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    Sochi, while you slept: Canada bows out in parallel giant slalom

    No snowboarding medals for Canada today; Sweden beats Slovenia in men’s hockey

    Aaron Hutchins
    <p>Canada`s Caroline Calve walks out of the finish are after her Parallel Giant Slalom qualification run at the Sochi Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</p>

    Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press

    Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press
    Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press

    Canada looked poised to win at least one medal in the snowboard parallel giant slalom when Marianne Leeson, Caroline Calve and Ariane Lavigne all advanced to the women’s quarter-finals.

    Each head-to-head match-up has two runs, with both riders snowboarding down from the two sides. Times are irrelevant. Competitors only have to beat their opponent. And after the first run, things looked promising for the Canadians in the quarter-finals.

    But small mistakes or slips on the second runs eliminated all three Canadian women.

     

     

    Canada’s men didn’t have much luck either. Both the returning Olympic champion Jasey Jay Anderson and Matthew Morison qualified, but neither one could win their head-to-head in the quarter-finals.

     

    In men’s hockey, the dream Olympics for Slovenia came to an end. They have fewer than 1,000 registered hockey players in the whole country, but managed to not only beat Slovakia in the round robin, but crush Austria 4-0 in the opening playoff round. But then they had to face powerhouse Sweden in the quarter-finals.

    They kept the game within reach over the first 40 minutes, when it was only 1-0 Sweden. In the 3rd period, however, the Swedes blew the game wide open.

    Dispatches from Sochi: (Be sure to follow: @ChasGillis, @JonGatehouse, @kmqyvr, @KrRutherford and @reporterchris)

    Ken MacQueen: Cool, calm and relentless Jennifer Jones

    Kristian Rutherford: Watching Charles Hamelin crash

    Charlie Gillis: Canada vs. the U.S.: An inevitable showdown in women’s hockey

    Wake up! Still to come today: Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse’s quest for repeat gold—Team Canada hockey

    0.23 seconds. That’s how much time Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have to catch up on the the top U.S. women’s bobsleigh team today to defend their Olympic gold. Humphries has easily been the best pilot in the field, but the Americans—despite hitting several walls in their first two heats—are ahead thanks to their strong starts. Two heats to go until the medals are handed out. The quest to repeat as Olympic champions starts at at 11:15 a.m. EST/8:15 a.m. PST.

    Team Canada can no longer afford any hiccups in the men’s hockey playoffs, but they will be heavy favourites to advance to the semi-finals. (Who predicted that the Latvians would beat the Swiss?) Canada versus Latvia is a mismatch on paper, but you still have to play the game. Puck drops at noon EST/9 a.m. PST.

    tags:Sochi 2014