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They're not our friends, buddy. They're certainly not our buddies, guy. Canada, also known as that nation north of the US that is very cold and has Tim Hortons, has been the US's top rival in international play for quite some time. Last year at the World Juniors, the Americans beat the Canadians 5-1 tin the semifinals, forcing the Canadians to play for the bronze medal. Russia beat the Canadians in that round, sending Canada home without a medal for the first time since 1998. The US? Oh, the kids just beat Sweden in the gold medal game.
Canada was unhappy. Canada's close to being unhappy this year. The regulation winner of this game'll wind up as the top seed in group A play. Canada nearly missed the chance to play for the top seed, but came roaring back against Finland yesterday to win 5-3. The last game the US played was a 8-0 curbstomping Sunday of the Germans.
If you're up and about and off of work today, this is your WJC thread. The game starts at 10:30 Central on the NHL Network and NHL.com, for those of you sans network or at work.
'Merica!