 | Still on a high from last night's hockey game? Same. I've got a few thoughts on Canada's big win, plus our usual Friday guide to the most interesting stuff happening in Olympic sports over the weekend. | | | What to watch this weekend in Olympic sports
| | | After last night's incredible Canada-U.S. game, it's safe to say the countdown is on for next year's Olympic men's hockey tournament.
But you don't have to wait that long to see Canada's best winter Olympic athletes in action. Here are a few to keep an eye on this weekend.
Curling: Homan eyes her fifth Scotties title
It would be a major surprise if Rachel Homan and her Ottawa-based team are not hoisting their second consecutive Scotties Tournament of Hearts trophy on Sunday night in Thunder Bay, Ont. After going a perfect 11-0 last year, the reigning world champions mowed through all eight of their preliminary-round opponents and defeated Nova Scotia's Christina Black 10-5 in a qualifier this afternoon to advance to the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff with their 20th consecutive Scotties win.
Homan's opponent on Saturday night will be four-time Scotties champ Kerri Einarson of Manitoba, who beat Alberta's Kayla Skrlik 7-4 in this afternoon's other qualifier.
The elimination rounds begin tonight with Black facing B.C.'s Corryn Brown and Skrlik taking on Ontario's Danielle Inglis. The winners will meet in the Page 3 vs. 4 game on Saturday afternoon.
The winner of the 3 vs. 4 game faces the loser of the 1 vs. 2 game in the semifinal on Sunday afternoon. The semifinal winner meets the winner of the 1 vs. 2 game for the championship on Sunday night.
Homan is gunning for her fifth Scotties title, which would put her one behind the all-time record shared by Colleen Jones and Jennifer Jones, who's now coaching Homan's team.
Figure skating: Gilles and Poirier go for gold
The absence of European skaters prevents the Four Continents Championships from being truly top notch. But the level of competition is still very good, and this week's event in Seoul is the last big tuneup for next month's world championships in Boston.
This morning, Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps rallied to take the silver in the pairs event. The reigning world champions were a disappointing fourth after the short program, but they jumped to second place with a strong free skate today. 2023 world champs Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan led wire to wire to win the gold by a big margin, while Canada's Lia Pereira and Trentt Michaud took bronze for their first international medal together.
The Canadians to watch this weekend are ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier. The three-time worlds medallists have a narrow lead over reigning world champs Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States after earning the top score in the opening round. Canada's Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha are in third place heading into the deciding free dance on Saturday morning.
The top Canadian in the men's event is Matthew Newnham, who's in seventh place going into tonight's free skate. Sara-Maude is ninth heading into the women's free on Saturday night. Here are the full leaderboards.
Speed skating: Dubreuil back to full strength
With the long track world championships coming up in three weeks, Canada's Laurent Dubreuil is rounding into form at the right time. A groin injury caused the former men's 500m world champ to miss the podium in eight consecutive races earlier this season before he took bronze in both of the 500s at the most recent World Cup stop, in Milwaukee.
Today in Poland, Dubreuil took silver in the 500 behind American star Jordan Stolz, who also won the 1,500 in a photo finish for his 16th gold in 17 individual World Cup starts across various distances this season.
No other Canadians reached the podium today. But more races are coming up on Saturday and Sunday, including Dubreuil in the second men's 500m on Sunday.
Skiing and snowboarding: Kingsbury keeps rolling
Canadian moguls star Mikaël Kingsbury took silver in today's men's event in China for his ninth medal in 11 starts this season. The World Cup leader will go for his 97th career win on Saturday in the dual moguls. Aerials competitions will take place at the same venue on Sunday.
Meanwhile, many of the world's best park-and-pipe freestyle skiers are at Quebec's Stoneham resort for World Cup men's and women's slopestyle events on Saturday. Canada's Megan Oldham has a pair of slopestyle silvers this season.
Top snowboarders are in Calgary for halfpipe competition tonight and slopestyle on Saturday. Canadian teenager Cam Spalding leads the men's slopestyle standings after winning two of the three World Cup events so far this season.
The alpine World Cup tour is back underway after the conclusion of the world championships last Sunday. The men are in Switzerland for a downhill on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday, while the women are in Italy for a pair of giant slaloms and a slalom. Britt Richardson was the top Canadian in today's giant slalom, finishing 11th. World champion Federica Brignone of Italy won gold to widen her World Cup overall lead.
And a couple of summer Olympic teams to watch:
* Canada's Olympic silver medal-winning women's rugby sevens squad is at home for the Vancouver stop on the global SVNS tour. The Canadians, who rank fifth in the standings, face No. 9 Brazil and No. 12 Spain later today before wrapping up pool play Saturday against No. 2 Australia. Canada upset the Aussies in the Olympic semifinals in Paris before losing to top-ranked New Zealand in the gold-medal match. Here's more on the Canadian team.
* The Canadian women's soccer team faces Mexico on Saturday at the Pinatar Cup, a four-team tournament taking place in Spain. Canada, ranked sixth in the world, opened with a 1-1 draw against No. 17 China on Wednesday in Casey Stoney's first match since being hired as head coach. After playing the 31st-ranked Mexicans on Saturday, Canada finishes up against No. 42 Taiwan on Tuesday.
How to watch:
Some of the events listed above can be seen live on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Here's the full streaming schedule. | | |  | Rachel Homan is closing in on her fifth Scotties Tournament of Hearts title. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
| | | And finally…
| | | Canada's NHL stars delivered. And so did the 4 Nations Face-Off.
In a rare instance of something in pro sports actually be under-hyped, the 4 Nations was billed as a mere appetizer for the return of NHL players to the Olympics next year. Instead, hockey fans were treated to a full-course meal of incredible skill, fierce competition and national pride, seasoned with more than a dash of political tension.
Connor McDavid put the icing on the cake with his overtime goal in last night's final in Boston, giving Canada a cathartic 3-2 win over the archrival United States in the most intensely watched international hockey game since these countries met in the 2010 Olympic gold-medal game in Vancouver.
I thought Canadian coach Jon Cooper said it beautifully: "Canada needed a win, and the players bore that on their shoulders and took it seriously. This one was different. This wasn't a win for themselves. This was a win for 40-plus million people. And the guys knew it, and they delivered."
Sure, in the grand scheme of things, one hockey game isn't going to make Donald Trump and his 51st-state taunts and tariff threats go away. But, for one night at least, Canada came out on top. And, man, did it feel good.
As for the Olympics, let the debates over Canada's roster begin. The much-maligned Jordan Binnington staked a claim to the No. 1 goalie job last night by playing his best when it mattered most — especially in overtime, where he stoned Auston Matthews with his blocker and made a couple of great glove saves.
One role that won't be in doubt is the captaincy. Sidney Crosby is even more revered now after notching five points in the tournament to tie McDavid for the team lead. Crosby added the 4 Nations trophy to his pair of Olympic gold medals and his World Cup, world championship and world junior titles.
But Canada will have some tough decisions to make for next year. Here are some takeaways from the 4 Nations from CBC Sports' Karissa Donkin.
| | | That's it for today. Have a good weekend.
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