FEBRUARY 22, 2005

THE CADRE e 1717

SPORTS

Team Canada Still Poised to Strike Gold in Torino

Dear Editor,

I know that Dodgeball is not considered a serious sport by most people, but it involves a fair amount of skill, endurance and sometimes luck. Not many are aware, but it is one of the most popular sports on campus. The Dodgeball Society has existed for several years and currently has close to one hundred members, making it one of the largest student societies currently active at UPEI.

Despite its perceived semi-sport status, like any sport, it can be dangerous. Injuries are not frequent and are almost never serious, but every now and then, sadly, lady luck gets. vindictive. Last week one of our dedicated members, was accidently kicked in the hand. Not something that one would consider a serious injury, but nonetheless it required him to stop playing and go home. The worst part of this is that the gym had ice on hand in the locked physiotherapy room, and they had a key, but the girl at the desk said that she was not allowed to open it. Needless to say this was a little frustrating. If something like this happened to any university sports team I’m pretty sure that the proverbial shit would hit the proverbial fan, but because we’re a lowly student society no one cared that much.

It turned out that instead of a bruised hand, the injured student had shattered his right wrist in four places. He required surgery and a metal plate was placed in his hand. He is right handed and as a result can’t write or do his job working in a bakery.

This is by no means letter placing blame on the gym staff, it written with the hope that problems like this won’t happen in the future. ’m sure that it would have been just as easy to go to the rink and get some ice, but hindsight is 20-20 and it’s sometimes hard to think of all the possible options when you have to deal with the pain of broken bones.

Sincerely, Dodgeball enthusiast and Society Co-president Devin Gillis

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Josh Lewis Reporter

Kim Martin is a golden god!

But I digress (sorry to steal your catchphrase, Ray). The Swedish goalie who dethroned the arrogant Americans

in women’s play has nothing to do with this article.

This article is about the Olympics, so tip your eyes away from the

television for a few minutes and pay

attention. They'll be replaying the two- man luge later in the day if you really want to see it that bad. Oh, you were watching hockey? Well, that’s much better. So without further ado, here’s your Team Canada Olympic men’s hockey primer.

Team Canada is expected to compete for a medal in these Games, but they should finish fourth or fifth.

If you believe that, you can move on to another article. This one’s way over your head.

Team Red & White entered Italy as — what else? — gold medal favourites. With the talent pool available to Wayne Gretzky & company, anything less would be a huge disappointment. Canada used to be the hypocrite of the international hockey worid. We’d talk the talk, but we couldn’t walk the walk. Fifty years without an Olympic gold medal will do that for you. Then we embarrassed America on its home turf in 2002 and everything changed, Since then, Canada has been unstoppable. World Cup, World Championships, World Juniors, you name it, we’ve won it (under-17

Olympics,

doesn’t count. For the love of God, we have five teams). Now we're king of the hill again, looking on as Russian infighting drags them further and further down the totem pole.

One week into competition, though, Canada looks like anything but a gold medal contender. What’s going on here, dear fans? The team looked sluggish at best in an unimpressive 7-2 win over the hosts (doormats) Italy. The boys looked

somewhat better in a 5-1 win over Germany the next day. And then... The Upset. When Canadians woke up Saturday morning, there were no signs that something was amiss. Team Canada was gearing up for a simple glorified scrimmage against Switzerland. The game was supposed to give the team a boost before they faced stiffer competition in Finland and the Czech Republic. Sixty minutes and two goals later, the hockey world had been turned on its ear by a 2-0 Swiss victory. It was an upset of mythic proportions. It was the greatest victory in Swiss hockey history, displacing the team’s unexpected win over the Czechs two days earlier. The Swiss, led by goalies Martin Gerber and David Aebischer, were on fire.

So, what’s wrong with Team Canada? In a word... nothing. This is no different from every major tournament. Canada is almost legendary for its slow starts. Our claim to fame is that we get better with each game that passes, and we turn the heat up when it matters most. Don’t forget that the team played its first game just 21 hours after arriving in Turin, after a seven hour flight. It probably took the first two games just to get over the jet lag. What about the Swiss, you say? Some things can’t be explained. Someone up there obviously likes the Swiss. Maybe it’s their hero, Paul DiPietro, who’s actually Canadian.

The point is that Pat Quinn will have this team gunning on all cylinders when the medal round comes about, and really, that’s all that matters. Rest assured: the Canadians will not give the same lackluster effort when the going gets tough. These players aren’t naive. They’ve been around. They know what’s at stake, and they’ll do whatever it takes to achieve gold.

And achieve gold they will. You can bet on it. Take it from me and my spotless record.