Finally, The Clash This Tournament Has Been Crying Out For

Hail, Hail Robonia, A land I didn't make up......

This is it, the big one. Aside from that trifling matter of little or no importance tomorrow of course. Tonight will decide both the men's bronze medal in ice hockey and European bragging rights until the next meeting of the EU farming policy unit in Brussels. Not only that - the world will discover which nation is best at being not quite the best at hockey.

Will the parliamentary republic prevail or the semi-presidential republic? Will Karjalanpiirakat win out over Bryndzové Halušky? Twenty four hours and the actions of forty five good men and true (and also Jarkko Ruuto, I guess) will tell us all we need to know!

But first, a step back in time to yesterday and the semi-final games....

USA! USA! USA! 6 - 1 Finland. Well, that didn't take long did it, boys and girls? Of course, if this game lasted for the last forty minutes, we'd be sitting here thinking about Finland/Canada tonight. Sadly for the good folk of Suomi, Patrick Kane lit them the hell up in the first. The 2 shots and +1 rating of Phil Kessel were instrumental. In some way.

Ooooooooo Canada 3 - 2 Slovakia. Starting impressively and then very nearly making a right balls of it at the end? Why yes, I do believe that's Team Canada! But the final score is all that matters and it's the home country who go to the big dance tomorrow. Luongo's next meeting with Demitra in the Canucks dressing room would make for interesting eavesdropping, methinks.

Liens/Verbindungen/Acoplamientos/リンク

• Team USA will play for the big prize tomorrow, with the stewardship of Messers Burke and Wilson. On Frozen Blog thinks big Ron has answered a few questions these last two weeks.
• In a similar vein, Mike Zeisberger in the Sun talks on the input of BB and his busy forthcoming schedule.
• Behind The Net demonstrates that bad sports writing is not confined to the weekend FTB men's hockey.
• NHL.com profiles 11 hockey Olympians who've stepped up to be counted.
• But wait! It's not all pro-Olympic ideals round here, no sirree! Vintage Leaf Memories raises the slightly curmudgeonly banner.
• And echoing something I said to a table of disinterested Englishmen and women in the pub last night, Kukla's is looking forward to the restart of the NHL season.
• Uncle travelling Eyebleaf makes his latest contribution to hope and littering in international waters.
• If you read just one non-hockey story today, make it this one - the fascinating tale of the US four-man bobsleigh in the 1932 Olympics, stories that just don't happen anymore.
• Those with a fondness for lunatic behaviour will appreciate the non-hockey link today - throwing yourself of the CN tower for profit. Voiced by Chuck Norris! (With thanks to Torontoist)
• LATEBREAKING - Siegel on the enigmatic and misunderstood Mikhail Grabovski.