I spoke with Christian Pierre FISU Communications Director who taled to me about television ratings on Chinese National Television Yesterday and he stated that over 100 million Chinese watched the Canada vs China Women's Hockey Gold medal game where Canada won 3-1. That blows Hockey Night in Canada television ratings out by more than 90 million. The silver medal win for China was its best in international competition and the women are national heros. Fans walked the stands holding blow up pictures of Chinese women Hockey players and the result will be a boost to women's hockey in China.
The Chinese television ratings for the Opening ceremonies were much larger however. Get this over 500 milliom viewers watch the spectactular cultural and entertainment opening!
To see Canada march in opening ceremonies on youtube got to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usabBuwoSUE&feature=related
Those Laurier Student-Athletes did us all proud here and more viewers ended up seeing them than Don Cherry's Coach's Corner in a decade! Cheers Peter
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Team Canada short in Gold Medal Match
Canadian Men settle for Silver
You really don't even need to explain it any further.
Anytime the two countries meet in a championship final, the matchup brings out the claws in both sides and the final of the 24th Winter Universiade proved to be no exception.
Russia scored two goals in the span of 46 seconds in the third period and held on to defeat Canada 4-2 to claim the gold, and bring to a close the games of the Harbin Winter Universiade.
It was, without question, the most hotly anticipated game of the tournament and - despite the eventual outcome on the Canadian side of the ice - it lived up to the hype and expectation.
Both teams staked their place in the final thanks to an undefeated run in the round robin portion of the tournament with neither team really breaking into a sweat. Canada thrashed their semifinal opponents from Slovakia to the tune of 8-1 while the Russians decimated Kazakhstan with an equally vengeful 7-1 score.
Both semifinal matchups served notice that neither team was to be taken lightly, and that only a victory in the final game would suffice. For the Russians, the victory was the crown jewel in their games leading total of 51 medals in Harbin. But for the Canadians, it was a bitter pill to swallow and proving themeselves to be the second best team in at the Harbin games offered little comfort.
"I thought the game was there for the taking," said Calgary Dino defender Travis Friedley. "I thought when we played the kind of game that we'd been successful playing, we really controlled the play. We started to drift from the plan in the third period, and they're just too good to try and do that against. We really didn't play all that poorly, but it seemed like every time we made a mistake they were able to turn it around and make something of it.
"I thought they outplayed us in the back half of the third period," noted head coach Milan Dragecivic. "We stopped chipping pucks deep and getting their guys turning around in their own end to go get them. We had a lapse of about three minutes in the later part of the period, and that ended up being the difference.
Russia opened the scoring in the first period when Marat Valiullin beat Alberta netminder Aaron Sorochan five-and-a-half minutes into the game. The score stayed that way until the late stages of the period when Sashkatchewan Huskie Steve DaSilva scored right off a faceoff in the Russian end to make it a 1-all game.
Russia - who never trailed at any point in the tournament - got the game's next goal on an odd sequence of events. Sorochan misplayed a seemingly harmless Russian shot and the puck popped out of his glove and back onto the ice. Russian forward Denis Fahrutdinov jammed home the freebie late in the period to give the Russians a 2-1 lead heading into the middle stanza.
"That was an unfortunate one because Zorro (Sorochan) doesn't misplay a shot like that very often," said Canadian captain Ben Kilgour. "But that's what it was like for us tonight. Anytime a break could go for us or against us, it always bounced in their favour. Not to take anything away from the fact they're a very skilled team, but it just seemed like we couldn't catch a break when we needed one."
The Canadians had plenty of opportunities to equalize in the second period as the Russians offered up five powerplay chances. Canada was unable to convert on any of the numerous man-advantage situations, and the team went into the third still trailing by a goal.
The Russians handed the Canadian side their best chance to get back to even in the early part of the final period when forward Vadim Berdnikov took a major and a game misconduct for roughing. Saskatchewan Huskie forward Steve Gillen scored on the ensuing five-minute powerplay, but that was all the offense the Canadians could muster.
"We just couldn't get pucks to the net on the powerplay," said Gillen. "I don't know how many times we'd set it up, get a guy to the front to create a little space for himself and then not get the puck through."
In the end, Canada was only able to convert on one of their seven powerplay chances in the contest - a statline that many in the room say played a large factor in the final outcome.
"I thought we needed to be better when we were a man up," said Dragecivic. "I thought out inabilty to make our powerplay chances count, and our deviations from the gameplan in the third period really hurt us tonight."
The Russians shook off the Gillen marker, retaking the lead with little more than three minutes remaining in the game. A goalmouth scramble in front of Sorochan left Petr Kuokhriakov alone and he tucked it behind the Canadian keeper to make it 3-2. Any last remainging hopes of a Team Canada comeback died less then a minute later when Konstantin Kulikov converted a cross ice feed from linemate Radik Zakiev to make it a 4-2 lead, killing the hopes of repeat gold for Canada in mens' hockey in the process.
"That was an example of the kind of skill we were taking about, and the margin for error on our part being so slight" said Ben Kilgour. "We had to press a little bit because we were running out of time. But we get a guy who tries to walk through the zone trap by himself, gets caught and it turns into a numbers rush the other way. The Russian drove wide, threw it back across to the guy who was driving to the middle. A textbook two-on-one rush and they scored on it."
Canadian netminder Aaron Sorochan stopped 23 of 27 Russian shots in the contest while Russian keeper Emil Galikov faced two fewer shots, but also made 23 saves.
The loss marked the end of the competition at the 24th Winter Universiade in Harbin. Canada's medal total was six as they claimed one gold, four silvers and one bronze over the eleven days of competition.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Team Canada Curling skip. Laurier's Hollie Nichol to be Closing Ceremonies Flag Bearer
Friday, February 27, 2009
Closing Ceremonies Flagbearer
Team Canada chef de mission Peter Baxter is pleased to announce Wilfrid Laurier curler Hollie Nicol as the flagbearer for the closing ceremonies of the 24th Winter Universiade.
"What Hollie and the girls did this week is nothing short of remarkable," said Baxter. "Coming into the games with modest expectation of success, they showed they can compete at the highest level. Unfortunately, it didn't have the storybook ending they were hoping for, but that doesn't diminish what they achieved here this week."
Nicol and her team of Danielle Inglis, Laura Hickey, Hillary McDermott and Erica Butler swept the competition during the round robin portion of the event, finished the week with a 10-1 record and leave Harbin with a silver medal for their efforts.
"It's been a great week, and I'm honoured to have the responsibility of carrying the flag for Canada at the games," said Nicol. "I'm very happy to be given the opportunity to lead the athletes into the closing ceremonies."
The closing ceremonies are slated to begin at 8:00pm, right after the Winter Universiade men's hockey gold medal final between Canada and Russia. The men's hockey final is the last event of the 24th Winter Universiade, and Nicol and the rest of Team Canada's athletes will be at the game, supporting the Canadian men in their gold medal hunt.
"What a great way to end the games," said Nicol. "Watch the men follow the path of our women's hockey team and win gold - then lead the athletes into the closing gala."
0 comments
"What Hollie and the girls did this week is nothing short of remarkable," said Baxter. "Coming into the games with modest expectation of success, they showed they can compete at the highest level. Unfortunately, it didn't have the storybook ending they were hoping for, but that doesn't diminish what they achieved here this week."
Nicol and her team of Danielle Inglis, Laura Hickey, Hillary McDermott and Erica Butler swept the competition during the round robin portion of the event, finished the week with a 10-1 record and leave Harbin with a silver medal for their efforts.
"It's been a great week, and I'm honoured to have the responsibility of carrying the flag for Canada at the games," said Nicol. "I'm very happy to be given the opportunity to lead the athletes into the closing ceremonies."
The closing ceremonies are slated to begin at 8:00pm, right after the Winter Universiade men's hockey gold medal final between Canada and Russia. The men's hockey final is the last event of the 24th Winter Universiade, and Nicol and the rest of Team Canada's athletes will be at the game, supporting the Canadian men in their gold medal hunt.
"What a great way to end the games," said Nicol. "Watch the men follow the path of our women's hockey team and win gold - then lead the athletes into the closing gala."
Bevan and Ironside strike Women's Hockey Gold
Friday, February 27, 2009
Canada at a Glance - Day 10
What Canada Did on Friday, February 27 at the 24th Winter Universiade
BIATHLON
Canada’s biathletes wrapped up their competition with the mixed relay event. Canada finished the race in 8th place.
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
Canada's cross-country skiers wrapped up their competition with the Women's 15 km and Men’s 30km events.
Anna Crawford was the fastest skier for Canada, posting a 31st place finishing time of 53:59.6,
Alexia Pichard-Jolicoeur skied the course in a time of 55:17.5 - good for 37th spot, with Alana Thomas arriving at the finish line in 42nd place clocking in at 56:32.0.
In the men's 30km event, Ed McCarthy placed 35th, in a time of 1:35:20 with Gavin Hamilton finishing with a 42nd place time of 1:38:39.5 - one spot better than Carl Steudler's time of 1:38:43.5
MENS CURLING
Skipped by Laurier’s Mike Anderson, Canada’s Men’s curling team finished the round-robin in sixth place at 4-5 – they did not advance to the medal round
WOMENS CURLING
Skipped by Laurier’s Hollie Nicol, Canada won a silver medal, losing to China's Bingyu Wang 6-5 in the gold medal final.
MENS HOCKEY
Canada defeated Slovakia 8-1 in one of two Friday semifinals. Canada will meet Russia for gold in the final competition event of the Universiade games.
WOMENS HOCKEY
Canada’s Women’s Hockey won gold, defeating China 3-1 in the final.
LONG TRACK SPEED SKATING
The Canadian athletes have finished their Universiade competition
SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING
Canada's short track speed skaters have completed their Universiade competition.
Canada’s combined medal count stands at five – one gold, three silver and a bronze.
BIATHLON
Canada’s biathletes wrapped up their competition with the mixed relay event. Canada finished the race in 8th place.
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
Canada's cross-country skiers wrapped up their competition with the Women's 15 km and Men’s 30km events.
Anna Crawford was the fastest skier for Canada, posting a 31st place finishing time of 53:59.6,
Alexia Pichard-Jolicoeur skied the course in a time of 55:17.5 - good for 37th spot, with Alana Thomas arriving at the finish line in 42nd place clocking in at 56:32.0.
In the men's 30km event, Ed McCarthy placed 35th, in a time of 1:35:20 with Gavin Hamilton finishing with a 42nd place time of 1:38:39.5 - one spot better than Carl Steudler's time of 1:38:43.5
MENS CURLING
Skipped by Laurier’s Mike Anderson, Canada’s Men’s curling team finished the round-robin in sixth place at 4-5 – they did not advance to the medal round
WOMENS CURLING
Skipped by Laurier’s Hollie Nicol, Canada won a silver medal, losing to China's Bingyu Wang 6-5 in the gold medal final.
MENS HOCKEY
Canada defeated Slovakia 8-1 in one of two Friday semifinals. Canada will meet Russia for gold in the final competition event of the Universiade games.
WOMENS HOCKEY
Canada’s Women’s Hockey won gold, defeating China 3-1 in the final.
LONG TRACK SPEED SKATING
The Canadian athletes have finished their Universiade competition
SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING
Canada's short track speed skaters have completed their Universiade competition.
Canada’s combined medal count stands at five – one gold, three silver and a bronze.
GOLD!
York forward Courtney Unruh scored for the third time in her last four starts, as Canada’s women’s hockey team capped off a perfect week on the ice with a 3-1 win over the host Chinese in the gold medal final at the 24th Winter Universiade in Harbin, China.
Unruh’s second period tally stood up as the game winner as the Canadian side made history as the first winners of the women’s hockey event at the FISU Winter Games.
“It’s actually funny to score them in bunches like that, because this year, I’ve actually had trouble finding the net. “said Unruh. “It’s been a little frustrating back home because the puck just hasn’t been going in for me, but here this week it seems everything I do leads to a goal.”
Team Canada also got goals from Alberta’s Rayanne Reeve and captain Cathy Chartrand of McGill who – despite having significant international experience for Canada prior to the trip - found herself somewhat awestruck at game’s end.
“It’s better than anything I ever imagined it would feel like. To win gold as a member of Team Canada is a dream come true,” said Chartrand. “It was nice to be involved in a tight game in the final. Some of the games in the round robin were a little lopsided, but the final was a excellent game.”
Canada was undoubtedly the class of the fielding the inaugural edition of the women’s hockey portfolio at the games - posting an unblemished 7-0 record and outscoring their opponents by a combined total of 46-7 at the event - but despite the cumulative statistics, the outcome of the final was anything but a foregone conclusion.
Chartrand opened the scoring with her second goal and seventh point of the tournament in the late stages for the first period to give the Canadians the 1-0 lead after one.
To the delight of the raucously supportive crowd at the Harbin Ice Hockey Gym, the Chinese evened the score at 1-1 when Jin Fengling beat Manitoba Bisons’ netminder Stacey Corfield at 2:35 of the middle stanza. However, the joy in the stands was short-lived as Unruh regained the lead for Canada with the eventual game-winner moments later, giving the Canadians the one-goal lead heading into the final period.
Rayanne Reeve, a native of Stony Plain, Alta., who skates for the Alberta Pandas, added an insurance marker at 4:32 of the final period. The Chinese mounted a furious charge in the final few minutes, but Corfield kept the Canadian lead safe, and Canada achieved their golden goal.
“It’s so cliché, but words simply don’t describe the feeling right now,” said Corfield. ”To come together from all over the country and compete as a team – playing the Chinese in front of the biggest crowd any of us have ever played in front of – it’s been such a fun experience – the culture, the hockey, everything. I couidn’t have asked for a better time.’
Corfield picked up her tournament leading fifth win of the competition and was credited with 13 saves as Canada outshot China 39-14.
The women will now see if their golden touch can be transferred over to the men, as Canada’s guys face Russia in the final of the men’s hockey event Saturday afternoon.
Team Canada website:
www.cisport.ca/harbin
2009 Winter Universiade hockey results website:
http://app.harbin2009.org/wu24info/singleTable_Hockey.shtml?request_locale=en_US
SCORING SUMMARY
Canada 3, China 1
GOLD MEDAL GAME
(FISU GAMES @ Harbin Ice Hockey Gym)
FIRST PERIOD
1. Canada: Cathy Chartrand (A. Del Guidice, K.Webster), 17:17
Penalties:
China: R. Sun (crosscheck), 0:29
Canada: V. Davidson (interference), 3:46
Canada: K. Webster (hold), 10:33
Canada: C. Unruh (hook), 17:41
SECOND PERIOD
2. China: Jin Fengling (N.Jiang, R. Sun), 2:35 (PP)
3. Canada: Courtney Unruh (M. Provost, A. Bevan), 7:09
Penalties:
Canada: A. Ironside (rough), 2:23
Canada: M. Provost (hook), 4:48
China: H. Cui (hold), 11:33
Canada: A. Ironside (hold), 12:45
Canada: A. Boras (hold), 13:00
THIRD PERIOD
4. Canada: Rayanne Reeve (M. Provost, A. Bevan), 4:32 (PP)
Penalties:
China: A. Tan (rough), 4:23
Canada: K. Webster (cross), 10:14
Canada: S. Ramsay (trip), 19:52
SHOTS BY PERIOD:
China 8 - 3 - 3 -- 14.
Canada 17 - 11 - 11 -- 39.
GOALS BY PERIOD:
China 0 - 1 - 0 -- 1
Canada 1 - 1 - 1 -- 3
POWER PLAY CONVERSIONS:
China 1 / 9;
Canada 1 / 3.
PENALTIES (No/Mins):
China 3/6;
Canada 9/18.
GOALTENDERS:
China,
Shi Yao [L, 39 shots-36 saves, 60:00];
Canada,
Stacey Corfield [W, 14 shots-13 saves, 60:00).
Start: 7:31 pm
End: 9:34 pm
Attendance: (unavailable)
Referee: Tara Leighton (USA).
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Laurier curlers win Silver Medal at 2009 Universiade
Thursday, February 26, 2009
WCURL - Silver Lining as Team Canada Curlers come short vs China
Canada's Hollie Nicol faces world silver medalist Bingyu Wang of China for gold in womens curling.
Wang scored three in the third end -- led 4-2 at the 5th end break, but was held to a single in the 6th.
* * *
Canada led China 5-2 playing the 7th end. In th 7th - Wang made a gorgeous tap-back to lie one partially buried - Nicol followed it down, scored her two and trails 5-4 playing in the eighth.* * *
In the 8th -- A Canadian kicker at the back corner of the 12-foot, forced Wang to play for a single rather than the blank -- wang made an open hit on Nicol's rock in the four foot. China scores one -- they leads 6-4 playing the ninth.
* * *
China set up the ninth end fairly well -- with Wang sealing a lone Canadian counter in behind a wall of Chinese granite. Nicol was left with a draw to a thin sliver of the button for her two...good for weight, but tight for line. Canada scores one -- trails 6-5 playing the 10th without hammer.
China plays 10th end perfect and wins Gold. Laurier Girls represented Canada well and we are all proud of their silver medal finish.
* * *
Laurier's Women's Curlers and Hockey Players go for Gold tomorrow
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Canada at a Glance - Day 9
What Canada Did on Thursday, February 26 at the 24th Winter UniversiadeBIATHLONCanada’s biathletes did not compete on day 9 of the games.The next competition for the biathletes is Friday’s mixed relay eventCROSS COUNTRY SKIINGCanada's cross-country skiers did not compete on day 9 of the games. The next competition for the cross-country skiers is Friday’s Men’s 30km event.MENS CURLINGSkipped by Laurier’s Mike Anderson, Canada’s Men’s curling finished the round-robin in sixth place at 4-5 – they did not advance to the medal roundWOMENS CURLINGSkipped by Laurier’s Hollie Nicol, Canada defeated Great Britain 7-5 in the semifinal to advance to Friday's gold medal match.Canada will meet world silver medalist Bingyu Wang of China for gold.MENS HOCKEYCanada’s Men’s hockey team enjoyed a day off on day 9 of the games.Canada will face Slovakia in one of two Friday semifinals, Russia and Kazakhstan will meet in the other.WOMENS HOCKEYCanada’s Women’s Hockey team advance to the gold medal final with a 10-1 win over Slovakia in one of two Thursday night semifinals. Canada will face either Finland or China in Friday's finalLONG TRACK SPEED SKATINGThe Canadian men have finished their Universiade competition* * *On the women's side, The Canadians competed in the team pursuit event.Ste-Foy, Quebec's Justine L'Heureux combined with Calgary skaters Kirsti Lay and Shannon Sibold for a 6th place performance - posting a time of 3:12.64.The Canadians failed to advance to the medal skate - but posted a time of 3:13.45 in a consolation side skateSHORT TRACK SPEED SKATINGCanada's short track speed skaters have completed their Universiade competition.Canada’s combined medal count stands at three – two silver and a bronze.
Posted by Hodges at 4:05 AM 0 comments
WHKY - Slovakian Semifinal Showdown
York forward Carly Hill scored the eventual game winner at the final buzzer of the first period as Canada's hopes of a gold medal in women’s hockey remained on track, thanks to their 10-1 semifinal win over Slovakia at the 24th Winter Universiade. View IIHF scoresheet here - http://http://app.harbin2009.org/wu24info/pdf/bq/0211173E.PDFThe Slovaks came closest to handing the Canadians a preliminary round defeat, scoring the game's first goal and holding the Canadians to a 4-3 lead after two periods before surrendering two third period markers in a 6-3 defeat. Canada anticipated their semifinal opponents to be better than they were in the round robin matchup, and needed to match the Slovak intensity."They did a lot of good things on Saturday night," said head coach Dan Church. "But we discussed that before the game and realized that score probably had more to do with how flat we were, than how good they played. We didn’t really intend to turn this into any sort of statement game, other than to prove to ourselves that we could be better."Determined not to let the Slovaks draw first blood as they did in the round robin, Moncton forward Mariève Provost scored the game’s opening goal three minutes into the opener. The Canadians spent the better part of the games opening frame in the Slovak end, outshooting them 20-3, and only the goaltending of Slovak keeper Monika Kvakova kept the game from turning into a runaway early. The Slovaks looked to have weathered the storm, when Hill scored right at the buzzer to send the Canadians to the dressing room up a pair. Hill's goal demoralized the Slovaks heading into the break, who seemed to be ready to credit themselves with the moral victory of only being down one at the intermission."You could see it in their body language as they left the ice,” said head coach Dan Church. “I thought Carly’s goal really set them back. We came out with good speed in the first period and outshot them badly. For them to get out of the period only down one would have been big for them.” As deflated as Hill’s goal left the Slovaks, it energized the Canadian side. Hill scored again 77 seconds into the middle period with Wilfrid Laurier’s Andrea Bevan scoring less than two minutes later to make it 4-0 and the eventual result was never in jeopardy from then on. The Slovaks had a small victory midway through the period when Petra Jurcova beat Canadian netminder Stacey Corfield, but the Canadians further crushed the Slovak spirit with Leah Copeland scoring two goals in a 17 second span. In all, the Canadians scored five second period goals and took a comfortable 7-1 led into the final twenty minutes. In the third, the Slovak frustrations started to boil over, and they paid for it on the scoreboard. York forward Courtney Unruh scored her second powerplay marker of the night to make it 8-1 before Copeland completed the hat trick to make it a 9-1 game. McGill’s Vanessa Davidson capped off the scoring for Canada with the team’s fifth powerplay marker of the evening as the Canadians assured themselves of a medal. As they have throughout the tournament, the Canadians controlled the pace and flow of the game from start to finish, outshooting the Slovaks by a 50-9 margin. Stacey Corfield made eight saves in the victory, picked up her fourth win of the tournament.Canada advances to the Friday's gold medal final where they will face the winner of the China-Finland semifinal.
Posted by Hodges at 12:24 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
WCURL - Canada Goes for Gold on Friday
Canadian third Danielle Inglis did what any young woman would want do on her 21st birthday – she spent the day hanging out with friends, receiving birthday greetings from her family and running up the credit card at the shopping mall.Oh yeah – and she hooked up with the rest of her Team Canada mates, beat Great Britain 7-5 in the semifinals of the 24th Winter Universiade and set up a date with Chinese national hero Bingyu Wang for gold on Friday.“That was the deal,” sais Inglis. “If we won, we all got to spend the afternoon shopping. Had we lost, we would have played for bronze later this afternoon. That didn’t really seem like a very fun option to us, so we made a pact. Win – and spend the rest of the day hunting for bargains.”Whatever works, ladies. You might be able to argue the methodology – but you have to respect the results.Entering the tournament as a self-professed ‘dark horse’, the Canadians shed any measure of obscurity they were hoping to use to their advantage with a 9-0 record in the round robin portion of the event. With the Maple Leaf on their back serving as a bulls-eye for the remaining medal contenders, the Canadians faced a stiff test in Thursday’s semifinal against Great Britain.After blanking the opening end, the Brits stole one in the 2nd to open the scoring. Canada got that back with a single in the 3rd, and the teams blanked the fourth.The fifth end was a little dicey for the Canadians as they made a handful of half-shots in a row – setting up Great Britain for a big end. Sarah Reid took advantage of the Canadian miscues and cracked a four-ender in the 5th taking a 5-1 lead into the break.“I guess if it’s going to happen, it’s good that it happened in the fifth,” said Canadian skip Hollie Nicol. “You get the longer break and better chance to regroup. Normally it only takes a couple of minutes for us to shake an end like that off.”“I just reminded them that it’s long way from over,” said Ferris. “We talked about how there was still a lot of game left to play, and they just needed to regroup and go after it. They don’t have a lot of experience at the international level, but they’ve curled a lot of games together. They know that if they hang in there and play smart, they’ll get their chances.”The girls battled back - scoring two in 7, stealing one in 8 and stunning the Brits with a steal of three in 9 to take a 7-5 lead. The Canadians ran Great Britain out of stones in the final end and secured their place in the Friday's final."I thought they did a great job staying patient," remarked Canada team coach Jennifer Ferris. "5-1 down at the break seems like a big gap, but in reality it isn't. You just try and score your deuce, and follow it with a steal. I'm a little surprised they didn't score in the back half of the game, but our girls stepped it up and forced their hand a bit at times."Great Britain's second half collapse wasn't just a matter of Canada turning up the intensity - game management in the back half of the game also played a significant role in the outcome."They were really running short on time," noted Nicol. "Even in the 9th, they were down to six-and-something. They had to hurry their shots a bit, and it's tough when you take yourself out of your rhythm."The Canadian win sets up the gold medal showdown that many were hoping they’d get. Chinese national champion Bingyu Wang is nothing short of revered at these games, and after the Nicol and company beat her 7-6 on Monday in the round robin, fans started the anticipation of a gold medal rematch.“I think they’ll be better in the final that they were earlier in the week,” said Nicol. “They’ll have a pretty big cheering section going for them as well , but the fans will be expecting the Chinese to win. To be honest, I think it takes the pressure off us.”
Posted by Hodges at 7:25 PM 0 comments
Canada at a Glance - Day 9
What Canada Did on Thursday, February 26 at the 24th Winter UniversiadeBIATHLONCanada’s biathletes did not compete on day 9 of the games.The next competition for the biathletes is Friday’s mixed relay eventCROSS COUNTRY SKIINGCanada's cross-country skiers did not compete on day 9 of the games. The next competition for the cross-country skiers is Friday’s Men’s 30km event.MENS CURLINGSkipped by Laurier’s Mike Anderson, Canada’s Men’s curling finished the round-robin in sixth place at 4-5 – they did not advance to the medal roundWOMENS CURLINGSkipped by Laurier’s Hollie Nicol, Canada defeated Great Britain 7-5 in the semifinal to advance to Friday's gold medal match.Canada will meet world silver medalist Bingyu Wang of China for gold.MENS HOCKEYCanada’s Men’s hockey team enjoyed a day off on day 9 of the games.Canada will face Slovakia in one of two Friday semifinals, Russia and Kazakhstan will meet in the other.WOMENS HOCKEYCanada’s Women’s Hockey team advance to the gold medal final with a 10-1 win over Slovakia in one of two Thursday night semifinals. Canada will face either Finland or China in Friday's finalLONG TRACK SPEED SKATINGThe Canadian men have finished their Universiade competition* * *On the women's side, The Canadians competed in the team pursuit event.Ste-Foy, Quebec's Justine L'Heureux combined with Calgary skaters Kirsti Lay and Shannon Sibold for a 6th place performance - posting a time of 3:12.64.The Canadians failed to advance to the medal skate - but posted a time of 3:13.45 in a consolation side skateSHORT TRACK SPEED SKATINGCanada's short track speed skaters have completed their Universiade competition.Canada’s combined medal count stands at three – two silver and a bronze.
Posted by Hodges at 4:05 AM 0 comments
WHKY - Slovakian Semifinal Showdown
York forward Carly Hill scored the eventual game winner at the final buzzer of the first period as Canada's hopes of a gold medal in women’s hockey remained on track, thanks to their 10-1 semifinal win over Slovakia at the 24th Winter Universiade. View IIHF scoresheet here - http://http://app.harbin2009.org/wu24info/pdf/bq/0211173E.PDFThe Slovaks came closest to handing the Canadians a preliminary round defeat, scoring the game's first goal and holding the Canadians to a 4-3 lead after two periods before surrendering two third period markers in a 6-3 defeat. Canada anticipated their semifinal opponents to be better than they were in the round robin matchup, and needed to match the Slovak intensity."They did a lot of good things on Saturday night," said head coach Dan Church. "But we discussed that before the game and realized that score probably had more to do with how flat we were, than how good they played. We didn’t really intend to turn this into any sort of statement game, other than to prove to ourselves that we could be better."Determined not to let the Slovaks draw first blood as they did in the round robin, Moncton forward Mariève Provost scored the game’s opening goal three minutes into the opener. The Canadians spent the better part of the games opening frame in the Slovak end, outshooting them 20-3, and only the goaltending of Slovak keeper Monika Kvakova kept the game from turning into a runaway early. The Slovaks looked to have weathered the storm, when Hill scored right at the buzzer to send the Canadians to the dressing room up a pair. Hill's goal demoralized the Slovaks heading into the break, who seemed to be ready to credit themselves with the moral victory of only being down one at the intermission."You could see it in their body language as they left the ice,” said head coach Dan Church. “I thought Carly’s goal really set them back. We came out with good speed in the first period and outshot them badly. For them to get out of the period only down one would have been big for them.” As deflated as Hill’s goal left the Slovaks, it energized the Canadian side. Hill scored again 77 seconds into the middle period with Wilfrid Laurier’s Andrea Bevan scoring less than two minutes later to make it 4-0 and the eventual result was never in jeopardy from then on. The Slovaks had a small victory midway through the period when Petra Jurcova beat Canadian netminder Stacey Corfield, but the Canadians further crushed the Slovak spirit with Leah Copeland scoring two goals in a 17 second span. In all, the Canadians scored five second period goals and took a comfortable 7-1 led into the final twenty minutes. In the third, the Slovak frustrations started to boil over, and they paid for it on the scoreboard. York forward Courtney Unruh scored her second powerplay marker of the night to make it 8-1 before Copeland completed the hat trick to make it a 9-1 game. McGill’s Vanessa Davidson capped off the scoring for Canada with the team’s fifth powerplay marker of the evening as the Canadians assured themselves of a medal. As they have throughout the tournament, the Canadians controlled the pace and flow of the game from start to finish, outshooting the Slovaks by a 50-9 margin. Stacey Corfield made eight saves in the victory, picked up her fourth win of the tournament.Canada advances to the Friday's gold medal final where they will face the winner of the China-Finland semifinal.
Posted by Hodges at 12:24 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
WCURL - Canada Goes for Gold on Friday
Canadian third Danielle Inglis did what any young woman would want do on her 21st birthday – she spent the day hanging out with friends, receiving birthday greetings from her family and running up the credit card at the shopping mall.Oh yeah – and she hooked up with the rest of her Team Canada mates, beat Great Britain 7-5 in the semifinals of the 24th Winter Universiade and set up a date with Chinese national hero Bingyu Wang for gold on Friday.“That was the deal,” sais Inglis. “If we won, we all got to spend the afternoon shopping. Had we lost, we would have played for bronze later this afternoon. That didn’t really seem like a very fun option to us, so we made a pact. Win – and spend the rest of the day hunting for bargains.”Whatever works, ladies. You might be able to argue the methodology – but you have to respect the results.Entering the tournament as a self-professed ‘dark horse’, the Canadians shed any measure of obscurity they were hoping to use to their advantage with a 9-0 record in the round robin portion of the event. With the Maple Leaf on their back serving as a bulls-eye for the remaining medal contenders, the Canadians faced a stiff test in Thursday’s semifinal against Great Britain.After blanking the opening end, the Brits stole one in the 2nd to open the scoring. Canada got that back with a single in the 3rd, and the teams blanked the fourth.The fifth end was a little dicey for the Canadians as they made a handful of half-shots in a row – setting up Great Britain for a big end. Sarah Reid took advantage of the Canadian miscues and cracked a four-ender in the 5th taking a 5-1 lead into the break.“I guess if it’s going to happen, it’s good that it happened in the fifth,” said Canadian skip Hollie Nicol. “You get the longer break and better chance to regroup. Normally it only takes a couple of minutes for us to shake an end like that off.”“I just reminded them that it’s long way from over,” said Ferris. “We talked about how there was still a lot of game left to play, and they just needed to regroup and go after it. They don’t have a lot of experience at the international level, but they’ve curled a lot of games together. They know that if they hang in there and play smart, they’ll get their chances.”The girls battled back - scoring two in 7, stealing one in 8 and stunning the Brits with a steal of three in 9 to take a 7-5 lead. The Canadians ran Great Britain out of stones in the final end and secured their place in the Friday's final."I thought they did a great job staying patient," remarked Canada team coach Jennifer Ferris. "5-1 down at the break seems like a big gap, but in reality it isn't. You just try and score your deuce, and follow it with a steal. I'm a little surprised they didn't score in the back half of the game, but our girls stepped it up and forced their hand a bit at times."Great Britain's second half collapse wasn't just a matter of Canada turning up the intensity - game management in the back half of the game also played a significant role in the outcome."They were really running short on time," noted Nicol. "Even in the 9th, they were down to six-and-something. They had to hurry their shots a bit, and it's tough when you take yourself out of your rhythm."The Canadian win sets up the gold medal showdown that many were hoping they’d get. Chinese national champion Bingyu Wang is nothing short of revered at these games, and after the Nicol and company beat her 7-6 on Monday in the round robin, fans started the anticipation of a gold medal rematch.“I think they’ll be better in the final that they were earlier in the week,” said Nicol. “They’ll have a pretty big cheering section going for them as well , but the fans will be expecting the Chinese to win. To be honest, I think it takes the pressure off us.”
Posted by Hodges at 7:25 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Canada on Day 8
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Another solid speed skating session
Canada's women wrapped up the individual events at the Heilongjiang Speed Skating Gym with the 1000-meter event.
View official results here - http://app.harbin2009.org/wu24info/pdf/sh/0413992E.PDF
Ste-Foy, Quebec's Justine L'Heureux posted another impressive finish at the games, skating the 2 1/2 lap circuit in a time of 1:19.59 - good enough for 9th place.
Despite dealing with a sore shoulder all week, Calgary's Kirsti Lay toughed out another good skate, finishing in a 16th place time of 1:21.38, one spot ahead of teammate Anastacia Bucsis and her clocking of 1:21.53.
Now skating out of Quebec City, Calgary's Shannon Sibold also turned in a solid performance, hitting the line in 1:23.68 - good for 24th spot.
With the individual events of the long track speed skating complete, all that remains is the women's team pursuit competition which will be held Thursday.
Canada's playoff partners determined
Canada's women's curling team will face Great Britain one of two Thursday semifinals. Great Britain defeated the Czech Republic in a Wednesday tiebreaker to advance to the medal round.China and Russia will meet in the other semifinal.
Canada's Mens hockey team now knows who their semifinal opponent will be. Japan's surprising 6-3 win over the United States pushes the Slovaks into second spot in Pool B. Canada will play Slovakia in one semifinal, while the Russians will meet Kazakhstan in the other.
See Team Canada March in Opening Ceremonies on YouTube
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Canada at the Opening Ceremonies
You can find YouTube video of Canada marching into the spectacular opening ceremonies of the games at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usabBuwoSUE&feature=related
0 comments
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Bartering with the Mongolian Speed Skaters
The Mongolians are on the floor. Get out your change gear. A Mongolian speed skaters have their wolf fur hats on hand want to trade for a Canadian jacket. I don't really want to trade my jackey but at -21 for the last week here in Harbin the Hat looks like a solution to my frozen ears! I try to open my bid with my Canadian tuque but he says no in five different languages except image. He insists on the jacket. I convince Allison in the Mission staff office to sell me a smaller size jacket because mine was is xtra Large and the poor Mongolian would swim in it. For $80 bucks Canadian I buy the Jacket, hand it over to my new found friend from Mongolia and he gives me the Fur Hat. We shake hands and he says "Canada Friend" I say "Mongolia Friend" and the transaction in secured. I now have warm ears and I now match our Chief Athletic Therapist Christian Seguin who earlier secured a Wolf fur hat also! Economics 101- Barter!
Taking in the Culture of Harbin
Emperor From Laurier from Team Canada Peter Baxter on the Throne of the Golden Hawk and riding a camel at the Harbin Ice and Snow festival.
Dr. David Mai of the University of Ottawa
Besides the competition the best part of the Universiade is to see the student-athletes and Mission staff engaging in the Chinese culture. In the village we have had the opportunity to witness performances of the Peking Opera including some of the staff and athletes having the opportunity to get the opera make up artist paint up some of the team members. The Chef de Mission also took advantage of a camel ride at the snow and ice festival. The village has a Chinese
cultural and language centre to learn Mandarin and they also have a volunteer that spells your name in Chinese Characters. We also went out to a restaurant close to the village for an authentic meal. The village also has a Chinese Tea room with Volunteers that make you your tea flavour of choice. Tonight the Women's hockey team tonight went to the international skit night that was held in the Athlete Village entertainment Centre. Lots of friends made between nations and fun had by all.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Team Canada Results on Day 6 2009 Universiade in Harbin, China
Monday, February 23, 2009
Canada at a Glance - Day 6
O Canada – Go Canada!!
What Canada Did on Monday, February 23 at the 2009 Winter Universiade
BIATHLON
Canada’s biathletes did not compete on Day 6 of the games. The next competition for the biathletes is scheduled to take place Tuesday with the men competing in the 10K sprint event and the women competing in the 7.5K sprint event.
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
Finishing 34th, Mississauga, ON athlete Alana Thomas posted Canada’s result as the female cross -country skiers competed in the 5K pursuit event.
Thomas finished the sprint event in a time of 34:09.9 – six spots better than St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, QC skier Alexia Pichard-Jolicoeur’s time of 34:41.0
Anna Crawford of Lake George, NY finished in 43rd spot with a time of 35:18.0, while Peterborough, ON skier Mary Thompson finished one spot back in 44th, positng a race time of 35:50.7.
The men competed in the 7.5K pursuit event with Gavin Hamilton posting Canada’s best result – finishing 29th in a time of 43:06.4. Ed McCarthy finished 47th in a time of 44:44.1 with Calgary’s Carl Steudler completing the race in 46:08.8 – good for 60th spot.
MENS CURLING
Skipped by Laurier’s Mike Anderson, Canada’s Men’s curling team dropped their third game in a row on Monday afternoon – falling 7-4 to China in the afternoon draw. Canada’s record falls to 3-4 and the team sits sixth in the standings. The men play twice on Tuesday - 9:00am against the United States before wrapping up the round robin at 7:00pm against Finland.
WOMENS CURLING
Skipped by Laurier’s Hollie Nicol, Canada’s Women’s curling team won both of their draws on Monday, defeating China 7-6 in the morning draw and downing Great Britain 9-3 in the evening draw.
Canada sits alone atop the standings boasting a record of 8-0. Having already clinched top spot in the round robin, Canada will play once on Tuesday - 2:00pm against Czech Republic.
MENS HOCKEY
Canada’s Men’s hockey team defeated Czech Republic 3-1 to run their record to 3-0 in the round robin. Kyle Ross, Reid Jorgensen and Mike Hellyer scored for Canada while Aaron Sorochan stopped 21of 22 Czech shots in the Canadian net. Canada’s (3-0) next opponent will be Kazakhstan (3-0) in a game schedule for Tuesday afternoon at 7:00pm.
WOMENS HOCKEY
Canada’s Women’s Hockey team enjoyed a day off from competition on Monday and will next take to the ice Tuesday afternoon at 3:30pm against Japan.
LONG TRACK SPEED SKATING
The Canadian men did not skate on Monday, and will next take to the ice on Tuesday competing n the 1000-meter event.
* * *
The Canadian women did not skate on Monday, and will next take to the ice on Tuesday competing n the 5000-meter event.
SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING
Montreal’s Guillaume Bastille earned Canada’s first medal at the 24th Winter Universiade, finishing second in the 1000-meter final.
Bastille also medalled for Canada in the men’s 5000-meter relay. Bastille teamed up with Alexander Boisvert-Lacroix, Richard Shoebridge and Tyler Darraugh to finish second behind the Chinese in a time of 7:03.929.
* * *
Montreal skaters Marie-Andrée Mendes-Campeau, Nita Avrith, Annik Plamondon, and Valerie Lambert combined to win Canada’s third medal of the games – a bronze in the 3000-meter relay event.
The Canadians completed the relay in a time of 4:32.728, behind teams from China and Korea.
Canada’s combined medal count stands at three – two silver and a bronze.
MHKY vs Czech Republic
Photos from Canada's 3-1 win over the Czech Republic.
Mens Hockey move to 3-0
Men's hockey raised their record to a perfect 3-0 with a 3-1 win over the Czech Republic.
Kyle Ross, Reid Jorgensen and Mike Hellyer scored for Canada in the win.
Canada at Kazakhstan are tied atop the Pool standings at 3-0, with the two teams facing each other Tuesday evening at 7:00.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
From the Games - Carly Hill
Our Journey to China
I left bright and early from Montreal airport with my teammates from McGill and the girls from out east. We flew from Montreal to Vancouver to meet the rest of the girls from across Canada
Once arrived in Vancouver we joined the girls from Ontario and one from British Columbia. We had a two hour layover in Vancouver where we decided to enjoy one last Canadian meal and stuffed our faces with either Subway or Tim Hortons.
As we boarded the flight to Beijing we were all very tired and ready to sleep. I was lucky enough to have a window seat while most of the girls were stuck in the middle of the middle row, next to random strangers many of whom were wearing Sars masks. The girl I sat beside was extremely talkative and taught me how to say hello (nee how) and thank you in Mandarin.
During the flight we were told to stand up and walk around because the blood rushes to our feet. We all walked around, talked with the speed skaters and pushed our way by people to get to the wash rooms. The walk ways were always crowded and very stressful to walk through.
Now , let’s get to the most annoying part of this flight - the TV’s sucked. Most of the girls did not even have the option to choose movies, instead they were streaming on random channels that would repeat the movies and constantly start over again, so you could never watch a full movie. The popular choices for the girls were Finding Nemo and Hancock. I guess I was considered lucky because I was able to choose my movies therefore I had the two they had as well as The Vacation, Cars and The Heartbreak Kid. The girls were so mad that not only were they stuck sitting in the middle of the middle, next to people coughing and wearing Sars masks but they couldn’t even watch TV.
The food while we traveled to Beijing was very good and they definitely fed us enough for the entire ride. We received two big meals as well as sandwiches and beverages. The good news is none of us got sick and we all ate enough to last us for a long time. Our stomachs were too full. The airplane had all the typical elements for a long ride such as the screaming baby, the annoying individuals who get up all the time, the ones who talk far too loud and most importantly the ones who walk through the isles and hit your head as you’re trying to sleep.
We arrived in Beijing and I was excited to see the millions of people who are supposed to be around, however - we got there and the airport was completely empty. As we waited for the train to bring us the other side of the airport, Cathy Chartrand lifted her pants and almost fainted. Her ankles were now considered Kankles (fat ankles). They were huge; we all checked ours ankles and it turned out that other girls were experiencing the awful horror of Kankles as well. The rest of the train ride we spent making fun of Cathy and the other girls. The Beijing airport was very clean and everyone was so friendly. We met the Great Britain men and women’s hockey teams and they joined us on the flight to Harbin. I sat with several girls from Great Britain and we all had a great laugh about the different meaning in words. Turns our when I said she was wearing nice pants, she thought I commented on her underwear so she looked at me very uncomfortably. The girls were hilarious and they made the flight to Harbin very pleasant considering we had no TV’s to watch.
We arrived in Harbin and turns out seven of us lost our sticks somewhere along the way. They were left either in Montreal or Beijing. Our assistant coach, Shelley Coolidge had a very hard time trying to communicate how many sticks we lost and where they were lost, and we all had a good laugh. We had practice the next day and they did not think our sticks would be there in time and well they weren’t. We practiced using other people’s sticks and two girls had to use the wrong side. The funny thing was that Cathy Chartrand shot was still harder then mine even with a wrong sided stick.
Traveling to Harbin has been very interesting but I am sure we will be experiencing many funnier moments in the next two weeks.
Team Canada Men's Curlers determined to dig deep to stop slide
Monday, February 23, 2009
MCURL drops third straight
Canada's mens curlers lost their third straight game of the round robin, falling 7-4 to China's Fengchun Wang.
Canada's record drops to 3-4, and the team is tied for sixth heading into tomorrow's final day of round robin competition.
Canada will play twice to wrap up the round robin portion of the event, facing the United States (2-5) in the morning draw before meeting Finland (1-6) in the final draw before the playoffs.
Opening Ceremonies Spectacle was Cultural Extravaganza
Playing Canada Beach Volleyball while waiting for the March in was popular and fun for all nations waiting!
The Harbin Organizing Committe pulled all the stops in a two hour Performance involving Dancers, Chinese and Russian pop artists, Gymnasts, and musicians for the athletes and spectators. In attendance was the Chairman of China, HU Jin Tao and was televised on National Television in China. Our cross Country skiers made the 3 hour train trek from Yabuli and the Biathon athletes from Maoershan were shuttle by bus an hour and a half to join the Canadain athletes in Harbin Village and they were not dissappointed. Walking in to the arena with McGill Women's Hockey Player Kathy Chartrand was a thrill for all the delagation. The Chinese people are so welcoming and we are stopped often for photographs .
I am starting to run out of Canada pins and even the Military Officers at the village gate know me by name "Canada Pin Leader".
FISU President Gerge Killian address at Opening
Flag bearers at Opening Ceremonies
Chairman Hu Jin Tao of China (fourth from the left
Laurier Representatives at the 2009 Winter Universiade
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
