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Canada was victorious and some deserving poolies will take home the rewards of their smart picks. Congratulations to the winners, Shannon Brewster, Scott Lee, and Aaron Pretto, and thank you to all who played. Stay tuned for Lord Stanley's Pool in April!
The dream team - the best possible entry to get the maximum score - would have won the pool by 24 points. It also proves, yet again, that success in Shoot for Gold does not mean loading up on one team. The dream team is: Phil Kessel, USA (14 points, 38 picks); Erik Karlsson, SWE (13 pts, 11); Teemu Selanne, FIN (12 pts, no picks); Drew Doughty, CAN (12 pts, 3); one of Michael Grabner, AUT (11 pts, no picks) or Alexander Radulov, RUS (11 pts, 2); and goalie Henrik Lundqvist, SWE (22 pts, 48). That squad, plus five points for picking Canada to win, would total 89. Shannon Brewster's winning entry had 65 points. Key to the Pool; Biggest Bust 2/23/2014 5:37:00 PM The key to the pool for Shoot for Gold 2014 - the winning formula to land on the podium - was to not rely on Canadian players, even though they won. Both of the top two had Henrik Lundqvist, Phil Kessel, and Erik Karlsson with only one Canadian pick between them. Carey Price ended only one point back of Lundqvist and so he could have been taken, but those guys form the core of what you needed. As for the Biggest Bust: John Tavares had no points for 23 entries. Yes he got injured and we're sorry about that but... in pool terms, bust. "Honourable mention" goes to Corey Perry who had only one point for 28 poolies. Hot, but not hot enough 2/23/2014 5:22:00 PM There were fewer points to go around in the second round, but several people went on a tear at the end, particularly the final two games. While it was not quite enough to reach the podium, a few people deserve mention. Ian Winsor had the most points in the second round, 29, to jump from 55th to 7th (and then 6th with the bonus). He also had a gold-medal-game high 13 points. Next was Shane Davey, 26 points to jump from 55th to 15th, and Curtis Moorhead, 22 points to jump from 77th to 33rd. Brewster, Lee, Pretto reach the podium 2/23/2014 10:11:00 AM Shoot for Gold 2014 has been won by Shannon Brewster. She overtook Scott Lee for the gold (and $642) on Canada's victory after spending most of the pool in the top three. Scott holds on to the silver ($321) with a very strong showing from start to finish, even despite picking Sweden to win. The bronze goes to Aaron Pretto in a remarkable ascent in the final two games on the strength of Carey Price's shutouts, and Sidney Crosby's goal and Shea Weber's assist in the final game. Dreaded fourth place - in a tie - goes to Brad Hotson and Hanna-Marea Kennedy only one point out. Congratulations to all of the leaders! Price, Canada deliver repeat gold 2/23/2014 10:03:00 AM Canada has won its second straight gold medal, in dominating fashion against Sweden on Sunday. Carey Price delivered his second straight shutout while Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, and Chris Kunitz scored the goals. Price's shutout and Crosby's points influenced the pool standings on the final day as Canadians everywhere raised a glass (or several) long before noon. Scenario: if Canada wins 2/22/2014 11:46:00 PM If Canada wins, Shannon Brewster would have a one-point edge over Scott Lee for first place, with Shannon relying on Crosby and Scott on Steen. Five points further back in third would be Brad Hotson, who also has Crosby but no Karlsson like the top two. So he could gain on Scott but not Shannon. Hanna-Marea Kennedy would overtake her dad Colin Kennedy for fourth, one point out, on the win by Price (a shutout would lift her further) and if Doughty is the hero for Canada she could make her way into the money. Colin would need his Swedes (in the loss) and Carter in order to mount a challenge. Scenario: if Sweden wins 2/22/2014 11:45:00 PM If Sweden wins, Scott Lee - who led all but a couple days of the pool - should walk to an easy first place. He would have a seven point lead over second place Colin Kennedy with Shannon Brewster another two behind in third. Colin would try to make up the seven-point difference with Eriksson and Landeskog for Sweden and Carter for Canada to Scott's Karlsson. Shannon would try to hang on to third - four points ahead of Nathan Kress and Tim Sowden - with Karlsson versus Tim's Backstrom/Crosby and Nathan's Getzlaf/Crosby. Everyone has Lundqvist so his play will have no impact. |
The bonus points for picking the Olympic champion will play a role in determining the money winners after Sunday's final game. The five points will be enough to decide the winner as well as move a couple others into contention. Entries supporting both Canada and Sweden are in play and it will be an exciting finish. Finns blast USA for bronze 2/22/2014 11:29:00 PM Playing in the bronze medal game is always tough when the medal you were expecting to play for is gold. And so the Americans go home without a medal after being trounced by Finland 5-0. Three people including Richard Gretzinger get the shutout points from Tuukka Rask but more importantly for the pool, the USA players picked by the pool leaders are no longer part of the equation. Sweden vs Canada for Gold 2/21/2014 5:17:00 PM The gold medal game will be played on Sunday morning between Sweden and Canada in what should be an exciting and unpredictable match. We could see a high scoring, run and gun affair - or a defensive slog. What we do know, is that two groups of pool contenders can benefit. One group - including two of the three current podium sitters - would get a five point bonus for a Swedish win, while the other - including some contenders not far back - would get the five points if Canada wins. Leaders enter the medal round with steam 2/19/2014 5:04:00 PM Shoot for Gold 2014's leaders are heading into the final two games with some steam, and are starting to pull away from the rest of the pack. All of the top five (who have a three-point gap ahead of sixth) have Henrik Lundqvist and Phil Kessel to thank for their standing. But beyond that, we may see a surprise. Scott Lee continues to lead with 55 points, ahead of Shannon Brewster with 52. Samara McAdam holds the third money spot with 50, while Brad Hotson and Colin Kennedy are tied for fourth only a point back. Colin made a surge into the top 5 with his Swedish players and could challenge for the top spot as all of the other four leaders have lost two Russian players, while he has a full roster. Hosts sent home early 2/19/2014 4:55:00 PM Russia's 3-1 loss to Finland has sent the host team packing early. Their 137 player picks (and 9 gold-medal picks) will see no more games. This will surely impact the pool for those who bet on Russia and its players - though 108 of those picks were Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, who didn't produce much beyond the first game. Comments, questions, suggestions? E-mail Mitch.
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