Hockey in Canada? Who would have thunk. :)

Last night was the first hockey game for Team Canada (men) and the fans were going nuts when the team came out onto the ice. They sure love their hockey over here! I may have to move the family to Canada. :)

I didn't have to stay and shoot the Canadian game, but I sure wasn't going to miss the excitement of this game. I also wanted to shoot images for my friends from the San Jose Sharks who are on the team (Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dani Heatley and Dan Boyle). The game started with a first period tie of 0 to 0 which was amazing because the Canadian team was so heavily favored. But, it didn't take long for Canada to get it together and they eventually won 8 to 0 against Norway.

Yesterday was a very long day at the arena, but still easier than some of the past days here. For one, I can walk to the arena from the condo, so I do not have to deal with hour long bus rides. It did not rain yesterday, so walking was possible and comfortable. Unlike some of the other venues, the Internet speeds were great, they had televisions everywhere so you could watch the Olympics while editing, and the photo area was minute from my shooting position.

Heatley gets in front of the net and almost put the puck in.

I can't post images of this game without showing the crowd. They were a large part of this game. This little girl, who was sitting behind me, waved that big flag at almost every game stoppage. Her little arms must have been aching by the end of the night!

Always my goal, to get a shot of the goalie making a big stop with the puck frozen right in front of him.

Is this ice hockey or pairs skating? I love the synergy of the two players here.

Yep. Another puck in the net, for the one of the 8 that did go in.

Sidney Crosby "the next one" making a move on the goalie. As I edited the images for this game, I noticed that he makes this facial expression all the time.

Big Joe Thornton, looking different since they make all the players wear visors on their helmets. I am not used to seeing him with a visor. I asked him after the game if this bothered him, and he said that it was a little weird but that he would get used to it.

I wish that I could flex my stick like this! Richards turned this into an absolute rocket of a shot.