MEN’S HOCKEY
Day 5 saw the start of Men’s Hockey; the first time in 20 years where there would be no NHL players. A recent poll done before the Olympics showed that only 40% of Canadians were still interested in watching, 43% would still watch but didn’t care as much, and 17% would not watch it at all. Where do I stand on all of this? To me the Olympics is where all the BEST athletes come together to put on a great show for the entire world regardless if they’re professional or not. It is an international stage where the best athletes come together to compete to be called the Olympic Champion.
With that in mind, I was very disappointed to hear that the NHL was not allowing its players to compete at the Olympics because they fear risking profits and injuries to their players. Representing your country is a great honour and I wish more NHL athletes would realize this and follow other athletes like legend Therese Brisson, who left her position as a professor at the University of New Brunswick to compete in the Olympics because they wouldn’t grant her a leave of absence. Of course, she wasn’t making millions of dollars like the NHLers, so a slightly different situation but she gave up her job to compete for her country. I can’t help but wonder, what if the bigger names of the game had banded together to go to the Olympics, how would the NHL react?
With all of that said, I must say the Men’s hockey witnessed today is not bad! People might think teams are composed of old washed up hockey players still hanging onto their playing careers but that’s not the case! Yes, they’re a little older and we might not know them well, but these players have heart! They know they have been given an unique opportunity to come to the Olympics to represent their countries and they’re soaking it all in! The skills and pace of the game is great and the best part? There are NO favourites to win; any team can be the Olympic Champion and that’s what makes this an interesting tournament! I encourage you to get behind Team Canada and to cheer on these athletes!
Now, onto the scores! Slovakia beat the OAR 3-2 in Group B action. It was a “stunning upset” but as I mentioned before, any team could win the gold this year! Slovenia took on the United States and beat them 3-2! Slovenia was down 2 goals with 2 minutes left in regulation but rallied back to beat the United States in OT!
Group A action starts tomorrow with Canada taking on Switzerland and South Korea vs Czech Republic both at 7:10am EST. I will be part of the 40% and say Go Canada Go!
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
Now that there are no NHLers in the Olympics, I really do enjoy that the spotlight is on the Women’s team a bit more! They deserve it! These athletes work so hard to get to where they are, sacrificing their careers, family, etc., to represent their country. You should check out women’s hockey if you haven’t already. If you like what you see, remember that there is a Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL), where the current national players play in non-Olympic years. It is family friendly and much more affordable to attend than the NHL games and the players are fast and fierce!
Highlight of the night for Women’s hockey? Korea scoring their first Olympic goal! While they might not have won the game against Japan (lost 1-4), Rani Griffin gave the crowd something to cheer for! The crowd went nuts, the North Korean Cheerleaders went nuts, we all went nuts! Many stuff animals on the ice! It was great to see the support the Korean team has from their country (both North and South)! Our behind the scenes message from the refs, “we don’t care who wins, obviously, but we want South Korea to score – this place will go nuts!” It was nice to see that the officials immediately set the puck aside at the timekeeper’s box, which was swiftly taken away by a volunteer – hope that puck is safe!
Sweden lost to Switzerland 1-2 with Muller scoring another goal to continue her strong presence at the games.
Canada takes on their rivals, the United States, at 10pm ET. Get the coffee ready for tomorrow morning because this is a must watch game leading up to the semis! It might not be for a medal yet but it’ll be a great game as usual!
PAIRS FIGURE SKATING
After the short program, Canada finished #3 – Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, #12 – Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau, and #13 – Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro. Funny story: Duhamel was having quite a day leading to the competition. Her hanger with her dress broke in the wind and she almost got onto the wrong bus to the wrong venue! Luckily she was saved by Germany figure skater Bruno Massot, who got her onto the right bus and to the correct venue. Phew!
China’s Wenjing Sui and Cong Han finished first and OAR’s Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov finished second. The Canadians are still in the hunt for a medal! Hopefully, Duhamel will have a smoother day for the next day of competitions! Interesting fact: the North Korean pair qualified for the competition through the conventional method and skated wonderfully. The crowd cheered very loudly for them and they scored their personal best!