Sweet, sweet victory

Today was a great day. A fantastic day even. But before I get to the climax of the night, i'll review the entire day.

We started our day later than usual, not waking up until 11. After a breakfast wrap, Brendan suggested Wendy's, and of course I obliged. So Vic, Brendan and I drove a few blocks to the nearest Wendy's for some brunch while Terry took care of the three S'. After our meal, we came back to the apartment for a short while before making our way out to the civic centre for (what we thought would be) the first of two great games: Russia v. Sweden. We decided to drive instead of taking a taxi today, and after parking about six miles from the arena, we were ready for the game.

At this time i'd like to give honourable mention to faithful follower Rich White, and the good luck he gave us. He threw Victor a call as we were walking into the Civic centre, freezing his fingertips, but giving us good luck for the game later on in the night. (Thanks Rich, we now expect a call the afternoon of every Canada game.)

The Civic centre was overrun with Swedes today, and the scoreboard seemed to favour them as well. They dominated the Russians in every facet of the game, cruising to a 5 - 0 victory, ensuring them a berth in the semifinals. The first period was exciting, but it slowed down significantly into the second and third, so we ducked out early to beat the rush.
After the battle of Europe, the crew moved to Heroes of the Game, a very popular spot in Kanata with great food and great-looking waitresses. Our new best friend Trevor, whom we gave a few unusable tickets, paid for our food and drinks (for a second time), and still had time to grab a picture with us. Our thanks go out to Trevor for the food and the hospitality.
After our pit stop at HotG, we made our way to Scotiabank Place for the main event: USA v. Canada; the battle of North America. This game was for all the marbles. Though the loser still had a chance to win the gold, they may not recover from the blow to their morale if they lost this rivalry game. The house was packed to the brim with Canadian fans, and they were INTO it. The rink was rocking, and the crowd was ready for a big can of whoop-ass to be opened on the Americans. This however, would be delayed.

After the Americans sniped three quick goals on nine shots, hope looked bleak for the Canadians: the crowd was losing interest, the team was looking uninspired, and Canadas goaltending was looking shaky. Then, there was Tavares. John Tavares (soon to be Spitfire) took the team on his back, scoring two goals in under a minute to get his team back into the game. When the Canadians tied it a few minutes later, they never looked back. They would not trail again after the first period, and though it was tight, they came out with a 7 - 3 victory over their southern rivals. Did I mention that Tavares had a game? Well he had a GAME. He scored a hat trick and was named the Canadian player of the game, and could be considered the catalyst for Canadas comeback.

Victory tastes as sweet as I imagined it would, and it will only get sweeter. We have the day off to skate on the Rideau Canal tomorrow, and we will watch some quarterfinal action before going to Montreal to see the Habs take on Florida.

Everyone have a safe and happy New Year, don't overconsume (ha ha ha), and may your next year be the best one yet!

Canada vs. USA

Well we have been waiting for this one for almost two years, Vic dug out the original receipt for our down payment January 7 2007.
If we do not get on TSN dressed this ridiculously, we do not deserve it. Happy New Year's to all and be safe.

GO CANADA GO!!!!!

Calm before the storm

This blog will be a little later than most, so many of you won't read it til the morning, but there is a good reason for this deviation from our blogging schedule: half priced apps. We made the long, arduous, 300 metre walk from the front door of our hotel to the front door of the bar around the corner and ordered us some chicken wings and nachos. We made a few new friends from a few different corners of Canada, and even met a cute bartendress who was waking up early in the morning to go to Vegas.

Other than that though, today was fairly uneventful. The dads made another trip to the Gatineau Costco to pick up some forgotten groceries, Brendan and I played lots and lots of Xbox, and of course, we watched hockey. The game was forgettable, as Russia layed an absolute and total pounding on the Slovaks, but the fans were, as always, fun.
Tomorrow brings the best competition of the tournament as we watch the battle of Europe in Sweden vs Russia, and the battle of North America as Canada takes on the good old US of A. The former will be a great game as they are two of the projected top four teams in the tournament, and the latter (no offence Kim) looks to be a genuine ass-pounding as Canada WILL destroy the overrated US side and prove their North American dominance. Regardless of the outcomes however, the games will be entertaining, and it's New Years Eve! Have fun everyone, be safe, and stick around for our post-Canada-victory blog post. I promise I won't rub it in too much...

Just like WWII

As you've read in our last post, we spent the day being tourists on capital hill, taking pictures and going on tours. Tonight though, we were superfans; cheering on the Canadians as they took on Germany.

The sarena was filled to the brim with Canadian fans, but not to be outdone, one German fan to our left filled the rink with chants of "Deutchland, Deutchland!"

The game was the closest of the games we'd seen so far, with the Canadians holding a slim 2-1 lead going into the third period. They opened it up in the third however, and left the game with a cool 5-1 victory. It was the most physical game of the tournament, with a few controversial hits; one of which resulting in a German expulsion. This only served to get the crowd (and the Canadian team) more fired up, sealing the Germans fate.

Tomorrow holds only one game for us, as we make our way to the civic centre to see the Russians take on Slovakia.

Monday in the Capital

Today brought clearing skies and some touristy visits to Parliament, Stephen Harper's house and the mint, where it was discovered that in total Vic and I are worth over $3 million (our weight in gold) don't get any ideas Lori and Kim.
On a sadder note as you can see from the photos, we found officer Atkinson's name on the memorial to officer's killed in the line of duty, RIP.
On tap tonight is Canada vs. Germany, should be a real barn burner!

No Rain Today!

It appears as if we may finally get a precipitation free day!! This morning brings a trip to the mint before the afternoon game and possibly a photo op at Mr. Harper's house.
We visited Heroes of the Game for lunch yesterday before the games and met Trevor the manager (Raymond and Carol's in law) in exchange for some tickets we secured a free meal and the promise of another later in the week (Bubby got served, big boy). Molson was on hand for a ticket giveaway and we scored 8 jersey's and a flag for the minivan.

Doubleheader, day three

Today was busy, with two games on the docket: Canada - Kazakhstan; and USA - Czech Republic. Before there was hockey though, there was more shopping. The adults in the room took a short five block hop to Loblaws to pick up some previously-forgotten groceries. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Brendan and I did what any two boys would do when given the time and the means: played video games.

The weather for the day was more of the same: tepid and rainy. This weather served to melt virtually all the snow in the Ottawa area, leading us to wonder whether it was the middle of the Winter or the beginning of Spring. Luckily for us though, as soon as we departed the apartment, the storm clouds parted like the Sea of red, and we were given something we hadn't seen in a while; SUN!
Unfortunately for the Kazakhstan crowd, the only sun they would see was on their jerseys, as they put up almost no resistance to the Canadians as they were hammered 15 - 0. To their credit though, the Kazakhstanis in attendance flew their flags proudly. We were even lucky enough to see one of Kazakhstans most famous celebrities!

We made our way to the van for a few sandwiches in between games, and moved back into the arena to watch the US take on the Czechs. The game was tight, but the better side prevailed as the US came out on top 4-3. It was a good day of hockey, and we stare another doubleheader in the face as we see two games at two seperate arenas tomorrow. I would complain, but it's hockey!

Four straight guys go shopping

Day two of the Juniors was a slow one, with only one game in each of the Arenas. We opted out of watching the clash of the titans at Scotiabank Place between Germany and Kazhakstan, and instead decided to make our first trip to the Civic Centre, home of the Ottawa 67's. The game wasn't until 6:30 though, so we chose to again hop the river, this time for some much-needed groceries. We got some great deals at Costco, which consisted mostly of chicken wings and pizza.

The weather today was less than desirable, with the rain coming down in sheets; covering cars tire-to-sunroof in ice. The icy weather also proved dangerous for pedestrians, causing one (slightly) inebriated hockey fan to lose his balance and go ass-over-teakettle on an icy sidewalk. We can practically still hear the sound of his friends cackles several hours later.

The outcome of the game was fairly predictable, with the favoured Slovaks skating up and down on the bottom-dwelling Latvian side. This, however, did not stop some particularily exhuberant Latvian fans from proudly displaying their team colours: Aside from the fans however, the game lacked any real excitement, as the Latvian side did not put up much resistance to the Slovakian onslaught. Hell, they didn't even record a shot in the second period!

All in all, the day was a nice rest before our second doubleheader of the tournament, as we gear up to see Canada play Kazhakstan, and the U.S. take on the Czechs. Hopefully we can get some good weather in the Nations capital so we can take some good touristey pictures, but until then you'll have to put up with shots in the rinks.

Feeling Like a Tourist

I am sure that for all of you who have been to Ottawa before, this post will seem redundant but the four of us are in awe of our beautiful capital in all it's splendor.
We went to Costco for groceries this morning in Gatineau Quebec, our trip took us past all of the parliament buildings and consulates and such, the sheer beauty and regal presence of the city is overwhelming.
We are praying for a day free of rain so we can spend some time walking downtown taking pictures and touring the war museum and the mint. I was concerned that English only speaking people in Quebec might be shunned, but the nicest people by far we have met have been at the stores there, we are having fun trying to use our rudimentary french with poor results, it does however bring a smile to everyone's faces.
Dinner last night was at Dunn's a 24 hour deli within walking distance of the apartment, where Vic and I ate possibly the largest club sandwiches I have ever seen. So good.
Up today in hockey will be Latvia vs Slovakia at the Civic Centre, it will be our first game at that rink and from E-Mails I received from friends, our seats are remarkable!
Lori and Jessy, if you read this post please record the Lions game @ 1PM tomorrow, I would hate to miss that history making game.

One down, eleven to go

This blog will start with a message for all the naysayers: Yes, Victor did drive all the way from Windsor to Ottawa, and no, he did not need to be awoken at any point in the trip. (I know, it shocked us too.)
We started our day in Kingston, waiting twenty minutes in McDonalds for a few McMuffin sandwiches, and the McShits we suffered upon arrival in Ottawa seemed like a giant "ha ha" from the big man upstairs as a reward for our unwavering patience.

We checked in to our hotel, made a quick trip across the river for some brown pops, and started making our way to Scotiabank Place for the USA - Canada double-header.

First up were the Americans, playing an obviously outmatched German team. The Germans managed to stay in the game for most of the first period, but the US demonstrated their superiority by scoring 8 goals throughout the game. Overall it wasn't a very exciting game, and even though we left at the end of the second, we still couldn't get a seat at either of the arena's restaurants.

So, after sitting in Section 226 for an hour and a half, we were ready for the main event; Canada versus the Czech Republic. The crowd, (which was made up of approximately 100% Canadians), was pumped up to see our boys kick some European ass, and that they did. Like the American game, the first period was fairly even, with the only goal coming at 3 seconds left, on a gorgeous shot from John Tavares (with an assist going to Windsor's own Ryan Ellis). However, it would not stay close for the long.


The boys in white would go on to score four of their eight goals in the second period, including one by Ellis (who had three points on the game, FYI), all but sealing the game for Canada.

Overall, it was a great first day to the tournament. Many pieces of Pizza Pizza were consumed, and many quality Canadian goals were viewed. We wish all those still in Essex County the best, and we will update you again tomorrow night.

-Kyle, Terry, Vic and Brendan

Pre-Tourney

It's Christmas Eve, everyone is busy packing for the twelve days of hockey that follow.

Anyone see Tavares goal last night?

I look forward to seeing many more like that in the days to come.

-Kyle