours. It was a little worrying thinking that the next day we had to play Norway, the team we have the best chance to beat.

Day 2 - Hotel and food are great. In past VM trips to Russia the hotels and food have always been pretty rough. The guys usually lose a kilo or two on the trip. However, this year it will be hard to lose weight! Later in the day we attend the opening ceremonies, which are interested but not very exciting. We play Norway at 8:30 and everyone is excited. The arena is great (maybe a bit warm though and the ball is pretty bouncy) and the ice is perfect for the game. We look a little unorganized at the beginning of the game, but that is to be expected as it's the first time we have all played together. As the game goes on we play better and better. Norway scores first but shortly after we tie it up 1-1. After 20 minutes we start to "get our legs" and play pretty well. The first half ends at 2-2. The second half we play even better creating a lot of chances. They also create some chances but they are turned away by our 46 year old goalie who hasn't stood in goal for 10 years. We go up 3-2 after 60 minutes. After we get the lead we lose a bit of our discipline on defense and they start to create more and more chances. It is now obvious that we are just too tired to keep up with them. Back home the games only play 50 minute games. We are dead tired but don't give up even after they take the lead but 3. We continue to play well but just can't keep up with them and the game ends 10-5. It's frustrating after the game because they are probably the only team we can beat. But it's encouraging because we played pretty well and good a great job of playing as a team. Fullback Dave Plaunt said after the game "I think we had enough skill to beat them, but we just run out of gas towards the end of the game. It was a little disappointing to lose, but we scored 5 goals and it feels pretty good to score that many goals in an A-pool game."

Day 3 - It's obvious Monday morning that the game against Norway took a lot out of us. The guys look very tired in the morning after playing a longer game than we have played all year. It doesn't get any easier though as we have Sweden on the schedule tonight. Everyone is very excited about playing the defending world champions. Especially Dave and I because we play in Sweden. At the game Sweden doesn't show up on the ice for warm-ups. I think this is very disrespectful and shows a lack of class. Anyway, to the game. Thankfully we won the coin toss because after that we didn't touch the ball for about 6 minutes. Sweden skated around and moved the ball very well. They team speed is absolutely amazing, and it makes it clear how far behind our bandy program is (Sweden does have a 100 year head start). They score first but we tie it up 1-1. We manage to contain them pretty well the first half, which ends 2-7. The second half we play even better and create a lot of scoring chances. The game ends 6-14. It was clear Sweden didn't take us very seriously, but it still felt good to score 6 and play so well as a team against them. It's not often you get a chance to compete against the world champions in anything. "They were obviously incredibly talented and they moved the ball so well. Team USA has come a long way over the years, we played really hard and managed to put in several goals. It was a good learning experience and a lot of fun playing against the best players in the world," Dave said after the game. Next up: Finland.

Day 4 - Today we have Finland on the schedule. It feels as though the team isn't as excited to play today. Norway was a team we could beat, and Sweden are the World Champions, but Finland is a little less interesting for us. Having said that, Finland is VERY good. They obviously aren't on the level of Sweden or Russia, but they are still very good and miles ahead of us. The game didn't start too well for Team USA. Finland scored in the first minute but we got it back just a few minutes later on a penalty shot. The first half continued to go well for us. Unfortunately, we (I) missed our second chance on a penalty shot, with the Finnish goalie making a great save. The first half ends 3-2 for Finland. The second half is a different story. We are really starting to feel the effects of playing 90 minute games and we look very tired, even those of us that are used to playing full-length games. As we got more and more tired we start to lose our discipline and > we look very disorganized. As the final whistle blows the scoreboard reads 12-2 to Finland. After the game the team spends some much needed time in the hotel's hot tub, cold tub, sauna, steam room, and bar. On tap for tomorrow, the most skilled team yet, Russia. It should be fun because we will finally have a decent crowd (hopefully at least). It is however, going to to be quite tough trying to skate with those Russians. Dave's thoughts on the Finland game "We were sitting alright after the first half, but we had a couple of bad mistakes that resulted in goals in the beginning of the second half. That seemed to take away any momentum we had." When asked about Team USA's chances in the game tomorrow, Dave said "I'm not expecting a win. I'm just trying to grow and and become a better bandy player."

Day 5 - Today is Russia. Everyone is excited but also dreading having to play them. They score about 12 seconds into the game, not a great start for Team USA. And it pretty much continues that way the whole game. They are just so fast and so skilled. There is absolutely nothing we can do. They did a lot to slow down their scoring but it ends 19-5. I think they could have scored about 35 if they wanted to. "They're good at bandy" said fullback Dave. They are also really nice guys, with nice things to say. And they showed us a little respect by coming out for warm-ups. VERY tired after the game, it's not easy chasing those Russians around for 90 minutes.

Day 6 - Today is FINALLY the last game of pool play, and we play Kazahkstan. They have one or two guys who play Elitserien and the rest play in the Russian elite league, so they are pretty darn good. Finally we make it through the first minute of a game without getting scored on. Though they scored 2 before the 10 minute mark. They first half we look terrible and tired and go down 5-0. The second half we slowly start to play better. We put in a few goals and the game ends 9-4. So the second half was 4-4 and overall it's a pretty good result for us. After the game most of the team can hardly walk because we are so tired. Friday is a day off before we play Canada in the relegation game on Saturday. I think tomorrow we will go to Red Square and do some other sight seeing.

Här lite bilder som de skickat över till oss
(Daren #10 & Dave #2)

USA:s trupp ser ut så här (från bandy2010.ru/welcome.shtml)

Tack D and D för all information vi fått från Ryssland.
Det var kul att följa ert äventyr och roligt att ni spelar i A-gruppen nästa VM också.
Vi är stolta att ha er i vårt lag.

Jönköping Bandy IF

Nedan en special bild på Daren och Dave som kommer delas ut till alla i vår Bandy- skridskoskola när de har avslutning.
(då med D & D:s autografer)

 //Web