Confident Canadians keeping it light ahead of knockout stage at women's hockey worlds
CBC
The women's hockey world championship is heating up.
On the ice, the quarterfinals at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ont., begin Thursday. Canada takes on Sweden, while other matchups feature U.S.-Germany, Finland-Czech Republic and Switzerland-Japan.
Off the ice, the temperature reached 26 degrees on Wednesday and is supposed to remain warm through Sunday's medal games.
Canada, which went 4-0 in group play, enters the knockout stage with a sunny disposition.
In a full day off the ice on Tuesday, the team held a brunch for family and friends, breaking from the rhythms of a tournament that began over a week ago.
Back at practice on Wednesday, Ryan said it was less about teaching and more about tightening some things up. The group doesn't appear to be tense — at one point, Blayre Turnbull collided with a teammate who got up quickly, only to immediately trip back over Turnbull's stick.
Neither player was injured, but Turnbull spent a couple extra beats down, smacking the ice with her hand in laughter.
"A big part of our team is always staying loose and having fun and that's what we're trying to do moving forward," Turnbull told CBC Sports.
Outside of a chaotic final minute in a 4-3 shootout win over the U.S., Canada was rock solid in sweeping through the preliminary stage.
"We've won championships when we've beat [the U.S.] and we've also won championships when we've lost to them," Ryan said after that game. "The one thing we do like is it's a home-ice advantage moving forward."
WATCH | Rattray delivers in shootout for Canada:
Obviously, Canada was guaranteed home ice when the tournament was awarded to Brampton in January. And the crowds have certainly been raucous in support of their home team.
But as top seed now, Canada will get the last line change, allowing Ryan to control matchups. The win over the U.S. also keeps spirits high.
"In these events it's a lot easier to work on some things when you're in a good place," Ryan said.
Alphonso Davies covered his face with his shirt as he left the field with an injury in Bayern Munich's game against Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday in Bergamo, Italy, raising questions about the Canadian star's availability for the World Cup.
Canadian Para nordic skiing star Natalie Wilkie has now won a medal of every colour at the Milano-Cortina Paralympics, adding bronze in the women's standing sprint classic on Tuesday in Val di Fiemme.
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Canadian Para alpine skier Kalle Eriksson and guide Sierra Smith continued their impressive Paralympic debut on Monday by racing to bronze in the men's visually impaired super-G for their second medal.
Matt Dunstone won his first Canadian men's curling championship after knocking hard on the Brier's door in recent years.
Natalie Wilkie won Canada's first gold medal of the Milano-Cortina Paralympics, topping the podium in the women's standing biathlon on Sunday.
Most Paralympic athletes live relatively normal lives when they’re not competing.
Para alpine skier Kalle Eriksson and guide Sierra Smith took silver in the men's visually impaired downhill competition for Canada's first medal of the Milano-Cortina Paralympics on Saturday in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
The Milano-Cortina Winter Paralympics officially opened Friday amid the tensions of war in the Middle East, and with some countries boycotting the opening ceremony because of the return of the Russian flag to the global sports stage.
Iran will not participate in the Milan Cortina Paralympics because its only athlete set to compete can't safely travel to Italy amid the intensifying Middle East conflict, the International Paralympic Committee said Friday.
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Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh had a chance to redeem herself against United States legend Katie Ledecky but came up short by nearly two seconds on Wednesday night at a Pro Swim Series meet in Westmont, Ill.
Her first real foray into the kitchen was back when she was barely a teenager. Zoë Rhooms knew the athlete in the family had a sweet tooth and she always looked out for her big brother, Aaron. When he was nine, Aaron told Zoë and their parents that when he grew up, he was going to be the next Batman. Then a few weeks later, Aaron came home from school and declared to everyone he had changed career paths — a basketball player he’d be.