A Trip to the Men's Ice Hockey Semifinals (February 20) On February 20, I got to go to the Big Hat arena to watch Canada take on the Czech Republic in men's ice hockey. This was the semifinal round, so the game atmosphere was really charged up. It wasn't my first time in the Big Hat, but I was once again impressed by the size of the arena as I waited for the game to begin. I decided to cheer for Canada, but my cheering was nothing compared to the people around me. They waved flags and yelled--it was really something! They were all very proud of their home country. As for the game itself, both teams played as hard as they could. The noise as they crashed into the walls around the rink was amazing, and plenty of fouls were called when they put a little too much energy into their play. Both teams played all-out defense, and the goalies made incredible saves, even when the goals themselves were knocked out of position. The game ended in a tie, and it went to a penalty shoot-out, which the Czech team won by one goal. It was a very noisy, very powerful game. (Shinonoi Nishi Middle School: Kotaro Higuma)

The Canadian fans were really loud! The Czech team celebrates its victory.

Olympic reports from our student correspondents TOP