US squeaks by Germany

On Thursday, at the IIHF World Championships, USA barely got by Germany 6-4. The Americans got off to a 3-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game, but the rest of the game was decidedly Germany's.

One thing is abundantly clear. I didn't watch or even listen to the game, but it's clear that Craig Anderson did not have a good game. He faced only nine shots, and he surrendered four goals before being lifted in favour of Robert Esche. If you're scoring along at home, Anderson's save % is a nightmarish .555. That won't cut it. In 15 minutes of relief, Esche was perfect, stopping all six shots he saw.

Germany is not a very good team, but Finland is. If Anderson plays like that on Sunday, the Finns are likely to beat USA 12-2.

Zach Parise had two goals and an assist to pace the Americans. Our native North Carolinian Patrick O'Sullivan scored his third marker of the tournament. Dustin Brown and Jason Pominville had the other goals.

Hopefully, Anderson can snap out of it. Otherwise, it's going to be embarrassing.

Now. Here's the big question.

WHY IS RYAN MILLER NOT ON THIS TEAM?

Ryan Miller is without a doubt the best active American-born goaltender. The simple answer to the big question is that he declined an invitation to play. My guess is that he's still pissed about getting snubbed with respect to the 2006 Olympics roster. Miller had a thumb injury early in the 2006 season and was taken off the USA Hockey's radar. He returned from injury and had a sensational first half of the season. He was named to the "taxi squad", which didn't make any sense to him or to anybody else for that matter.

As for his refusal to play at the IIHF World Championships, he is using "I need to train" and "I need to focus on securing a new contract" as excuses. The real reason is that he wants to drink USA Hockey's milkshake.

I... Drink.... Your..... Milkshake. I drink it up!!!