[GDT] February 13

[Kelekin]

Posting this early since I have it done already (and heading to bed now!).

Canada sits T-2nd in the Medal totals, and T-2 in total Gold medals. February 13th will be a really busy day for Canadians, with our first Men's Hockey game, three Curling draws, and lots more speed-skating.

[10 PM] Curling – Women’s: CAN (3-0) vs. DEN (0-3). Jones’ rink should win this one and go to 4-0.

[11:15 PM, 2:30 AM] Ski Slopestyle – Men’s Qualifications, Finals: Only one Canadian in the competition, Alex Beaulieu-Marchand. If he can make the final, anything can happen as he is extremely skilled, but he is not favoured for a medal.

[12:30 AM, 1:40 AM] Skeleton – Women’s Runs 1 & 2: Skeleton begins with two Canadians in the mix in Sarah Reid and Melissa Hollingsworth. Depending on the day, Reid can be brilliant. 5th in the world last season, two podiums this year, but lots of mistakes have led to some terrible performances too. Hollingsworth was favoured for Gold in Vancouver, and at 33, this is likely her last Olympics. Her best performance this year is a 5th, but like Reid, can be brilliant depending on the day.

[3 AM] Curling – Men’s: CAN (2-2) vs. DEN (2-2). Two mightily struggling rinks face off against each other in this match-up. Jacobs’ rink needs to get things together to build momentum for the rest of the week. Canada can’t afford a loss, still needing to face most of their toughest competitors.

[3 AM, 4:10 AM, 5:05 AM] Short Track Speed Skating – Ladies’ 500m Quarters/Semis/Finals: Three Canadians are in the round of 16. Marianne St-Gelais should easily move on to the semi-finals, but Valerie Maltais has an extremely tough heat with two medal hopefuls. Jessica Hewitt will need to get by Elise Christie to move on to the semi-finals. St-Gelais is the strongest chance for Canada, but has only one podium finish on the World Cup this season.

[3:25 AM] Short Track Speed Skating – Men’s 1000m Heats: Canada has three competitors in the heats for the 1000m. Cournoyer has an easy heat, as do our two strongest competitors, Charles Hamelin and Olivier Jean. Jean is inconsistent but very capable of making it to the finals, and Hamelin has been dominant in the 1000m this year.

[4:31 AM] Short Track Speed Skating – Men’s 5000m Relay Semi-Finals: Canada’s heat will consist of Italy, China, and Russia. Unlike in the past, the Chinese team, whilst talented, is extremely young and Russia has been strong (thanks to Victor An). Canada and Russia should get through, with USA and Korea to move on in the other semi-final.

[7 AM] Speed Skating – Women’s 1000m: After a brilliant performance from Denny Morrison, the women will look to follow it up with four competitors in the mix. Nesbitt represents our best chance. After dominating the sport for four years, she ran into troubles this past fall and has struggled mightily with form. Nesbitt was strong in the 500m, finishing 12th in a distance where she has never excelled. If she is on form, she could find herself on the podium.

[8 AM] Curling – Women’s: CAN (4-0) vs. SUI (3-1). Canada has faced two of its’ three toughest competitors in GBR and SWE, and will have its’ last major challenge versus the Swiss team.

[8 AM] Figure Skating - Men’s Short Program: Patrick Chan, Kevin Reynolds, and Liam Firus begin their competition. Patrick Chan is a gold-medal hopeful, and a top 6 finish for Reynolds is doable.

[9:15 AM] Luge – Team Relay: Another new team event this year, it will consist of 1 woman, 1 man, and 1 men’s double team. Germany should easily win this event, with Canada, Russia, Italy, Austria, and United States fighting for the medals. Canada has four silver medals in this event in six world cups.

[10 AM] Hockey – Men’s: Canada begins their tournament against powerhouse Norway (kidding – but if their cross-country team could skate, they’d be the favourites).

Other Events: Biathlon – Men’s Individual 20km, Cross-Country Skiing – Ladies’ 10km Classic.

[getbak]

So, I guess we're now on the 13th in Sochi (Happy 26th Anniversary to the Calgary games).


Women's curling Canada vs Denmark is currently in the third end. Denmark scored a big 3 in the second, and lead 3-1.

[Canada 02]

Nice rebound by Jones; Canada now up 4-3 after 4 ends

[Bunk]

Love these GDT summaries. Thanks for putting in the effort.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

And Marchand falls on his first run. Ouch. Needs to nail his second run or he's done.

[vegasbound]

Just posting that I am really rooting for Mellisa Hollingsworth to have a great run! She's an awesome lady and I hope she gets on top of the podium this year.

[KelVarnsen]

I miss TSN for curling coverage.

[V]

Yeah, Hollingsworth is someone I really want to do well after Vancouver. She looked so broken in her interview after her race in Vancouver.

[Kelekin]

Canada defeats Denmark in Women's Curling, move to 4-0. The game was close until the 9th end, Denmark played quite well. China scores two in the 9th to tie with GBR moving into the 10th, SUI does the exact same versus Sweden.

[Mango]

Jones is rolling. They've got another good challenge coming up with Switzerland.

[Kelekin]

Originally Posted by Mango

Jones is rolling. They've got another good challenge coming up with Switzerland.

They are now the only undefeated team. The standings are going to look quite different by the end of the day. Also, USA 0-4...wow.

[Mango]

Originally Posted by Kelekin

They are now the only undefeated team. The standings are going to look quite different by the end of the day. Also, USA 0-4...wow.

It's been a real rough go for them, especially letting GB score seven in one end.

[Kelekin]

Winning color commentary of the day: "Skeleton is a gravity based sport". You know, unlike all the other sports, which don't use gravity.

After Run 1, Sarah Reid in 7th, Melissa Hollingsworth with a disappointing 15th.

[krazycanuck]

Could be an early upset in the making. Austria leads Finland in men's hockey 2-1. Vanek has looked good for Austria.

[getbak]

Selanne playing on a line with Barkov and Granlund. Teemu is older than his two linemates ages combined.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by getbak

Selanne playing on a line with Barkov and Granlund. Teemu is older than his two linemates ages combined.

And still likely twice as fast

[trackercowe]

Captain of Norway? Little early on the call there.

[trackercowe]

Love that Raffl kid, Burke should try and snag him if they deal Cammalleri to Philly or if he's a UFA in the off-season.

[Kelekin]

Skeleton Run 2 is up.

[getbak]

Bam, two quick last minute goals for Finland and it's 4-2 after 1.