Big ice surface concerns North Americans

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2002

By Lucas Aykroyd

When North American players take part in an IIHF-sanctioned tournament, the big rink is always a hot topic of discussion. Before the Final Round of the Olympic tournament kicked off Friday, members of the American and Canadian teams weighed in with their opinions.

Team USA center Jeremy Roenick believes that Europeans have an advantage on the 200-foot by 100-foot surface: “They do because they grew up on this ice. They understand the strategy, the technique. We’ll have to ad lib a little bit and let our talent take over.”

This, of course, is the theory that playing on the international ice is like learning to ride a bicycle: everything comes back to you when you need to do it again.

Roenick has a point, especially when viewed in the light of his team’s disastrous experience in Nagano. The USA forwards often looked lost out there, running around looking for hits that they arrived too late to deliver.

This time, the United States may benefit from the experience and knowledge of Chicago defenseman Phil Housley. The smooth-skating veteran has never played in the Olympics before, but has five World Championships under his belt. He knows how to play without the red line.

Tom Barrasso, a former teammate of Housley’s in Buffalo, claims that the larger ice surface has a minimal impact for goaltenders: “The only change is with regard to the wide angle. There’s more space to cover because there is more depth with the width. You need to move on your feet very well to follow the puck to put yourself back in position to make stops.”

America’s number one goalie, Mike Richter, has toned down his tendency to challenge all shooters aggressively. His agility and amazing flexibility should benefit him against the swift Europeans. But he must avoid getting in trouble by stickhandling too much outside the crease.

“Mike Dunham plays a little different game, going deeper in his net so he doesn’t need to move quite as far as Mike [Richter] or I do,” said Barrasso. “If you’re not a good skater, your best bet is to stay in the net.”

Otherwise, the goaltender will leave a gaping hole that the likes of Teemu Selänne or Markus Näslund will be happy to fill.

Passing is such an important element on the international ice surface. There is more time to decide what you want to do, but you’d better get it right. A pass gone astray can be fatal.

“It’s a more puck-control game,” said Team Canada forward Theoren Fleury. “It’s harder to play that Canadian style: physical, forechecking. It’s hard to intimidate.”

“We might not be able to chase around as much, but we have to feel things out and make adjustments,” added Canadian defenseman Adam Foote. “The coaches have made us aware of it and guys who have played at this level before have experience with it.”

The question is, will the North Americans be able to make those adjustments quickly enough? They have three games to figure things out before it becomes a life-and-death situation.