Jan. 3: Goepfert: The beginning and end for U.S.
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- Gregarious American coach Lou Vairo, the unofficial Godfather of USA Hockey, has been around the rink more than a couple of times during his long career.

And, if nothing else, he has learned one hard and cold fact of hockey:

"Everything begins and ends with goaltending," said Vairo, who thankfully has never lost his gift for gab or classic New York accent during his many coaching travels around the globe. "If you don't have good goaltending, you can fold up your tent and go home."

	USA vs. Canada
	The semifinal matchup between Team USA and Team Canada is scheduled for Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on tape delay on the YES network (DirecTV, channel 622) at midnight and 1 p.m. Saturday. The game can be heard live via the Internet at www.usahockey.com.

On Thursday, New York City-born goalie Bob Goepfert kept the American tent propped up nicely, stopping 22 of 25 shots -- many from close range -- en route to a 4-3 win over the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals of the World Junior Championships. With the victory, Team USA advances to a semifinal showdown with the homestanding Canadians on Friday night at a soldout Metro Centre.

Interestingly, Goepfert started the tournament on the bench. But when 18-year-old James Howard struggled against the highly-skilled Russians in the opening game, Vairo turned to the 19-year-old Goepfert, who posted wins over Switzerland, Belarus and Slovakia en route to qualifying for the elimination round.

"We [Howard and Goepfert] both came here on even terms," Goepfert explained. "When I got an opportunity to play, I wanted to make the most of it."

The kid from Queens, a freshman at Providence College via a stop at Cedar Rapids of the U.S. Hockey League, has done exactly that. Goepfert has backstopped four straight American wins, turning away 100 of 106 shots.

A sixth-round pick (171st overall) of the Penguins in the 2002 draft, Goepfert looks to continue his unexpected run of success against powerful Canada, which has scored 21 goals in its four preliminary round wins. He knows it will be his toughest test of the tournament.

"It's gonna be a circus in here on Friday," said Goepfert, acknowledging Team Canada's home crowd. "Mentally, it's gonna be tough. But we have to put aside the distractions and focus on playing a good game."

Several NHL scouts in the crowd, who've seen Goepfert many times, don't think he has what it takes to make it at the NHL level. But at this level, in a short tournament, they feel he could be a dangerous foe.

In years past, unheralded Canadian stoppers like Mike Moffat and Jimmy Waite carried their teams to gold medal glory. In fact, because of Moffat's dazzling play, current Team Canada coach Marc Habscheid earned WJC gold medal as a player in 1982.

Goepfert, who was almost selected for last year's national junior team, is thrilled for the opportunity to play in such a big game.

"I'll have to be sharp," said Goepfert. "They [Canada] seem to get 40 or 50 shots a game. And everyone on their team can score."

Vairo, though, not wanting to tip his rather obvious hand, declined to officially name Goepfert as his starter against Canada.

"It will be a tough decision," said Vairo. "We'll think it over tonight, then get ready to play."

Sure, Lou, you'll think it over. You'll think it over for a New York minute, then you'll send the kid from Queens to the crease and cross your fingers. Like you said, it begins and ends with goaltending. On Friday night, it will be no different.

Jan. 2: Front-page news
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- In the U.S., sports fans spend New Year's Day nursing hangovers and watching college football bowl games. North-of-the-border sports fans spend New Year's Day nursing hangovers and soaking up just about every ounce of info they can about the World Junior Championships.

This year, with the tournament here in Halifax and the home country sporting a spotless 4-0 round-robin record, the Great White North is focused on their boys in red and white. Canada's national junior team is front-page news from Newfoundland to British Columbia, and their games are televised throughout the country.

On Thursday, the hysteria will be cranked up a few more notches as the tournament moves into the single elimination playoff round -- one loss and you're gone.

Due to their strong play in the preliminary round, both Canada and Russia have earned a bye into the semifinals, so they'll watch the other four remaining medal-round teams slug it out. In Thursday's quarterfinals, Team USA challenges the Czech Republic (coached by Bobby Holik's father, Jaroslav) and the highly touted Finns will skate against Slovakia.

Team USA has struggled in the quarterfinal crossover matchup, having been bumped form medal contention in each of the past two years. In 2001, they dropped a one-goal decision to Canada. Last year, the Yanks were spanked by the Russians, who went on to edge Canada for the gold.

To beat the Czech Republic, the Americans -- a young team with 11 draft eligible players on the roster -- will need to get an early lead. The Czechs, who won the tourney in 2000 and '01, are deadly when they get out in front. Under Holik, they slip into a trapping mode, shutting down the neutral zone. If that happens, Team USA can get ready for the fifth place game on Saturday.

If the Americans can stop the Czechs, they'll get a shot at Canada on Friday. If that happens, the Canada-crazy sellout crowd at the Halifax Metro Centre might just blow the roof off the barn.

But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

With a nation and an army of NHL scouts taking extensive notes, the talented teenagers from the six medal-round teams will give whatever they have to give and leave nothing on the ice.

As always, it will be fun to watch. It's too bad most American sports fans don't know about this fantastic tournament. If they did, they'd like it. No, actually, they'd love it.

Brother, can you spare a dime?
On the tournament off day, many of the NHL types in Halifax were talking about the Senators. Not many were surprised to hear about the club's latest financial problems and the club's cash-flow problems have been open secret around the league.

The failure to secure the necessary financing will again force the Sens' majority owner Rod Bryden onto the street in search of new partners with deep pockets. In the past, Bryden has been able to keep things afloat in Canada's capital. This time, though, having watched two different financing deals go down the drain, Bryden might be put to the ultimate test.

In 1934, Ottawa lost an NHL franchise. Some 69 years later, Ottawa could lose another one.

Dec. 31: The upside
Sometimes, you have no choice but to look for a silver lining.

Beginning on Tuesday, against the visiting Leafs, the Canucks will be doing just that. On Monday, the club learned they'll be without all-purpose defenseman Ed Jovanovski for four to six weeks after he suffered a fractured left heel in a win over the Ducks on Saturday.

The Canucks will miss Jovanovski, who averages a team-high 25:06 minutes of ice time per game. A menacing presence on the blue line, Jovanovski is among a handful of the league's top young defenders.

However, because the Canucks have jumped out to a strong start, Jovanovski's injury isn't the end of the world. In fact, believe it or not, there are two hidden benefits.

First, because of the injury, Jovanovski will get a rest from the grind of the NHL season. The Canucks, who should be a Cup contender in the spring, will need their 26-year-old defenseman down the stretch and in the playoffs. Physical players like Jovanovski tend to get worn down over the course of the season. With the time off, Jovanovski should have a little more bounce in his stride come playoff time.

Second, Jovanovski's absence will force coach Marc Crawford to turn to some of his other defenders, who will either succeed or fail in their new assignments. In the short term, they'll likely struggle. In the long run, Crawford and GM Brian Burke will learn a little bit more about them. They'll learn who they feel comfortable with and who they don't trust. In the end, they'll know whether or not they need to make a trade deadline move to improve their depth.

Certainly, no one wants to lose a player to injury, especially a player like Jovanovski. But, in this case, somewhere down the road, the Canucks just might find that silver lining.

Winning Waddell
Thrashers GM Don Waddell might want to stay behind the bench. In his first game as interim coach, Waddell guided his team to their first-ever win over the Hurricanes. Then, on Monday, Waddell's troops gained the franchise's first victory over the Penguins. In three games since the dismissal of Curt Fraser, the Thrashers are 2-1. Despite his success, Waddell remains committed to finding a new coach. He plans on speaking to ex-Caps, ex-Flyers and ex-Panthers coach Terry Murray on Wednesday.

Dec. 30: 'Tending tutors
Without question, the most important player on any hockey team is the goaltender. A good goalie can take an average club a long way. Likewise, a struggling stopper can sink even the best of teams.

Because it's such a vital and specialized position, you'd figure each NHL club would employ a full-time goaltending coach. It makes sense, right? You'd want a specialist, familiar with the unique nature of the position (like a pitching coach in baseball), who would travel with the club and work exclusively with the goaltenders.

Surprisingly, though, most teams don't have such a dedicated, every-day goalie coach. Many clubs have goaltending "consultants," who have little day-to-day contact with their goaltenders. In fact, some go weeks without have any crease time with the goalies they're supposed to be tutoring.

Future Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur, who has been working closely with the Devils' full-time goalie coach, Jacques Caron, since his rookie season (1993-94), can't imagine not having someone to lean on.

"I'll always have a goaltending coach," said Brodeur, who'll get his 32nd start (in 35 games) against the Bruins at FleetCenter on Monday.

Caron, who stopped pucks for the Kings, Blues and Canucks as well as a number of minor league teams during a long professional career, attends every Devils game and practice. And, he studies Brodeur's every move.

"It's such a help," Brodeur says. "We go over tape of every game and break down all the shots. And, we work together on the ice.

"I think it makes it easier for the head coach. He doesn't have to worry about me. Really, since I've been here, Jacques [Caron] has been the buffer between the head coach and me. I think it has worked out really well."

Yeah, Marty, two Cups and gold medal later, it has worked out really well. So well, in fact, you wonder why every other team -- not just a handful like the Coyotes, Ducks and Canadiens -- hire one.

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.