Two hockey games from the men of Team USA

Yikes!!! I am falling behind in my blogging. I am shooting so much and trying to find time to write all the blog posts. But alas, I am going to post my favorite images from the last two men's hockey games from Team USA in this one post.

US vs Slovenia

When I present on sports photography, I always say that it is important to capture the action AND the reaction. When I am shooting sports like hockey, I am always thankful when my team scores on my side of the ice and celebrate in front of me. This was the first of two goals for the US, who lead 2 to 0 going into the final period.

A one timer that missed wide of the net.

Thankfully, our defenseman knocked this puck out of the way before the Slovenian player could put it in the net.

Having the puck in the frame really help solidify the image as a keeper...

As you can see from the dejection in this image, Team USA gave up two goals in the third period and then lost in the first minute of overtime. It was a tough loss for the team. My job is to tell the story, good or bad, and so I took this photo.

I also go into the "Mix Zone" after each game to grab some photos of the players being interviewed. Needless to say, the guys were not in the best mood, but I hoped that it would fire them up for the next game.


US vs Slovakia

Tonight's game was another really good one, and this time with a better outcome.

Ryan Donato scores his first of two goals, this one in the first period. And once again I was happy that he scored it on my side of the ice and I caught the celebration.

Tbere was a wide open net for a split second but Mark Arcobello couldn't put it home before the Slovakian defense poked it away.

This was my favorite photo from the game and another favorite from this Olympics so far. There was this huge scrum in front of the net and I saw the ref jump up onto the net to see if the puck crossed the goal line. It was a classic moment, and thankfully I captured it in focus through the plexiglass. And after some research I did get the ref's email address and have sent him the full-res image for him to keep.

A close up shot of Ryan Zapolski during a stoppage in play.

A great stop by Ryan in front of his net.

And yet another great stop.

This game was a lot more physical than the last one. There were no fights (which are very rare at the Olympics) but it was chippy for sure.

This was taken a second or two before Ryan Donato scored his second goal of the night. He went from backhand to forehand to score five hole on the goalie. I was shooting, but there was a defender in between him and myself, so it was not a great shot.

But I did get the celebration again.

And this time the ending was much happier for Team USA.

And the US fans were loving it too.

Then I was back in the Mix Zone to get more photos of the player interviews. There were more smiles this time around.

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