All articles tagged ‘Winter Olympics’

Happy 125th Birthday Vancouver!

  Frederick Linsmeyer • April 6, 2011 • Local
Vancouver skyline

Vancouver looking north with the North Shore mountains in the distance.

On this day, 125 years ago in 1886, Vancouver was incorporated as a city on the south shore of Burrard Inlet. Since then, the fledgling community boomed into a cosmopolitan crossroads with people from all over the world.

Vancouver has welcomed the world twice: Expo 86 and the 2010 Winter Olympics. Millions of people come through each year to experience the beauty, the food and culture.

Come join the celebrations in Jack Poole Plaza west of the Vancouver Convention Centre. There will be music, ball hockey, food, artwork, cake and a relighting of the Olympic Cauldron.

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Reliving the Olympic Street Party

  Frederick Linsmeyer • February 12, 2011 • Local
Hockey on Granville Street

Hockey on Granville Street

Unlike last year when Vancouver enjoyed a nice and somewhat dry Olympics, on the anniversary of the opening ceremony the rain made its presence known. This didn’t stop a crowd from coming out and enjoying the party.

There were a few hockey games on Granville Street along with free ice skating at Robson Square. The Vancouver Art Gallery opened with free admission and had a line up running down Hornby Street. On the Georgia Street side of the gallery, CIBC hosted LunarFest under a few tents with various illuminated lanterns. There was another line up to get in, but those who carried a CIBC bank card could take advantage of an “express” queue.

Ice skating at Robson Square

Ice skating at Robson Square

Down at the Vancouver Convention Centre, the Vancouver Boat Show was in full swing, but most of the main floor was opened up allowing a peek into some of the cavernous ballrooms.

Outside in Jack Poole Plaza, the Olympic Cauldron remained out, waiting for the 4:00 pm PST ceremony to light it up.

The rest of the photos from around downtown are on Gallery.

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Relive the Olympic street party!

  Frederick Linsmeyer • January 22, 2011 • Local
Robson Square during the Winter Olympics

Robson Square during the Winter Olympics

Remember last year how Vancouver held two straight weeks of partying during the 2010 Winter Olympics? The City of Vancouver is bringing back the party spirit with a number of events held on Saturday, February 12th, 2011.

Olympic Glory Relived on Granville Street
Starting at 12:00 pm PST and running through until 9:00 pm PST, Granville Street will reopen to throngs of pedestrians to celebrate the anniversary of the games. There will be performances from buskers, street hockey matches and a parade too.

Illuminate Yaletown
This event spans two nights starting on Friday, February 11th and finishing Saturday, brings out the best of Yaletown with entertainment and works by local artists.

Creekside Community Recreation Centre
Held at the Creekside Community Recreation Centre, this event will host a variety of family friendly activities based on the Olympics and Paralympics. The even runs from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm PST on Saturday, February 12th, 2011.

2011 CIBC LunarFest
The Vancouver Art Gallery will light up with the LunarFest, a celebration of Asian culture, from 4:00 pm until 11:00 pm PST.

There will be many other activities going on in the downtown core, with the Province of British Columbia hosting a few at Robson Square, which includes free ice skating and entertainment.

The Olympic Cauldron will also be lit by the Olympic and Paralympic torchbearers down by the Vancouver Convention Centre west building at 4:00 pm PST on Saturday.

Thinking of driving through Vancouver on that weekend? Granville Street will be closed between Smithe Street and Dunsmuir Street, while Robson Street will be blocked off between Howe Street and Seymour Street.

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BC Place deflates for the last time

  Frederick Linsmeyer • May 4, 2010 • Local
BC Place Stadium/GM Place

BC Place Stadium with the Vancouver skyline

A Vancouver landmark known the world over is coming down today. BC Place Stadium’s iconic air-supported white fabric dome is being deflated as part of a renovation project which will see a new retractable roof installed. Souvenir seekers unfortunately won’t be able to claim a piece of the Teflon covering as it will be recycled by a third party company.

BC Place Stadium opened in 1983 and in 27 years has welcomed thousands of events, notably opening and closing ceremonies for Expo 86, the 2010 Winter Olympic games, and the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games. The stadium is also home to the BC Lions football team who’ve on many occasions played host to the CFL’s Grey Cup.

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A look back at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

  Frederick Linsmeyer • March 3, 2010 • Winter Olympics
The Olympic Cauldron

The Olympic Cauldron

Two and a half weeks sure go by pretty quickly. The world had their eyes on the west coast of Canada as athletes from all walks of life competed in their respective winter sports. The streets of Vancouver were jam-packed with hundreds of thousands of fans cheering on their countries and taking in the sights and sounds of the various events throughout the city. So much happened in the 17 days the Winter Olympics that it’s almost impossible to go through it all, but here’s a portion of what made the list.

Highs

  • Joannie Rochette and her courage to overcome a tragic loss and capture the hearts of her home and the world
  • Sidney Crosby scoring the winning goal in overtime between Canada and the United States to take the gold medal
  • Ryan Miller helping his team beat all odds and prove they are a medal contender
  • Alexandre Bilodeau for ending the drought and his brother Frédéric for giving him the power to get there
  • Kim Yu-Na for delivering one hell of a performance
  • The Canadian women’s hockey team for their unstoppable play
  • The obnoxiously awesome pants worn by the Norwegian curlers
  • Lindsey Vonn for being the first American woman to win gold in downhill skiing (and with a bruised shin)
  • Having the mime electrician give Catriona Le May Doan the chance to light her portion of the Olympic Cauldron
  • Petra Majdič for continuing on despite painful injuries caused by an unfortunate fall
  • The awesome opening and closing ceremonies showcasing the real Canada (minus a small glitch)
  • The 14 gold medals Canada earned — our best ever and a record for the Winter Olympics
  • The hundreds of volunteers to help out and assist the many out of town guests
  • And the hundreds of thousands of supporters, visitors and fans who crammed downtown Vancouver and Whistler to deliver the best party this country has ever seen

Lows

  • The shocking loss of Nodar Kumaritashvili in an accident while training
  • El Niño for bringing unseasonable warmth and impacting a number of events on Cypress Mountain
  • The hooligans who had nothing better to do than showcase their idiocy for the world (fortunately for one day only)
  • The British media with their scathing criticisms on anything and everything
  • NBC for cutting short broadcasts of events, or skipping them entirely

As a resident of Metro Vancouver, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for making this possible. We hope you enjoyed the games and our city, and would love to see you all back here again soon!

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Canada 3 – United States 2 OT

  Frederick Linsmeyer • February 28, 2010 • Winter Olympics

A heated rivalry, Canada versus the United States, saw a very close and tight game with a nation’s bragging rights on the line. Canada overcame a strong American team to win 3 – 2 in overtime and claim the gold medal. The United States takes home the silver and Finland takes the bronze.

Jonathan Toews beat Ryan Miller to get Canada up by one and the country on it’s feet with the first goal in the game.

In the second, Corey Perry made it 2 – 0 for Canada. However, Ryan Kesler briefly touched a shot from Patrick Kane that beat Roberto Luongo to bring the United States within one.

Luongo came up big stopping some key shots and prompting his trademark “Luuuuuuuu” chant echo throughout the building. The Canadian penalty kill proved exceptional in holding the Americans after two of them sat in the box.

The third period saw Dany Heatley denied on two close chances on putting the puck in for Canada. Zach Parise scored with 25 seconds left in the third to tie the game and send it into overtime.

Canada came back and 7:40 into extra time, Sidney Crosby, on a pass from Jarome Iginla, beat Miller to win the gold medal and send the country into an uproarious cheer.

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Canada 3 – Slovakia 2

  Frederick Linsmeyer • February 26, 2010 • Winter Olympics

Slovakia was expected to give Canada its greatest test before the gold medal game and hopes were riding high on the Canadians. With the entire nation being carried on the backs of the Canadian players, it was up to them to take out the Slovakian team after they upset the 2006 champions, Sweden in the previous game. Canada earned a close 3 – 2 win over Slovakia.

Patrick Marleau and Brendan Morrow gave Team Canada the advantage in the first period with them up by two over the Slovakians.

In the second period, Ryan Getzlaf padded Canada’s lead with a goal making it 3 – 0 for the home team.

However, the Slovakians were not ready to give up, scoring two goals in the third period, from Lubomir Visnovsky and Michal Handzus. Handzus’ goal came within the last five minutes making for an exciting end to the game.

Canada will face the United States on Sunday, February 28th at 12:00 PM PST.

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Canada 2 – United States 0

  Frederick Linsmeyer • February 26, 2010 • Winter Olympics

Congratulations to the Canadian Women’s hockey team on their hard earned gold medal. Marie-Philip Poulin scored the only two goals in the game, while goaltender Shannon Szabados stopped 29 shots for the shutout. Canada defeated the United States with a score of 2 – 0.

The Canadian Men’s team take on Slovakia tonight at 6:30 PM PST in the semifinals.

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Canada 7 – Russia 3

  Frederick Linsmeyer • February 24, 2010 • Winter Olympics

A pumped up Canada coming off an 8-2 victory over Germany was looking forward to taking on Alexander Ovechkin and the Russians. Canada played a strong game with plenty of hits, but the Russians weren’t intimidated. The much anticipated Ovechkin-Crosby rivalry was pretty quiet as Canada skated away with a 7-3 win.

Ryan Getzlaf got Canada up on the board first with a goal, followed by Dan Boyle on the power play. 46 seconds later, Rick Nash came in and beat Evgeni Nabokov.
However, Dmitri Kalinin broke Canada’s 3-0 lead to get Russia into the game. Brendan Morrow scored with two minutes left in the period to make it 4-1 for the home team.

Corey Perry started off the second period with a goal followed by Shea Weber almost a minute later. However, Maxim Afinogenov got one by Roberto Luongo just 39 seconds after Weber’s shot.
Perry got his second of the night and Sergei Gonchar would score to bring Russia within four of Canada’s lead. After Canada’s peppering of Nabokov, Ilya Bryzgalov came out to take his place in net.

There was plenty of action in the third, including a great save by Luongo off Evgeni Malkin’s breakaway during Russia’s power play. While no goals were scored, the Russians applied pressure, but couldn’t break down Luongo.

Canada now heads to the semifinals and waits for the outcome of the game between Sweden and Slovakia.

Be sure to visit our 2010 coverage at www.nephrus.net/vancouver2010.

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Canada 8 – Germany 2

  Frederick Linsmeyer • February 23, 2010 • Winter Olympics

After Sunday’s upset by the United States, Team Canada was looking to fight back against Germany. This time, Roberto Luongo got the call to play in net for Canada, while Thomas Greiss guarded the pipes for Germany. Canada skated out of the qualifying round with an 8 – 2 win over Germany.

Joe Thornton got Canada started with his first goal of Olympics, off a shot from Dany Heatley and Duncan Keith, ten minutes into the first period.

In the second period, a shot by Shea Weber whistled through the net unnoticed by Greiss. After a brief discussion between the officials, Weber was awarded the goal. Jarome Iginla scored twice, with one on the power play to pad Canada’s 3-0 lead.

Rick Nash was hauled down on his way to the net and given a penalty shot. Sidney Crosby took the shot but couldn’t beat Greiss.

Marcel Goc finally was able to sneak the puck behind Luongo on a wrap-around to get Germany up on the board.

Crosby got the third period off to a good start for Canada with his third goal of the Olympics. Mike Richards then scored off a pass from Brendan Morrow and Jonathan Toews.

Captain Scott Niedermayer got the puck on a breakaway and made it 7-1 for the Canadians.

Rick Nash then took a pass from Chris Pronger and snapping it past Greiss for a goal.

Germany was not done yet, as Marcel Muller denied on the breakaway allowed Manuel Klinge to take the rebound from Luongo and a get a goal.

Canada meets up with Alexander Ovechkin and Team Russia in the quarterfinals at 4:30 PM PST, on Wednesday, February 24th.

Be sure to visit our 2010 coverage at www.nephrus.net/vancouver2010.

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