2002 France National Team Philippe Bozon Jersey

In one of the biggest upsets in World Championship history, 14th ranked France defeated the defending  world champions Russia by a score of 2-1. The win moves France into a tie with Slovakia for fourth place in Group H, two points ahead of Germany and into a very realistic position to advance to the Playoff Round with three games remaining to be played.

It won't be easy, as France still has games remaining against the United States, Latvia (5-3 winners over Slovakia yesterday) and hosts Finland. Still, their confidence will never be higher than following a win over Russia, so perhaps either lightning will strike twice or enough points will arrive from taking teams to overtime for France to continue their run. It's too bad this victory did not come under the previous format of groups of four teams rather than eight, as upset wins exactly like this one were greatly rewarded in the much shorter schedule of games.

Here are highlights of the game followed by French player's reactions to yesterday's stunning result.

In recognition of yesterdays shocking victory by France over Russia by a score of 2-1 at the 2013 IIHF World Championships, we are featuring a profile of Philippe Bozon, the greatest player in the history of French hockey.

Bozon, whose father Alain Bozon was captian of the French National Team, grew up playing hockey in France and moved to Canadian junior hockey in 1984, scoring 82 points in 67 games and he followed with 59 goals and 111 points in 65 games in 1985-86.

The 1986-87 season saw Bozon split time between juniors and Peoria of the IHL before returning to France for the next five seasons, winning championships with HC Mont-Blanc in 1988 and CSG Grenoble in 1991. He returned to North America and made his NHL debut with the St. Louis Blues late in the 1991-92 season, becoming the first French-trained player in the NHL. He would then score his first NHL goal during the final game of the season against the Minnesota North Stars.

1992-93 saw Bozon skate in 54 games, missing two months of the season with mononucleosis, scoring 6 goals and 12 points. He would establish himself as an NHL regular the following season, playing in 80 games, totaling 9 goals and 25 points and playing on the penalty kill unit.

He would return to France during the NHL lockout in 1994 with CSG Grenoble and make one appearance for St. Louis after play resumed, ending his NHL career with 144 games played, 16 goals and 41 points after finding he did not fit into new Blues coach Mike Keenan's plans.

A move to the Swiss second division with HC La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1995-96 was followed by a half a season with Lausanne HC in 1996-97 before moving to the German DEL with Adler Manheim, including a hat trick in his first game with the club. Bozon would score 15 points in 9 playoff games as Manheim would capture the championship.

Two more seasons with Adler Manheim would result in two more titles, with Bozon contributing 10 points in 10 playoff games in 1998 and 9 points in 12 games in 1999.

1999-00 would see Bozon relocate to the Swiss National League A with HC Lugano, totaling 88 points in 85 games over two seasons. A shift to HC Geneve-Servette of Geneva in the Swiss second division saw Bozon post a stellar 34 goals and 80 points in 43 games and lift the club back into the top level of Swiss hockey.

Three more seasons with the club would see Bozon average nearly a point per game, 116 in 124 games before retiring after the 2005-06 season.

His career combined totals stand at 588 goals and 1270 points in 1136 games, four French championships and three German titles.

In addition to his club hockey career, Bozon was a mainstay for the France National Team, with 12 World Championship appearances and four Olympic Games in 1988, 1992, 1998 and 2002, scoring a total of 96 career goals for France.

Bozon playing for France in 1997

He would appear in the World Championships for France in the B pool in 1990 and then again in 1991, scoring 10 points in 7 games, being named the Best Forward and helping earn France a return to the top level. He would then appear in the World Championships in 1992 and then from 1994 to 2000 at the top level and one final time in 2001 in Division 1, for a total of 1 World Championship appearances.

His record in the Olympics shows 13 points in 21 games, including a hat trick against Italy in 1998 under the coaching of no less than Herb Brooks! His 7 points in just 4 games would rank him fifth in tournament scoring being Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu, Pavel Bure and Alesksandr Koreshkov.

2002 in Salt Lake City saw Bozon score 6 points in 4 games, tied for fifth overall behind Mats Sundin (9 points), Brett Hull (8) and John LeClair and Joe Sakic (7), despite playing two less games than Hull, LeClair and Sakic.

Bozon was honored by being inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 2008 and recently named as head coach for the France National Junior Team in 2009.

Today's featured jersey is a 2002 France National Team Philippe Bozon jersey as worn in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. The jersey features a subtle black cross pattern running down the length of the arms. It's somewhat easier to see on the white jerseys, as the blue stripe is not lost in the sea of blue as on the road jerseys. One wonders why the blue stripe on the blue jerseys was not changed to either red or white for increased contrast and greater visibility for the black cross design.

This jersey took seven years of searching and patience before we were able to add one to the Third String Goalie Collection. Once obtained, the choice of Bozon for the customizing was an obvious one. See if you can spot the black design running down the sleeve above and below the "2" on the left sleeve, as it is very subtle, even in person and in good light!

Video highlights of the French National Team are few and far between, so the best we can offer today is France vs. Switzerland from the 2008 World Championships, featuring Christobal Huet, the second ever French-trained player in the NHL after Bozon, in goal for France.

These next two games are France and Italy battling in the 2008 relegation round, with France coming out on top two games to none to avoid relegation for 2009, a far cry from defeating Russia!

Third String Goalie 4th Anniversary

Today marks the fourth anniversary of Third String Goalie. To date we have made 1338 posts, are followed by 80 people here on blogger, by 264 on our Facebook page, and 484 of the most intelligent people on Twitter.

We've written about jerseys from Alaska to Japan and from Iceland to South Africa, including jerseys from the United States, Canada, Iceland, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, South Africa, Poland, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Japan.

In addition to the countries we've written about, we've also had visitors from 186 different countries and territories, which still shocks us to no end, often wondering what someone from someplace like Nepal or Iran was expecting to find when they arrived here?

We've written about the oldest hockey sweater in existence, brand new releases and sweaters never actually used. we've covered jerseys we love and those we do not.

We've also gone astray a time or two with unexpected stories we felt worth sharing and we sincerely hope you've enjoyed the ride.

As a small token of our appreciation for your readership, any readers who email us their mailing address will receive a Third String Goalie refrigerator magnet for free.

In honor of our 4th anniversary, we have chosen to feature one of our favorites from our personal collection with the number 4...

Bobby Orr, a defneseman and considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the NHL, was signed by the Bruins at the age of 14. League rules at the time dictated that Orr could not play in the NHL until turning 18. Orr bided his time playing for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, and in his final season scored 94 points in 47 games, an average of two points per game, an unheard of average for a defenseman.

He would win the Calder Trophy during his first season with the Bruins after scoring 41 points in 61 games. He would miss nine games late in the season with a knee injury, foreshadowing the injury problems that would plague his career. Prior to Orr's arrival, the Bruins had missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons and while they would not make the post-season during Orr's rookie season, they would make the playoffs in every subsequent season of Orr's career in Boston.

Despite only playing in 46 games of the 1967-68 season, Orr would win the first of eight consecutive Norris Trophies. Back on track in 1968-69, he would play in 67 games and top 20 goals for the first time with 21 and total 64 points.

Orr would explode the following season, scoring 33 goals and adding a whopping 87 assists to total 120 points, six short of the league record and become the first and only defenseman to lead the NHL in scoring, which would net him the Art Ross Trophy and be named the winner of the Hart Trophy. The Bruins would advance through the playoffs, eventually winning the Stanley Cup in overtime of Game 4, a goal captured in an iconic photograph of Orr flying through the air in celebration. Following the playoffs, he would be named the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy, making him the first player to win four major NHL awards in the same season.

Orr would top his league leading point total from the previous season with 139 points in 1970-71, including a league leading 102 assists, 26 more than the next closest player, and place second in the scoring race behind Bruin's teammate Phil Esposito while winning the Hart Trophy for the second time. Orr would record a plus-minus rating of +124 that season, an NHL record that still stands today.

1971-72 would see Orr play in 76 games and equal his 37 goals from the previous season while totaling 117 points. Orr and the Bruins would capture their second Stanley Cup and Orr would win his fifth consecutive Norris Trophy, his third consecutive Hart Trophy and his second Conn Smythe Trophy.

1972-73 saw another 100 point season after returning from knee surgery following the Stanley Cup, which forced Orr to miss the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union after being named to Team Canada.

The Bruins would return to the finals in 1973-74 following a regular season in which Orr would score 32 goals and 90 assists for 122 points followed by another 18 points in 16 playoff games.

Orr would once again win the NHL scoring race in 1974-75, capturing the Art Ross Trophy for the second time after a career high 46 goals, becoming the first defenseman to ever score 40 goals, combined with 89 assists for 135 points. He would be named to the NHL First All-Star Team for the eighth consecutive season, win his eighth consecutive Norris Trophy, play in his seventh NHL All-Star Game and win his first Lester B. Pearson Award.

His multiple knee surgeries would catch up to him, limiting him to only 10 games of the 1975-76 season. While essentially playing on one knee, Orr would compete for Team Canada in the 1976 Canada Cup, earning rave reviews and being named tournament MVP in the last hurrah of his storied career.

A move to the Chicago Black Hawks followed for the next two seasons but he totaled just 26 games and 27 points in 1976-77 and 1978-79.

His final career totals are 657 games played, 270 goals and 645 assists for 915 points after ten seasons in Boston and the two in Chicago. At the time of his retirement, Orr was the leading defenseman in NHL history in goals, assists and points. The only players who have averaged more points per game than Orr are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy - all forwards.

Orr's speed, acceleration and creative offensive ability, combined with his toughness and defensive skills revolutionized the position of defense and changed the game forever. He also moved beyond the world of hockey, becoming a mainstream celebrity in the United States.

In 1979, prior to an exhibition game against the Soviet Wings, the Bruins raised Orr's #4 to the rafters of the Boston Garden.

While we have given you a brief overview of the game-changing career of Bobby Orr, entire books are devoted to his career and the impact he had on the NHL, and we here at Third String Goalie recommend Searching for Bobby Orr.

Today's featured jersey is a 1969-70 Boston Bruins Bobby Orr jersey as worn while flying through the air after scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal in 1970.

When purchasing a Bobby Orr Bruins jersey, please be aware that Orr seldom wore his name on the back of any Boston Bruins jersey during his entire career. Perhaps only for national TV games, as was the practice back then. Quite often Orr jerseys are sold on ebay or other online stores with Orr's name incorrectly on the back of the jersey, as if his iconic #4 wasn't enough.

Even during Orr's first season in Chicago no names were used on the back, making just the final six games of his career with the Black Hawks in 1978-79, a sad and unfortunate end to a great career and not exactly worthy of recreating for your collection, and the 1976 Canada Cup the few times Orr regularly wore his name on the back of a jersey outside of the NHL All-Star Game.

Today's video selections is the surprising find of the 1979 Bobby Orr Jersey Retirement Ceremony, somewhat oddly scheduled for the night of an exhibition game against the Soviet Wings. I can't recall any other jersey retirement scheduled for an exhibition game before. One would think that in 1979 any Soviet team on it's own would be enough of a draw to fill the building.

Yellow Sunday

On May 6, 1988 the New Jersey Devils hosted the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Wales Conference Finals. The first period passed without any scoring, but plenty of penalties were called by Don  Koharski, two minors on both New Jersey as Boston as well as a pair of fighting majors until the 19:30 mark, when Keith Crowder of Boston was given a roughing penalty and Kirk Muller of New Jersey was whistled for holding while his teammate Pat Verbeek drew four minutes for roughing for retaliating for being hit in the face by Crowder, which gave the Bruins an extended power play.

Don Koharski

With Verbeek in the penalty box as the second period started, Boston came out flying, as Ken Linseman put Boston up by a goal at 1:05. Rookie Bob Joyce added a second goal for the Bruins 58 seconds later still on the power play at 2:03 and then Lyndon Byers continued the onslaught with the third Bruins goal just 15 seconds later for a sudden 3-0 lead for Boston with defenseman Ray Bourque assisting on all three goals.

The fists began to fly at 4:04 with each team receiving a minor, a major and a misconduct. Verbeek was then given a tripping penalty at 8:43 with the Bruins widening their lead to 4-0 just 9 seconds after the penalty expired. Verbeek then earned his fourth minor of the game when he and Allen Pederson of Boston were given matching minors at 11:38.

Before they could return, another pair of fighting majors were handed out at 12:20 followed by the Devils first power play coming at 13:00 when Linseman was sent off for elbowing. Brendan Shanahan took advantage of the opportunity and got the Devils on the board with the man advantage at 14:58, only to have Linseman restore the four goal Bruins lead when he netted the 5th Bruins goal of the period at 17:05. The period would not end without Gord Kluzak taking a high sticking penalty at 19:59 with one player from each side also receiving a misconduct penalty.

At 13:05 of the third period, Tom McCarthy of Boston added an additional goal for the Bruins, who also took a trio of minors at 10:54, 14:14 and 17:27 that the Devils could not turn into any additional goals. Things turned ugly late in the game as the "message sending" began at 19:24 with the Devils receiving a minor, a major and a misconduct to the Bruins misconduct and fighting major. To add insult to injury, the Devils went two men down 13 seconds later when Ken Danyeko was called for holding.

Losing by five goals was all too much for the Devils head coach Jim Schoenfeld, who ran after Koharski as he was making his way down the corridor. Schoenfeld made contact with Koharski, who was still wearing his skates, when he stepped in front of Koharski to slow his rapid attempt to retreat to the official's dressing room. Koharski immediately lost his balance and stumbled to his right, bracing himself against the wall.

Schoenfeld confronts Koharski as he comes off the ice

With his balance regained, the two engaged in a shouting match in front of TV cameras, which caught the profanities and insults as they flew. Koharski, feeling he had been pushed over, told Schoenfeld "You pushed me! Your'e done!", while Schoenfeld accused Koharski of falling on purpose and claiming he didn't touch him. He then proceeded to yell at Koharski "You're full of (crap)! You're crazy! You're crazy! You fell, you fat pig!" and as Koharski hurried to his dressing room, Schoenfeld yelled after him "Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!" which was replayed on ESPN many times to a national audience.

Schoenfeld during his tirade

Following the incident on a Friday night, Schoenfeld was not suspended for Game 4 until 12:30 in the afternoon Sunday by Brian O'Neill of the NHL for the game scheduled to be played that evening, Mother's Day, on this date in 1988. Lou Lamorello of the Devils knew a sympathetic judge and, with his assistance, got in touch with the New Jersey Superior Court Judge on call, Judge James F. Madden, who  issued a restraining order (at his apartment!)  just 40 minutes before the game on the basis that Schoenfeld did not receive a proper hearing from the NHL, which allowed Schoenfeld to coach Game 4 at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

This development did not go over very well with the officiating crew, referee Dave Newell and linsemen Gord Broseker and Ray Scampanello and backup referee Denis Morel, who refused to take to the ice for the game in protest. The game was then delayed by an hour while three local officials were located and pressed into service - during the Wales Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

The replacement linesmen were outfitted with yellow practice jerseys, rather than the traditional black and white striped uniforms, and all three replacement officials wore green Devils sweat pants with red and white stripes down the legs! With the new officials in place and "dressed", the game was finally able to get underway in front of a sold out crowd and a national TV audience over an hour late.

The replacement linesmen taking to the ice

in their yellow practice jerseys

The Devils would win the game 3-1 with New Jersey scoring two goals in less than a minute during the midway point of the first period. The game, dubbed "Yellow Sunday" thanks to the practice jerseys worn by two of  the stand-in officials, saw the replacement referee show the teams he was in charge early, calling the Devils goaltender Sean Burke for Delay of Game just 55 seconds into the contest.

The replacement referee McInnis and one of his yellow-clad linesmen

After calling four minors on the Devils and three on Boston during the first period, the Bruins received 9 minors, a fighting major and a misconduct, while New Jersey got 8 minors, a fighting major and a misconduct, all in the second period. Things settled down in the third period, with the replacement officials adding five minors, 2 for Boston and 3 for the Devils.

Schoenfeld then was given his proper hearing and subsequently suspended for Game 5 in Boston, which resulted in the return of the normal NHL officials and their usual black and white striped shirts.

Today's featured jersey is a yellow practice jersey as worn by the replacement linesmen, when stand-in referee Paul McInnis (a 52-year-old goal judge and rink manager), linesmen Jim Sullivan (a retired 50-year-old police officer) and Vin Godleski (a 51-year-old salesman) worked the all-important Devils game against the Bruins on this date in 1988 when the scheduled NHL officials refused to work the game in protest.

Referee McInnis would wear a pair of Aaron Broten's skates and Godelski's striped referee's shirt he had stored in his car. The reasons McInnis was the referee that night, despite Godleski having the proper striped shirt, was because Godleski hadn't skated in a month and had run five miles earlier that day!

Boston would go on to win the series by winning Game 7 at home.

Today's video section are highlights of both Game 3 and the controversial incident following the game as well as the "Yellow Sunday" Game 4.

1995 Finland National Team Janne Ojanen Jersey

On this date in 1995, Finland won the IIHF World Championship for the first time in their history. The script could hardly have gone any better for Finland, as they defeated arch rivals Sweden in Sweden.

Finland has a long history in the World Championships and Olympics, first appearing in 1939 and being regular participants since 1949, but did not earn their first medal until 1988 with a 2-1 win over the Soviet Union at the Olympics in Canada, a span of nearly 40 years. Their first World Championship success would come in 1992 with a silver medal in Czechoslovakia after a loss in the final game to Sweden.

They followed that with a disappointing 7th place at the World Championships in 1993, their lowest finish since 1983, before rebounding with another silver in 1994 in Italy, after losing in the final in a shootout to Canada, just three months after earning a bronze medal at the Olympics in Norway.

Now having arrived as serious contenders on the international stage, they entered the 1995 World Championships aiming for the top after their previous close calls. The Finns were led by a line known as "Tupu, Hupu and Lupu", Finnish for Huey, Dewey and Louie, the nephews of Disney cartoon character Donald Duck.

Jere Lehtinen (Lupu), made his international debut at age 19 in the 1992 World Championships, Saku Koivu (Tupu) arrived in 1993, at age 19, in the World Championships and Ville Peltonen (Hupu) completed the line when they all played together in Pelotnen's international debut at the 1994 Olympics at age 20.

While Finland's past history was barren of medals and championships, "Tupu, Hupu and Lupu" entered the 1995 World Championships with Lehtonen (two silvers and a bronze in three years of international experience), Koivu (a silver and a bronze in two years) and Peltonen (a silver and a bronze after one year) as winners with high expectations.

Those expectations met with a rude awakening in the form of a 3-0 shutout loss to the Czech Republic in their opening game. They quickly got back on the right track with a decisive 6-3 win over rivals and tournament hosts, Sweden. They took care of business with expected wins over Norway (5-2) and Austria (7-2). They completed their First Round group play with a 4-4 tie with the United States, taking second place in the group.

Finland easily advanced in the quarterfinals with a 5-0 win over France and got revenge for their only loss of the tournament against the Czech Republic in the form of another 3-0 shutout, only this time in favor of Finland, setting up the gold medal final against hosts Sweden.

Peltonen was the star of the show, scoring the first goal to put Finland ahead in the first period after making a drop pass at the blueline and then putting the rebound of a teammate's blast into a wide open goal.

During the second period Peltonen got his second goal after receiving a pass from center ice at the blueline, he simply wound up and fired a slapshot past the Swedish goaltender, launching his water bottle like a celebratory firework into the air to put Finland up 2-0.

Peltonen then completed the natural hat trick after a beautiful play after Peltonen gained the Sweden zone on the right, made a drop pass back to Koivu who made a cross-ice pass to defenseman Mika Stromberg who was streaking in unguarded on the left. Stromberg blew around the flat footed Swedish defense, cut to the net, slammed on the breaks and tried to move the puck from his backhand to his forehand, but lost control of the puck, which slid right across the crease to Peltonen, now stationed on the right side of the goal, for another easy tap in with just four seconds remaining in the second period give Finland a three goal lead heading into the final period.

Not quite finished yet, Peltonen assisted on the fourth Finnish goal when he fed the puck back to the blueline and defenseman Timo Jutila fired the puck through everyone for a back-breaking 4-0 lead and a goal celebration that took him the length of the ice.

Sweden was able to spoil the shutout to make the final score 4-1 after a fluky, high arching deflection was misplayed by Jarmo Myllys, who otherwise stood tall in goal, earning the victory for the new World Champions.

Lehtonen, Koivu and Peltonen were all named to the tournament All-Star Team, with Koivu being named Best Forward. To rub their victory in, the coach of the Finnish team, Swede Curt Lindström, took his team to Sergels torg, the central public square in Stockholm, the site for public recognition of Swedish sporting success, and brought 15,000 wildly celebrating Finnish fans with to share in the joy, which they did by singing the official Swedish song of the 1995 World Championship, "Den Glider In"

Finland received a massive welcome home back in Tampere, Finland, with the celebrations being televised on live TV to a national audience.

Today's featured jersey is a 1995 Finland National Team Janne Ojanen jersey. This is the same style jersey used in the 1994 Olympic games, and while branded as a Reebok jersey, they were produced by Tackla using the same mesh fabric and dye sublimation process. Visually, the only difference between the Olympic jerseys and the World Championship versions are the additions of the sponsorship patches to each arm.

Here are the highlights from the 1995 World Championship gold medal final between victorious Finland and Sweden.

Here are scenes of the massive celebration on their return home to Finland, as they continue to adopt "Den Glider In" as their own. Don't miss the guy playing air guitar with the then World Championship trophy!

These scenes are proof that while the NHL might not take the World Championships nearly as seriously as they do the Olympics, it clearly still matters to Europeans.

The Giant Killers - 2013 IIHF World Championship Report

In Helsinki, Finland's Group H of the 2013 IIHF World Championships, both Russia and the United States have taken their first two games, with Russia defeating both Latvia and Germany as expected. Meanwhile, the United States has avoided any unforeseen troubles with workmanlike wins over Austria and Latvia to tie Russia with 6 points in the standings. Finland gave away a point in the standings when they opened in front of their home fans with a nervous 4-3 win in overtime against Germany and then defeated Slovakia 2-0 for 5 points.

Host Finland was taken to overtime by Germany

Slovakia opened the competition on Friday with a 6-2 win over France, who in turn rebounded with a 3-1 defeat of Austria to equal the Slovaks with 3 points in the standings, but thanks to their win over France, Slovakia currently holds the 4th and final playoff spot.

Germany faced a tough go in their first two games by drawing Finland and then Russia, so things should be somewhat less intimidating going forward and they should be satisfied with having taken a point off of Finland. A defeat of Slovakia in their next game would go a long way toward moving up into the playoff positions and they should be favored in three of their final four games.

Both Austria and Latvia have begun their tournament with 0-2 records and their head to head meeting on Tuesday could determine which country will be relegated for 2014 if they cannot manufacture some additional points against Germany or France.

Now, if Group H has gone strictly to form, Stockholm, Sweden's Group S has been the opposite in many ways.

The first game started off innocently enough with the Czech Republic defeating Belarus 2-0, but then Switzerland shocked the home team Sweden by defeating the tournament hosts not only 3-2, but in regulation time to take the full 3 points in the standings.

Switzerland surprised many by defeating host Sweden

Last year's breakout team, Norway, then opened play on Saturday with a 3-1 defeat of Slovenia followed by Canada earning the full 3 points in a 3-1 victory over Denmark, a game many expected to be much more lopsided. Sweden then rebounded with a 2-1 regulation win over the Czech Republic.

Sunday's action saw Belarus state their intentions to avoid relegation with a 4-3 win over Slovenia followed by Switzerland turning heads by first taking Canada to overtime and then defeating the Canadians in an epic eight round shootout as Mike Smith and former NHLer Martin Gerber dueled round after round, making 13 saves on 16 combined attempts.

Martin Gerber held fast in the Swiss goal

Aside from Gerber, the hero for Switzerland was Reto Suri, who scored both of the Swiss goals in the shootout. Gerber meanwhile, stopped Jordan Eberle, Claude Giroux, Steven Stamkos, Matt Duchene (who had scored in the third round), Eberle again, Matt Read and finally Duchene for a second time to give Switzerland the win.

Hopp Suisse!

The final game on Sunday saw Norway thrill their fans in attendance with a tougher than they would have liked 3-2 win over fellow Scandinavians Denmark 3-2 after the Danes scored twice within five minutes to tie the game at 2-2 before Norway got the regulation game winner with 2:32 left to play to move to a shocking lead all by themselves at the top of the group!

Norway enjoying life at the top

Noway's two regulation wins give them the full 6 points, one more than Switzerland's 5 points, which has come against the toughest competition in Group S. Canada's 4 points see them in a strong position to advance as expected, while the Czechs and Swedes are tied with Belarus at 3 points each in the scramble for the final playoff position. Meanwhile Slovenia and Denmark are winless after two games and their head to head meeting on Tuesday could seal the fate for the losing side, as any additional points for either team will be difficult to come by at best.

Today's featured jersey is a 2004 Switzerland National Team Martin Gerber jersey as worn during the 2004 World Championships. Gerber wears he unusual for an NHL goaltender jersey #26. His career began with the SCL Tigers in first the Swiss National League B before the club was promoted to the National League A. He then spent a season in Sweden before making his NHL debut with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2002-03. He played a second season with the Mighty Ducks, one with the Carolina Hurricanes, three with the Ottawa Senators and then the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He then spent a year in the KHL with Atlant Moscow Oblast before returning to North America and spending a year in the AHL with Oklahoma City, which included 3 games with the Edmonton Oilers before spending the last two years back in Sweden's Elitserien.

Internationally, Gerber has appeared for Switzerland in now nine World Championships (with a best of 5th in 2010) and two Olympics, the highlight of which was a 2-0 shutout of Canada at the 2006 Olympics in Italy.

Today's video section begins with Switzerland's shock win over Canada.

Next up are highlights of what could be the Cinderella story of the 2013 Worlds, Norway and their victory over Denmark.

Reader Submission - 2006-07 Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson Jersey

Our latest reader submission comes from Jani Maarala, and it's perfect timing with the NHL playoffs now underway.

Here is Jani's writeup about his favorite jersey and what makes it historic in term of the Stanley Cup Finals.

One of the definite favorites in my collection is 2006-2007 Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson SCF White. 

This jersey was worn in the first Stanley Cup Final in Ottawa for 80 years. Also it was the first in Ontario province in 40 years. 

Ottawa was down 2-0 in the series but won the third game by the score of 5-3. There was an incident following Daniel Alfredsson's tying goal which made it 3-3. The referees waved the goal off at first, because they thought it was a kick. After video review the goal was approved because there was no kicking motion. 

This jersey is historic also because of a fact that no other European had captained a team to the Stanley Cup finals before Alfredsson.

Thanks to Jani for taking the time to photograph his jersey and share the story of Alfresson and his historic participation in the Stanley Cup Finals in this style jersey. We really appreciate the efforts involved when our readers take the time and effort to share their jerseys.

If you have a jersey in your collection that you'd like to share with us and your fellow readers, please submit your pictures and a story to go with it, no matter how brief or detailed, to spyboy1@gmail.com and we look forward to seeing your favorites!