Today was the first day the whole team was together.
After the late arrival of the final group of athletes last night (11pm local time) which for some meant a 27hour travel day, everybody was ready to go at 10am. Well almost everybody. A few athletes in the second group to arrive were missing equipment bags. This meant having to get creative for the practice.
The bus took the athletes to the rink for their first practice. Tracey (Team Leader) and I thought it would be a good time to head to the airport to pick up the rental car. After about 850m in the car we realized that we forgot to send the rings with the team – they were sitting in my hotel room. We circled back, picked up the rings and detoured our cab ride to the airport via the rink. Problem solved.
Our cab then took us to the airport where we were scheduled to pick up our car at 12. Turns out that showing up early to pick up a rental car is not something you can do here. The car we rented was parked in a parking lot 45 minutes away from the airport. So if you ever need a rental car in Finland, be sure to know the exact pick up time.
We finally got our car (after I realized I left my driver’s licence at home) and Tracey and I were off. No wait... we didn’t have directions on how to get to the rink. Our friend at Hertz gave us directions. The broken English and the lack of street names (ie after about 6km turn left) was a clear sign that this was going to be an adventure. After a few wrong turns, a couple of perhaps illegal manoeuvres and a short stop at a restaurant for direction and the realization that we were NOT in Tessoma yet, we got there!
Tracey and I went on a few adventures similar to this one today. Looking for the customs office to pick up the items we had shipped was our second one. After some more vague and non-English directions and still no map to guide us we were off! We knew we were looking for Tulli, which is the customs office. Turns out there are a few other things in Finland called that.
So this means we basically missed most of the team practice today. But i did get some photos.
Back at the hotel the team had returned from practice and was resting before the exhibition game. A half hour before departure equipment bags and sticks were delivered to the hotel lobby. We are now good to go! Everybody has gear. This bring the tally to missing items to only a couple of sticks. (Which includes Head Coach Lyndsay’s stick. So much for her well thought out plan to get her stick to Finland!)
We loaded the bus and headed out to Ylojävi for the game against the U19 Finish team. The team got ready for the game, pre-game routine and we were ready to go.
My first time at live Tweeting a game... It took a couple goals to get going but I think I got the hang of it.
That stands were pretty full. A lot of young ringette players and their families in attendance. I must admit that it was kind of weird to be the ONLY person in the stands cheering for Canada! It was also quite cold in that arena. Note to self: bring warmer clothing next time.
The game was fast and very exciting to watch. Lots of nice passes, great shots and amazing plays. I can’t wait for the tournament to start and to see Canada in action for real! GO Canada Go!
The final score of the game was Canada - 10, Finland U19 – 2.
Canada Scoring Summary:
Robbins – 1G, 1A
Wakefield 1G, 1A
Dundas– 1G
Burns – 1A
Hoes – 2A
Russell – 2A
Ferguson-2G
Hartley- 1A
Gaudet – 1G
Baustista – 1A
Séguin– 2G
Cumpstone– 1A
Blanchette– 1G,2A
Sorry I don’t have the goalie stats! Please forgive me. I’ll get them next time.
Back at the hotel now, late post game meal, some downtime and then its bedtime.
Tomorrow is a bit less hectic for the team. They have a team walk in the morning followed by a technical session and a practice.
Stay tuned...
À plus...
-FL
-FL
PS. A shout out goes out to ‘Mom and Dad in Phoenix’. J
