Bobby Ryan: I’m glad Jonas Hiller is usually on my side

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Hi again everyone

I think I’ve had about enough of seeing Jonas [Hiller] as an opponent. He was so good against us on Wednesday and almost got us off our game. It was getting frustrating on the bench, which Jonas can do to a team sometimes. We almost got trapped into the game that Switzerland wanted us to play, that high-risk type of game. But [Zach] Parise got rewarded with kind of a cheesy goal after playing so well in the game, and that’s the way it goes sometimes. You feel bad for Jonas because he played so well. But nobody ever lost faith on our side, and it feels great to prevail.

It’s very surreal to be this close to a medal. I’m trying not to look too far ahead, but when we are this close, it’s pretty amazing.

The game against the Finns is going to be fun. I talked to Teemu [Selanne] a few days ago and told him I’d see him in the semifinals because we saw how the pool could work out. I’d like to lay a few hits on Teemu and Saku [Koivu] for all the times they missed me backdoor this year when I was wide open in front of the net (I’m joking). I can’t wait to play them.

It’s so odd when you see a friend that’s on an opposing team around the village. I saw Luca Sbisa [Ducks prospect playing in Portland] before the game against the Swiss. He’s one of my best friends (he actually lives at my place in Orange County during the summer), and we chatted for 10 minutes in the cafeteria. So here we are, used to eating with each other often, and now we aren’t supposed to. We each got our food and sheepishly walked to opposite tables to eat with our “other” teammates. So weird.

The people here are so passionate. Funny story … the night before the Canada game, we had a team meal at a local Italian restaurant. As we were leaving, all the fans actually applauded us, but then they broke out into a chorus of “Oh Canada,” singing it right at us. … We didn’t really know what to do. But the next night after we beat Canada, we went back to the same place, and nobody said a word. It was stunned silence.

-- Bobby Ryan

Winger Bobby Ryan of the Ducks and the U.S. Olympic hockey team is joining The Times’ Olympic blog and will be posting his thoughts periodically during the Vancouver Games. Ryan, 22, is playing in his first Olympics.

Top photo: Bobby Ryan hugs Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller after the U.S.-Switzerland game on Wednesday. Credit: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images. Bottom photo: Bobby Ryan and Ryan Whitney in the Olympic Village. Credit: Bobby Ryan