5 Team Canada things to watch this weekend: April 14-16
Although the warm weather has settled in and it finally feels like spring, it is on the ice where some of Team Canada’s top athletes will showcase their skills in the upcoming days.
The final of the IIHF Women’s World Championship will take place on Sunday. Those who enjoy figure skating will have one last chance to witness the skills of Canadians in action before the end of the season — including the last opportunity to marvel at Keegan Messing before he retires from competitive skating.
Looking for some inspiration for your own tennis game this summer? Look no further than Vancouver, where the Canadian women will be attempting to qualify for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Hockey
Team Canada is aiming for a third consecutive title at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, taking place in Brampton, Ontario. The Canadians are so far on track to achieve their goal. After four straight wins in the round robin (including a shootout victory over the United States), Canada defeated Sweden 3-2 in overtime to win their quarterfinal.
They’ll play Switzerland in a semifinal at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. The other semi earlier in the day will see the Americans take on Czechia. The gold medal game will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. The bronze medal game will be that afternoon at 3 p.m. ET. You can catch all the action on TSN.
Sarah Fillier, who emerged on the international stage last year, has once again made her mark this year, accumulating four goals and eight points through Canada’s first five games. Sarah Nurse also has four goals, including the overtime winner against Sweden.
Could we see the Canadian women’s team face their American rivals once more in the finals? Regardless, if their preliminary round match, which went to the ninth round of penalty shots, is any indication of what’s to come, the final is sure to be an exhilarating match with plenty of action and surprises.
Figure skating
The 2023 ISU World Team Trophy taking place April 13-16 in Tokyo, Japan is the last international figure skating competition of the season. Six countries (Japan, United States, Canada, South Korea, Italy, and France) have qualified based on their performances in 2022-23.
Ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who won bronze at the world championships, will lead Team Canada. The pairs event will feature Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, while Keegan Messing and Stephen Gogolev will represent Canada in men’s singles. Madeline Schizas and Sara-Maude Dupuis will be the Canadian skaters in women’s singles.
The competition follows the usual format of a short program/rhythm dance being followed by a free program/free dance. For each program, teams are awarded points based on their ranking (from 12 points for first place to one point for 12th place). The team that accumulates the most points wins.
Be prepared to shed some tears as Messing, with his unique and beloved skating style, bids farewell to the world of competitive skating. As he takes his final bow at the ISU World Team Trophy, his emotional exit is sure to be met with warm applause from the Japanese audience.
Tennis
Canada is facing Belgium in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers in Vancouver. Leylah Fernandez, Rebecca Marino, Gabriela Dabrowski, and Katherine Sebov will form Team Canada for this tie in Vancouver. The team was to include Bianca Andreescu, but she was replaced by Sebov after suffering an ankle injury in late March.
The tie takes a best-of-five format, with four singles matches and one doubles match. Two singles matches will be played on Friday, starting at 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. ET. The other two singles matches and the doubles match will take place on Saturday, starting at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET.
Fernandez (ranked 50th in the world), Marino (ranked 81st), and Dabrowski (ranked 7th in doubles), form a stronger team than the Belgians. Last year, these three players were part of the lineup that blanked Latvia in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers.
Although the west coast is forecasted to have a rainy weekend, we remain hopeful that Fernandez and her teammates will bring a ray of sunshine to the Pacific Coliseum.
Breaking
Breaking will make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024. Unfamiliar with this sport? Canadian b-boy Phil Wizard (whose real name is Philip Kim) emerged victorious at the WDSF World Breaking Championships in October of last year.
This weekend will see Phil Wizard compete at the WDSF Breaking for Gold event in Rio de Janeiro. It is the second stage of the WDSF Breaking for Gold World Series. Ranking points can be earned that will be crucial towards qualifying for next summer’s Olympic Games.
Beach Volleyball
Ready for the beach? Follow Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson in action at the AVP Pro Series in New Orleans. The Canadians are the second-seeded team in the tournament.
The tournament will begin on Friday. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday while the final will take place on Sunday. Will the Canadians, who won the Miami Beach Open title on the AVP Pro Tour in March, add another title to their resume?
