WATCH: Canada takes down its American rival in men’s hockey, and add another 4 medals to Canada’s total. Allison Vuchnich reports.
What you need to know about Sochi today:
After an amazing day in Sochi for Canadian athletes on Friday, Saturday doesn’t offer many medal hopes.
Key events to watch:
Three Canadians will be in the women’s snowboarding parallel slalom competition.
- Qualification round – 12:15 a.m. ET / 9:15 p.m. Friday PT.
- Round of 16 – 4:15 a.m. ET / 1:15 a.m. PT.
- Quarterfinals – 5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT.
- Semifinals – 5:30 a.m. ET / 2:30 a.m. PT.
- Finals – 5:45 a.m. ET / 2:45 a.m. PT.
- The three Canadians competing are Caroline Calvé, Ariane Lavigne and Marianne Leeson. All are very strong competitors and each has a shot at the podium.
The men’s parallel slalom in snowboarding also gets under way in Sochi on Saturday.
- Qualification round – 12:40 a.m. ET / 9:40 p.m. Friday PT.
- Round of 16 – 4:25 a.m. ET / 1:25 a.m. PT.
- Quarterfinals – 5:10 a.m. ET / 2:10 a.m. PT.
- Semifinals – 5:30 a.m. ET / 2:30 a.m. PT.
- Finals – 5:50 a.m. ET / 2:50 a.m. PT.
- Canadians to watch: Matthew Morison, Michael Lambert, Jasey-Jay Anderson.
The Canadian men’s team pursuit in long track speed skating takes on Poland for the bronze medal Saturday after losing their semi-final to South Korea on Friday. A bronze in this event would be a huge accomplishment for Canada.
- Men’s long track speed skating team pursuit – Canada vs. Poland – 8:50 a.m. ET / 5:50 a.m. PT.
- Canada’s team is made up of Denny Morrison, Lucas Makowsky, Mathieu Giroux and Vincent De Haitre. Only three of them compete in the event; De Haitre is more of an injury replacement.
Other events:
The men’s four-man bobsleigh event’s first two runs are Saturday, with three Canadian sleds in the field.
- Four-man bobsleigh run 1 – 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT.
- Four-man bobsleigh run 2 – 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
- The Canada-1 sled is made up of Chris Spring, Tim Randall, James McNaughton and Bryan Barnett.
- Canada-2 sled: Lyndon Rush, David Bissett, Neville Wright, Lascelles Brown.
- Canada-3 sled: Justin Kripps, Cody Sorensen, Ben Coakwell and Jesse Lumsden.
Following the women’s ski slalom on Friday, the men hit the slopes on Saturday.
- Men’s slalom run 1 – 7:45 a.m. ET / 4:45 a.m. PT.
- Men’s slalom run 2 – 11:15 a.m. ET / 8:15 a.m. PT.
- The four Canadians in the field are Michael Janyk, Brad Spence, Trevor Philp and Philip Brown.
The final biathlon event of the 2014 Winter Olympics takes place on Friday – the men’s 4 x 7.5 km relay.
- Men’s 4 x 7.5 km relay biathlon – 9:30 a.m. ET / 6:30 a.m. PT.
- Canada’s relay team has four members: Jean-Philippe Le Guellec, Scott Perras, Nathan Smith and Brendan Green.
In cross country skiing, four Canadians go for the podium in the women’s 30 km mass start on Saturday.
- Women’s 30 km mass start – 4:30 a.m. ET / 1:30 a.m. PT.
- The Canadians in the field are Amanda Ammar, Emily Nishikawa, Heidi Widmer and Brittany Webster.
While the men’s team pursuit goes for bronze on Saturday, the women’s team will be racing for a disappointing 5th place in Final C after losing to Russia on Friday. They race against the United States.
- Women’s long track speed skating team pursuit – Canada vs. U.S.A. – 9:15 a.m. ET / 6:15 a.m. PT.
- The women’s team is made up of Christine Nesbitt, Brittany Schussler and Kali Christ.
What happened on Friday:
Canada nabbed two gold medals for a second straight day on Friday. They also added a silver and a bronze to their overall Sochi medal count, which now stands at 24.
But Friday’s most anticipated event wasn’t for a medal – the meeting of Canada and the U.S.A. in the men’s hockey semifinal.
In a fast-paced game that boasted a ridiculous amount of on-ice talent, the Canadians and Americans battled it out for a shot at the gold. Canada was the better team for the most part, but the Americans had some excellent scoring chances that were turned away by goaltender Carey Price, who was Canada’s best player on Friday.
The game was scoreless after one period but the Canadians came out with purpose in the second, with Jamie Benn scoring early in the period. Benn tipped in a perfect Jay Bouwmeester pass to put the Canadians up 1-0. It turned out to be all the Canadians needed, as that was the final score.
Where Canada had the biggest advantage was the play in their own zone. Very few times did they allow the forechecking Americans to gain the puck and sustain any pressure. In the other end, Canada’s big guys such as Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Rick Nash were able to do just that. Not to mention captain Sidney Crosby, who easily had his best game of the tournament thus far.
Canada capitalized on the lack of foot speed on the American blue line, leading to an exciting victory. Team Canada goes for gold against Sweden on Sunday at 7 a.m. ET / 4 a.m. PT.
In curling, Brad Jacobs led the Canadian men to gold, with a commanding 9-3 victory over Great Britain, who conceded the game after only eight ends. Jennifer Jones and the women set the bar on Thursday with their gold medal and Jacobs’ team of Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden answered the bell. It marks the first time in Olympic history that the Canadian men’s and women’s teams have captured gold in the same year.
The best Canadian medal result in an event came in the women’s ski cross, with Marielle Thompson winning gold and Kelsey Serwa finishing right behind her with the silver, marking the third time Canadians have won both gold and silver in a Sochi event.
WATCH: Charle Cournoyer says his Olympic dream came true on Friday
Canada’s final Friday medal was a bit of a surprise. It came courtesy of the youngest member of the men’s short track speed skating team, 22-year-old Charle Cournoyer. Canada’s medal hopes in the 500-metre event were thought to have been lost when Charles Hamelin fell in his first round heat, but Cournoyer had other ideas, finishing second in both his quarterfinal and semifinal, then third in the final to capture the bronze for Canada. It was a great Olympic debut for Cournoyer.
Other Canadian highlights:
In long track speed skating, the men’s team pursuit quarterfinals and semifinals took place on Friday. The quarterfinals are an important round, as the four teams who win them will have an automatic shot at a medal. Fortunately for Canada’s team of Denny Morrison, Lucas Makowsky and Mathieu Giroux, they were one of these four teams. They beat the U.S.A. convincingly and advanced to the semis, guaranteeing a podium shot.
Later in the day, the Canadians had to go up against a very strong South Korean team. Canada put up a good fight but it wasn’t good enough to beat South Korea, a country known for its speed skaters. Canada’s loss means they will race Poland, which lost to the Netherlands in the other semifinal, for the bronze medal Saturday.
On a day where the rough slope was knocking everyone off their skis, two of four Canadians finished the women’s ski slalom strong. Canada’s top competitor, Marie-Michèle Gagnon finished 9th – a bit of a disappointment – and Brittany Phelan finished 15th. Erin Mielzynski and Elli Terwiel were unable to finish the first run.
Disappointments:
The Canadian men’s short track 5000-metre relay team won their final on Friday. The only problem was, it was Final B, not Final A, where the medals are handed out. The team of Charles Hamelin, Francois Hamelin, Olivier Jean and Michael Gilday had a strong performance to cap off a disappointing Olympic run in Sochi. Overall, they placed 6th.
Valérie Maltais had a very promising start to the women’s short track 1000-metre competition, setting an Olympic record in her first heat on Tuesday. On Friday she won her quarterfinal but finished last in her semifinal, diminishing her hopes for an Olympic medal. The other Canadian remaining, Marie-Eve Drolet, placed last in her quarterfinal and failed to qualify for the semis.
Sticking with speed skating, the women’s long track team pursuit group had a disappointing outing Friday: A loss to Russia in their quarterfinal match-up eliminated them from medal contention. Canada’s team was made up of Christine Nesbitt, Brittany Schussler and Kali Christ.
The women’s biathlon relay team had a very strong start. Rosanna Crawford, Megan Imrie and Megan Heinicke all skied very well, with Heinicke having the best overall performance, combining skiing with shooting. They sat in fourth place heading into the last leg, which was skied by Zina Kocher. Kocher had a disastrous time in the range, missing three of her five shots, causing her to lose valuable time. Canada finished in 8th place.
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