Nucks 5 Calgary 3
Game 1 of the playoffs! The Canucks came ou super strong and had a 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes in, and won 5-3! The game was filled with penalties (and a lot of crappy refereering) but the Canucks capitlized on their opportunites, and went 4-for-6 on the power play. That's amazing, considering the slump the power play was in all season. Marty Rucinsky, Sami Salo, Henrik Sedin, Mattias Ohlund and Brendan Morrison (a beaut) scored for the Canucks. Calgary was really running Clooch, trying to mess with his head. They'll pay for that newt game. The game was rather sloppy and not a classic for sure but it's good to see the Canucks get off to a good start! Of course, it's just one game, and they can't stop here because you know Calgary will come back strong. Well, can't wait for Friday!

In the other games, Montreal lost to Boston 3-0, Det beat Nash 3-1, and Colorado beat Dallas 3-1 (grr...). Tonight The Sens and Leafs go, but I'm going to be at Arts County (woo hoo!) so I won't be able to watch it, sigh. Hope my hockey pool teams start to kick into gear...Anyway...Go Canucks Go!

Golden again...and PLAYOFFS START!!!!!
First of all, congratulations to the Canadian National Women's Team, who won their eighth straight gold medal at the World Championships yesterday, over the USA (what else is new, haha). Canada came out and played just great from the start, USA put up a fight but they looked tired and worn out, and they did have some injury trouble. Canada had lost a round robin game to the US earlier in the week. Hayley Wickenheiser scored first and Delaney Collins (Pandas, grr) scored our other goal for the 2-0 win (even though it should have been 2-1 because USA scored and they disallowed because the goal judge was blind, oh well). Kim St-Pierre got the shutout for Canada. Awesome job girls, Canada rocks!

And...you know what tonight is...playoff time! The Canucks open their first round series with Calgary tonight at 7:30. The 1st game on CBC is Montreal-Boston...go Habs! I'm super pumped about the Canucks, we've got our car flag up, we're all set! Such a great time of the year....And hey, good sign: Maggie the monkey from TSN picked the Canucks to beat the Flames, haha. That monkey is smart. It doesn't matter that some "experts" are picking Calgary, chances are they're people who've never seen the Canucks play anyway. Oh, and I'm working on a new layout for the playoffs...can't wait till gametime!...Go Canucks Go!

Nucks 5 Edmonton 2
The Nucks did it! They captured the Northwest Division title! They played an excellent game against the Oilers: they weathered the storm that the desperate Oilers put on and played an offensivley and defensivley sound game, with a great performance by Dan Cloutier to seal the win. Mike Keane (clutch performer or what?) scored a pair, and Nazzy, Ohlie and Mo (a beauty of a shot) scored the other goals for the Canucks. I feel bad that Edmonton had to miss the playoffs, six Canadian teams would have been amazing, but the Oilers did this to us in 1999-2000, so, oh well.

I'm so proud the way the Canucks bounced back from all the controversy and turmoil to put together this six-game winning streak at the end of the regular season. And it was nice to see the crowd give a big ovation to Bert when he stepped out to give his sweater away. (I wish I could win one of those!)

So now, the Canucks have stuck it to stupid Colorado (who lost in OT to Nashville today, hahaha!), and have ended the Avs' 9-year streak of NW div titles. The Canucks won their first div title in 11 years. The Canucks now face Calgary in the first round of the playoffs (starting Wednesday), for the first time since 1994. Should be fun! Other Canadian teams: Leafs vs Sens (grr...damn it...oh well, go Sens!) and Habs vs Bruins (go Habs!). *Super excited*!

On a side note, Crawford's tie, shirt, and jacket all matched on Saturday, *gasp*. Lol. Anyway, the Giants lost game 2 of their series vs Everett 3-1. Dumb Constantine and his defensive systems. Oh well. Can't wait for the Canucks' playoffs to start...Go Canucks Go!

Nucks 4 San Jose 1
Woo-hoo, the Canucks won again last night! 4-1 vs San Jose. I couldn't see the game, because I was at the Giants game, but I listened to it on the radio, hehe. Matty Ohlund opened scoring about 1:30 into the 1st. SJ tied it, but Cookie scored on a 2-on-1 to take back the lead. Henrik scored at the beginning of the 2nd and Chubie scored an empty-netter. Cloutier was amazing! We're back in the division lead. Stupid Colorado won against Columbus though, grr. Tonight the Nucks play the Oilers and can clinch the division with a win. Super excited! I feel bad the Edmonton might have to miss the playoffs, but oh well. Yay Canucks!

The Giants game was fun, they beat Everett 2-1 in game 1. Ty Morris (a Canucks pick!) scored their 1st goal and Braden Appleby got the winner late in the 3rd. Haha it was fun to stick it to Jeff "Library" Harvey, lol. When Morris scored they flashed "Welcome to the Library!!" on the big screen. Hahaha! Anyway, good for the Giants. Hope they can keep it up against this Kevin Constantine (ugh)-coached team. Well, I'm pumped for the Nucks game tonight...Go Canucks Go!

Nucks 2 Anahiem 1
Oh yeah! Another great game! What a thriller. The Canucks dominated much of the game, outshooting the Ducks 43-23 and 22-4 in the 3rd. They were all over the place in the 3rd, it could have been 10-1. They worked so hard in the 3rd! But it was only 1-1 with 20 seconds left when Mo had a great faceoff in the Anahiem zone and Salo blasted it top shelf to win it! Woo-hoo! And in the 1st Nazzy scored a beauty from Mo and Cookie :D Another great game by Sanderson and the Sedins, Kinger played well too, as did the whole team pretty much. And haha, Colorado lost AGAIN, this time to Minnesota, althought it was in OT. And Dallas lost to Edmonton 3-1. The Nucks now have 97 points, the same as Colorado, but the Canucks have 2 more wins, to put the Nucks in 1st in the Northwest Division and 3rd in the Western Conference. Dallas has 95 points. I am so super pumped right now! But we can't get too ahead of ourselves, we all saw what happened last year. The Nucks just have to keep working. Now I really gotta go get that Asian Studies paper done...Go Canucks Go!

Nucks 6 Phoenix 1
Wow, amazing game! I'm glad I went to that one! (Was sure an improvement from the last game I went to: 9-2 Colorado, not so good.) The Canucks absolutely dominated the game, from start to finish. It was like the Canucks of old :D Great games by the Sedins, Nazzy (beauty goal top shlef while falling down), Salo, King (nice goal between the legs!), and Marty Rucinsky. #1 star was Geoff Sanderson: aboslutely incredible. He was eveywhere, zipping around, and he plays great with the Sedins. I'm exaggerating when I say he looked like Bure out there. I try not to get too attatched, because he can be such a floater, and they say he is a rental player, but damn he's exciting to watch! Only stupid thing was stupid Colorado winnging, blarg. Oh well. Tomorrow Nucks play Anahiem. Wow, I need to work on my Asian Studies essay...Go Canucks Go!

FS Worlds Day 7...Exhibition
Watched the gala last night, it was great! Let's see, whose program did I like...Sasha Cohen: incredible. I love the Romeo and Juliet music, love the costume, it perfectly suits the mood. It may not have had crazy jumps, but the spirals and spins and the Ina Bauer and all of it was just breathtaking. I love the program!!

Another great one was Shen and Zhao skating to Come What May from Moulin Rouge. Just from the music choice I could tell I was going to like it. Xue's costume was quite nice, and they perfromed with so much emotion. It was a great program.

Shizuka Arakawa had a really pretty dress! Her hair looked great, and really, it made me wonder why she doesn't look like this for competition. Good costumes can really make a skater, I think that's her next step, haha ;) Michelle's Fallin'was nice, with another nice Vera Wang, this time in white. I looove Tanith and Benjamin's Elvis routine. Tanith's dress is great and Ben does a great Elvis impression. They're a team to watch for sure! Albena and Maxim had a very creative and dramatic program, with the blindfolds and the crazy moves. Navka and Kostomarov had a fun Austin Powers number, and Plushenko, as always, entertained the crowd. His duet at the end with the violinist was really cool. I can't believe Petrova and Tikhonov...how can a pair that is so boring in competition be so fun in exhibition? Oh well...It was great to see the audience's reaction to Stefan Lindeman and to Winkler and Lohse...and I loved Stephane Lambiel's programs, despite his two falls :) Johnny Weir was nice too. Anyway, it was overall a really nice gala, and I'm sad that skating's over now! :( I can't wait till next season...I guess there is still pro, but I'm not going to SOI this year...sigh.

Nucks play Phoenix tonight, and I'm going! :D Go Canucks Go!

FS Worlds Day 6...Crazy Ladies Free...and YEAAAAAA BABY NUCKS WIN!!!!!
What a day, what a day. I'll start in order. Shizuka Arakawa became the first Japanese ladies' World Champion since 1994, when Yuka Sato won (I remember watching that!). Congratulations Shizuka, and yay Japan! :D But what a crazy turn of events...I have to say I was crushed when Sasha didn't nail her program, but I am thrilled for Shizuka. I'm just a little shocked about what's happened.

Shizuka was the first skater of the final flight. She skated Turandot the best I've ever seen her skate it. She's learning how to actually present a program and not just go through the motions mechanically. Her performance was dramatic and she nailed triples left and right, and even did a triple-triple-double combo. Technically she was amazing, and she did it all with an injured thigh. I was thrilled at her high marks but I didn't think that they would hold up till the end. Amazing!

Julia Sebestyen skated well, although she missed some jumps. She finished 6th. The next up was Sasha, wearing a stunning new all-white dress for Swan Lake (compare it to Shizuka's hideous Swan Lake SP dress!). Unfortunately, Sasha didn't come out with her usual attack and drive in the LP, unlike the SP. I think she was tentative and nervous, and I've seen her like that a few times skating Swan Lake this year. Maybe she just was never completely comfortable with the program? It's tough to say, she was brilliant at Skate Canada, so...anyway, she wobbled on her triple Lutz and opened up on her triple Salchow. The presentation, although lacking some of her usual magic, was still beautiful, and she ended up with the silver. Congratulations on your first medal at Worlds, Sasha!

Next up was Michelle Kwan...right after the moron in the tutu! I can't believe no one stopped that clown...anyway, Michelle, wearing a beautiful Vera Wang (with new sparkly embellishments since Nats!) went out and skated a passionate program to Tosca (LOVE that music). Her only miss was doubling a Lutz. It was a great performance, and she got six 6.0s for presentation. I did think that her skate at Nationals was better though. And like Cohen, she didn't have a triple-triple, which was part of her undoing. But still, she won the bronze, her ninth World medal in a row.

Miki Ando skated after Michelle, and she did a pretty good job. She didn't land that quad, but every other jump was great. She does need to work on her presentation though, her performance lacks the sparkle of some more senior skaters. That should come with experience though. Also I think her spins could be faster/nicer. Anyway, a great Worlds debut for Miki, and she finished 4th!

Carolina Kostner from Italy skated last, and it was kind of a disaster. But she's still young. She finished 5th. Fumie had a gutsy free skate and finished 7th. She was very emotional when she finished skating, she obviously had a lot of pressure on her. I feel really bad, and I still don't know what happened to her in qualifying! She is such an elegant skater, and she's my favourite Japanese skater. I'm glad she had a good LP.

Canadian content! The top Canadian was Joannie Rochette, who finished 8th (another Canadian 8th!). It was great for Joannie to get into the top 10 after a 17th place debut last year. Her expresssion improves every time I watch her, it's great to see. She fell on her first jump, a triple loop, but didn't let her program fall apart and was clean the rest of the way. The thing I like about her most is that she is obviously ambitious and wants to be at the top. She looks around and sees the American and Japanese girls on top of the world and wants to get there too. She said after that she wants to have a triple-triple next year, like the top girls did, and that's exactly the kind of committment we need to see in Canadian women skaters. I'm becoming an unabashed Joannie fan!

Finally, I have to say a few words about Jennier Robinson. She may have finished 14th, but make no mistake, this week has been the absolute best skating of her career. She was consistent, clean, and confident. I was so happy to see her skate so well. Her costume was gorgeous, as usual. Jen may not be the fastest or technically stongest skater out there, but she is elegant and graceful. She's held up Canadian womens' skating on her own now for years, and I commend her perseverance and constant desire to improve. She officially announced her retirement after her skate. It's a sad day, but it signals the beginning of a new era, with young skaters like Joannie and Cynthia Phaneuf ready to carry Canadian womens' skating after Jen did it so gracefully for so many years. Thank you, Jennifer!

As thrilled as I am about Shizuka winning, I'm still a bit jarred by what happened yesterday. I find it a little disconcerting when they say that both Sasha and Michelle DO NOT have the technical content, nor the ability (and I'm assuming that they don't have the content because they can't do it) to win a World Championship. To hear Paul Martini (not that he's the definitive word on all things skating, but still) say that Sasha NEEDS a triple-triple, needs a QUAD is amazing. We are witnessing a new era in womens' skating, for sure. The Japanese girls are pushing the envelope, and I think the world just realized that Michelle Kwan is not the be-all and and-all of ladies' skating. The fact that both Sasha and Michelle can be beaten on a lack of technical content shows just how far womens' skating has come. It's scary but also very exciting! Once these technically proficient skaters can also put together an exciting presentation, look out! And you know Sasha and Michelle (well, Sasha for sure anyway) will be back, bigger and better next year. So congrats to Shizuka for raising the bar!

Tonight's the gala, that should be good...and Alias tonight, woo-hoo!

On to the most thrilling part of the day, the Nucks beating Dallas 3-2 in OT!!!!! That breaks Dallas' 69-game unbeaten streak after leading after the 2nd. Amazing. The Nucks dominated in the 3rd. Danny Cloutier made a great save off Modano on a 3-on-1 and a few shifts later, Soaps bombed one up to Sanderson who just flew up the left wing and put it top shelf over Tugnutt! Gotta love Sandy. Then Mo capped off the comeback with the OT winner five-hole. Great game by Matt Cooke too, he was everywhere, especially in the third. (The only bad part of the game was that both Bryan Allen and Brad May got injured :( ) Ahh what madness. And Colorado lost AGAIN, hahaha, to Detroit again, and now the Nucks are only 1 point back of them! It's strange that they're 1 point out of 3rd but 2 points out of 4th. Anyway...Daniel Sedin scored the other Canucks goal. Yeah! And also, the Giants won game 5 vs the Blazers 5-4 in OT, after being down 4-1 going in the 3rd! Darren Lynch scored the winner to give the Giants their first-ever playoff series win! Such excitement. And I've got tix to game 1 vs Everett! ^^ The Nucks' next game is Monday vs Phoenix, and I've got tix to that one too...Go Canucks Go!

FS Worlds Day 5...Sasha is smokin'! Japan is rockin'! And a new era in ice dance.
Yes! Sasha is continuing her great performance so far at Worlds! Amazing, passionate, and determined performance in the ladies' short program. That's one of the best performances of Malaguena I've seen by Sasha. Just by the look on her face you could tell how confident she was. Her intensity on the ice is something to behold, I tell ya. I really like the spins in this program. And the yellow dress is great! She may not have had the triple-triple that some others had, but as they said on CBC, skating is not always about jumps (thank you, finally someone that recognizes this and takes advantage!). She got four 6.0s for presentation! So Sasha stays in 1st place after the short.

What can you say about Michelle Kwan. You just knew she would come back after struggling in qualifying, and what a way to do it. In terms of overall "chills-down-the-spine" factor, I thought Michelle's program resonated with even more passionate expression than Sasha's, particularly in the latter part of the program. Michelle's face after the double axel told us all abouy the focus and intensity of passion that she was feeling as she skated that. Just amazing. However, she had a glitch where her music ran too long, which seemed to cost her a bit...I don't understand how someone could possibly be so incompetent as to screw up Michelle's music! I can't comprehend this situation...So anyway, Michelle's in fourth right now. This sucks because I wanted to see a major Sasha-Michelle duke-out. But you know Michelle will go down swinging: never count her out. Her free skate will be breathtaking! Beautiful costume by the way! Wow.

This was my forst time seeing Miki Ando, and she really is quite good! Great jumper for sure. She doesn't have the performance level of a Cohen or a Kwan though. But an impressive debut for a 16 year old, she sits in 3rd. And Shizuka Arakawa skated very well too, but she had some cheated landings on her jumps. The judges put her ahead of Miki though, into 2nd. I have to say, that Shizuka's Swan Lake costume is terrible! The feathers, the sleeves, ahh...very gaudy. Kind of distracting too. But otherwise, good job by Shizuka-chan!

As for Canadian content, the ubiquitous Jennifer Robinson keeps plugging along. She may not be explosive like Cohen or have the performance level and speed of some other skaters, but she's improved every year at her own pace and has kept working hard, and I admire that. She skates with elegance and grace, and she pretty much nailed down her short program today, besides some minor flaws. As always, her costume is gorgeous. Right now she's in 13th...I think the judges were a tad bit harsh on her :(. And Joannie Rochette skated very well for Canada as well! She also skated clean, and her performance level increases every time I see her. She's a rising star, right now in 9th. Pretty nice dress too. And who else...Julia Sebestyen skated the best I've ever seen her, she's currently 5th. Irina Slutskaya's 7th in her comeback. Ahh, I still don't know what on earth happened to Fumie! She's moved up, now she's 8th, but they haven't shown her or talked about her all week. What a disappointment. I hope they at least show her or mention what happened, tomorrow. And so, I'm pumped for tomorrow's free skate!

As for the free dance...I have to say, I was a little disappointed by this free dance, both in the lack of depth in the field and the lack of coverage (okay, I really just wanted to see Belbin and Agosto). But really, pretty much all the heavyweights from years past have retired, leaving only 2 really good teams and a lot of up and comers and mediocre teams. There's no dance team that really blows me away right now, like Bourne and Kraatz did for so many years. That being said...

Navka and Kostomorov won the gold, they deserved it I guess. Their Pink Panther program was fun and bubbly, even though it wasn't as intricate as D&S or even Dubreil and Lauzon. But really, I am no judge of the technical side of ice dance...Maxim and Albena won silver. They skated great I thought, lots of passion and intensity. Although I wasn't a fan of Maxim's fabric-flying-everywhere costume...But anyway, I always enjoy this team, and I admire their athleticism and technique. They may not be as statuesque and striking and N&K, but they make up for that with amazing programs.

I wasn't particulraly impressed by Grushin and Goncharov, the bronze medallists; I felt like I'd seen that movie before. It was cool to see Winkler and Lohse make it back-to-back medals for Germany. Their program was more fun that Grushin and Goncharov's, despite...interesting costumes. Wing and Lowe are so cute, I love them! I think the judges shaft them because they are lighthearted and carefree instead of moody and dramatic. They finished 11th and Piche and Denis 23rd. Congrats to both! Ahh I think Dubreil and Lauzon were great! They have great choreography, I have annoyed to see them only in 8th. Once again I don't understand ice dance judging. And boy was I ever disappointed when CBC didn't show Belbin and Agosto! I will have to try and catch that on ABC tomorrow...In the meantime, I'm gearing up for an exciting ladies' free! Go Sasha!

In hockey...The Giants are up 3-1 in the series over the Blazers, wow. They can close it out on home ice tomorrow. And the Nucks take on Dallas tomorrow in a fourth place showdown. Luckily the ladies' free is in the morning. Big day tomorrow, should be good! (ahh I hope! *knock on wood!*) Okay, gonna go enter the Sasha wallpaper contest...Go Canucks Go!

FS Worlds Day 4...The Men Light It Up!
Okay, so I'm a little behind here, but...yeterday the men's free went, and boy was it ever thrilling! Outstanding performances left and right! Evgeni Plushenko defended his title with a magnificent free skate. He was truly the class of the field. It was breathtaking to watch. Although his fall at the end was pretty shocking, even that couldn't take the win away from him. He showed why he's the champion...although he his no Alexei Yagudin!

Silver went to France's Brian Joubert. I loved this program, I like the choreogrpahy, it's very Yagudin. He jumped very well and performed it at the best of his ability. I still think his overall expression needs work, but he's a rising star. Bronze went to the story of the night, the crowd favourite, Stefan Lindemann of Germany. He came out of nowhere and skated fantastically, what an awesome story! Fourth was Stephan Lambiel, who I was really impressed with. Great choreogrpahy and great performance. He really doesn't look 18...5th was Johnny Weir. Another amazing performance! Talk about your rising stars. He really interperates the music well. This whole free skate was so great.

Awesome for Ben Ferreira who skated very well for a 13th place finish. It was good to see Sandhu bounce back, although he did fall on the quad. Once again he performs well when the pressure is gone. I guess I was harsh on him before, but it's so frustrating to see such talent go to waste! I another disappointment for me was Ilia Klimkin, who had to withdraw because of a torn hamstring. I was really looking forward to seeing him, too. Tough year him, poor guy. Andrei Griazev ended up 12th, and Daisuke Takahashi of Japan finished 11th.

As for the OD, Dubreil and Lauzon were 7th, they skated very well (honestly, I don't get ice dance judging, it's far too idiosynchratic for me, so I can't even comment). Good for Piche and Denis for a great Worlds debut, and Wing and Lowe were delightful as usual. Denkova and Staviyski were 2nd behind Navka and Kostomarov.

Meanwhile, Colorado lost again, this time to Detroit, hahaha! And we find out that Nazzy hyper-extended his elbow when he was hit by Moore. Damn Avalanche, milking Moore's injuries for all they're worth, while Nazzy quietly struggles to play through pain. I think it's clear who's taking the high road here. Well, whatever. Go Canucks Go!