From TSN.CA:
Joke.
I guess Vancouver Caunuck fans didn't support their team enough over the last couple of years and don't deserve a Team Canada game? What a crock of shite. I went to the Canada - Russia game at the last World Cup. The building was electric. I wonder how much influence the CBC had on this. Prime time in the east instead of 10pm.TORONTO (CP) - Montreal and Toronto will be the only two Canadian cities to host games for the World Cup of Hockey in 2004 while St. Paul, Minn., is the lone American city on the schedule.
Olympic champion Canada will play its first game of the eight-country tournament Aug. 31 at the Bell Centre in Montreal against the defending World Cup champion United States.
Finland and the Czech Republic open the two-week tournament Aug. 30 in Helsinki. The championship game is set for Sept. 14 in Toronto, one day before the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHL Players' Association expires.
One semifinal goes Sept. 10 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul while the other goes Sept. 11 in Toronto.
The World Cup of Hockey is a joint effort between the NHL and the NHLPA with the co-operation of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The NHL and NHLPA announced details of the tournament at a news conference at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday.
The event, which used to be known as the Canada Cup, was last held in 1996 but was skipped over in 1999 because organizers didn't want to go head-to-head with the Summer Olympics in Sydney.
After his success with the Olympic team, Wayne Gretzky is expected to run Team Canada again. Countries must name 18 of their 23 players by Feb. 1, 2004. The rest of the team must be announced by June 20. Each team will have a 10-day training camp beginning Aug. 20 and play two exhibition games.
The Bell Centre will have Canada's next round-robin game against Slovakia on Sept. 1 before the Canadian games move to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto with a Sept. 4 game between Russia and Canada that wraps up the round-robin for the Canadians.
Ottawa's Corel Centre and Vancouver's GM Place hosted some games in 1996 but were shut out this time around. Philadelphia's First Union Center was also a key player in 1996 but won't be used in 2004.
Canada, Russia, Slovakia and the U.S. make up the North American pool.
Finland, Germany, Sweden and the Czech Republic make up the European Pool and will play all of their round-robin games and two quarter-final games in Europe. The Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, the Globe Arena in Stockholm, the new Zazka Arena in Prague and the Cologne Arena in Cologne, Germany, will serve as the host arenas in that pool.
CBC and Radio-Canada will televise the games in Canada. No U.S. network has yet stepped forward.
European Pool
Czech Republic
Finland
Germany
Sweden
North American Pool
Canada
Russia
Slovakia
United States
2004 World Cup of Hockey Schedule
Monday, Aug. 30
Czech Republic vs. Finland, at Helsinki
Tuesday, Aug. 31
Germany vs. Sweden, at Stockholm
Canada vs. U.S., at Montreal
Wednesday, Sept. 1
Czech Republic vs. Sweden, at Stockholm
Canada vs. Slovakia, at Montreal
Thursday, Sept. 2
Finland vs. Germany, at Cologne, Germany
U.S. vs. Russia, at St. Paul, Minn.
Friday, Sept. 3
Germany vs. Czech Republic, at Prague
U.S. vs. Slovakia, at St. Paul, Minn.
Saturday, Sept. 4
Sweden vs. Finland, at Helsinki
Canada vs. Russia, at Toronto
Sunday, Sept. 5
Russia vs. Slovakia, at Toronto
Quarter-Finals
Monday, Sept. 6
E4 at E1
Tuesday, Sept. 7
E3 at E2
NA1 vs. NA4 or NA2 vs. NA3, at St. Paul, Minn.
Wednesday, Sept. 8
NA1 vs. NA4 or NA2 vs. NA3, at Toronto
Semifinals
Friday, Sept. 10
Semifinal 1, at St. Paul, Minn.
Saturday, Sept. 11
Semifinal 2, at Toronto
Championship
Semifinal winners, at Toronto
Joke.