Birkebein

Norwegian Hockey, some European Hockey and NHL-stuff is what you can expect here.

[birkebein]

McDavid isn't even on my level. You know, he's not down there.

Mats Zuccarello, to Norwegian press, with a sheepish grin after having played the Edmonton Oilers. 

[birkebein]

20 minutes interview/segment with Mats Zuccarello from Norwegian talkshow Lindmo.

Best quote: “Training is really boring.”

With English subtitles!

[sometimecynic]

Steve Downie vs Andreas Martinsen  |  Dec 27th, 2015

[birkebein]

Martinsen has been training MMA this off-season. Don’t think he’s going to be any easier to take on. 

[birkebein]

Zucc, the enforcer, vs. Italy. 

Clip originally posted on twitter by Alex Nunn!

[birkebein]

Zucc, the short-handed pain-in-the-ass, vs Italy.

Clip originally posted on twitter by Alex Nunn!

[birkebein]

Zucc, the maker of plays, vs. Kazakhstan. 

Clip originally posted on twitter by Alex Nunn!

[birkebein]

Zucc, the trickster. Patrick Thoresen stole the puck, and guess who was at the right place at the right time to score. 

Clip originally posted on twitter by Alex Nunn!

[birkebein]

Zucc, the grateful host. At this point the entire arena was going wild. We are going to the Olympics! 

Clip originally posted on twitter by Alex Nunn!

[birkebein]

I was in Oslo last week, to watch Norway play for Olympic participation. It was a golden opportunity for me to see perhaps the best team we’ve ever put on the ice. Patrick Thoresen was healthy, the Olimb brothers too, Martinsen from Colorado Avalanche was there, and last but not least, Mats Zuccarello had basically begged his bosses in New York to let him play. And so he did. Additionally, the games were played at Jordal Amfi, a stadium that will be demolished in the new year, and many of the players, including Zucc, grew up there, as they like to say.

So Norway lost the first match in the Olympic qualification to Kazakhstan in overtime. That was painful, but Norway scored two goals in the last couple of minutes, taking it to overtime. Which was impressive at-least. Then waited outsider Italy, who played disciplined, but could not really compete. Norway won 4-1. And since France beat Kazakhstan, we could still win the group with a win over France in the last match.

And boy what a match that was. Incredibly even, hard-fought, lots of physical stuff. And it all came down to that moment in that video. We had gotten a decent hold of the match in the last period, the board said 1-1, and 2 minutes before full-time, Mathis Olimb gets the puck to the net, big Martinsen digs for it, and it bounces out to the youngest Norwegian player on the ice. Mattias Nørstebø. And that goal sends us to the Olympics!

[fuckyeahrosenborg]

Helland scored a pretty good free kick against Iceland. They were drawing 1-1 and his goal was the 2-1 for Norway. The match ended 3-2 eventually. 

Also, Jonas Svensson finally made his debut for the A team! good! :)

[birkebein]

Mats Zuccarello and World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen at the friendly football match between Norway and Iceland earlier today. 

Love to see the world of hockey and chess intersect!

[birkebein]

But I have to post this now that I found it!

This is a clip of Vålerengas second goalie Glenn Jensen, who’s been most famous for being one of Zuccarello’s best friends. He went over to Russia and lived with Zucc there when he played for Magnitogorsk for instance! But in Norway he’s become somewhat of a celebrity in his own right through the hockey documentary show Iskrigerne! And here he is, chirping opponents. 

From 1:20 and out is a classic moment, in English for the most part. 

[birkebein]

Cheers to people still reblogging stuff from this blog and everything!

I don’t really pay much attention to hockey on tumblr anymore (twitter is more rewarding), but you know if anyone has questions about Norwegian hockey or Norwegian hockey players, fire away an Ask or something, And I’ll get to it when I stop by.

[vieillesoul]

what a dORK I love you

[birkebein]

Never really tried listening to a hockey game through radio only before. Hard to get an impression about specific players for sure. But Andreas Martinsen is still with the Avalanche at this point, playing on line with Nathan McKinnon, and getting some time on the power play so he must be doing something right!

Obviously great to have seen Zuccarello back earlier. An assist and a goal + a shootout goal is more than approved for a player playing his first match after a serious injury!

[lynchesque-bitch]

can we just appreciate that mats zuccarello had a potentially career ending head injury that left him without the ability to talk for 4 days in April, and in his first PERIOD of nhl hockey since then he had both a goal and an assist

[laserbrainn-deactivated20190911]

It’s a beautiful day out! The sun is shining! The birds are chirping! And Mats Zuccarello is playing hockey tonight! All is well!