Sport Photos
Canada’s Best Skaters Take to the Ice for the Vancouver Stop of Stars on Ice
The best skaters that Canada has to offer took to the ice at Rogers Arena for the Vancouver stop of 2026 edition of Stars on Ice Canada. The tour, which started in Halifax, NS and has been making its way West, comes as many of the stars competed at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina, just over three months ago. The skaters headlining the tour include the 2026 Olympic Ice Dance Bronze Medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, along with Team Canada members, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, and Madeline Schizas. The audience also had the opportunity to see the 2018 Olympic Bronze Medallist Kaetlyn Osmond, Canadian legend Elvis Stojko, 2-time Canadian champion Roman Sadovsky, and another 2-timer Canadian champion Keegan Messing. Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac, the 2026 Ice Dance Canadian Championship bronze medallists, were special guests for the Vancouver stop.
The first half of the show started with a group number, that served as a sample of what the night promised to offer. Skating to “Fearless” by Tommee Profitt, Sam Tinnesz, and Beacon Light, the number showcased the skater’s abilities to skate as a group and to start the show on an electrifying note.
This was followed by the individual numbers. First up, was Roman Sadovsky skating to “Standing Next to You” by Jung Kook. Roman, who won the Canadian championship in 2020 and 2025 and just barely missed the Olympic team in 2026, gave a cheeky and passionate skate that definitely brought the audience’s mood up. It is always a pleasure watching Roman skate, not only does he have the jumps and spins but his skating skills are some of the best.
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud were up next, skating to “Be Italian” by Fergie, which feels very appropriate considering the Olympics were in Italy. The pair just won the bronze medal at the 2026 World Figure Skating Championship which took place in Prague, Czech Republic. Personally, I can’t wait to see how far these two go in their career.
Madeline Schizas was next to skate. Skating to “Cosmic Love” by Florence + the Machine, Maddie connected with the audience with an unforgettable skate. Maddie is a 4-time Canadian champion, and there still aren’t any signs that she plans on slowing down.
Next, Kaetlyn Osmond and Elvis Stojko gave a brief speech to honour Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier. A montage was shown of some of the most memorable programs Piper and Paul have done in their more than 20 years skating together, before introducing them to skate a shortened version of their fan-favourite and Olympic free dance “Vincent”. Seeing live this program, even in its shortened version, was truly something memorable.
Keegan Messing, who is always a fan-favourite because of the energy that he gives while skating, chose “I’m Still Standing” by Taron Egerton from the movie Rocketman for an energetic first individual skate.
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps were up next, skating to “Let’s Twist Again” by Chubby Checker. Deanna made history at the 2026 Winter Olympics by becoming the oldest woman to compete in figure skating in almost 100 years, showing that sometimes the limit is truly the sky.
Kaetlyn Osmond stepped on to the ice to skate to “In the Air Tonight” by Judith Hill. Kaetlyn is one of the most successful Canadian skaters of all time, having won three Canadian championships, becoming a World Champion in 2018 and winning an Olympic Bronze Medal in 2018.
Piper and Paul came back to the ice to skate “Supermodel (You Better Work)” by RuPaul, which is also a shortened version of their 2025-2026 rhythm dance. There are very few things that are more entertaining to watch than two ice dancers skating to RuPaul.
After them, Elvis Stojko stepped onto to the ice. Clad in a blue boxer robe, he skated to “Mr Electric Blue” by Benson Boone. A Canadian skating legend, he is a three-time World Champion, two-time Olympic Silver Medallist, and seven-time Canadian champion. He has participated with Stars On Ice since 2016.
Then, a group number to close out the first half of the show. Performing to two different versions of “Too Darn Hot”, the ladies performed to the version by Holly Cole while the men performed to Anthony Strong’s version. It was a very fun number, and personally I was on the ladies’ side.
After intermission, the men skated a group number to “I Just Might” by Bruno Mars. It is always fun seeing the men just have the time of their lives. And we got to see Paul do an Axel, who knew he is a leftie?
Next, special guests Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac skated to “Everybody Everybody” by Black Box. They are skating in all three BC stops of the Stars On Ice tour, with Victoria being the next show.
Back to ice, Maddie skated to the very danceable song “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” by RAYE. In a very fun and cheeky moment, Trennt came out at the end of her performance with a giant inflatable ring, before carrying Maddie off the ice.
Next were Lia, Piper and Maddie for an all-girl number. Skating to “Golden” by Huntri/x from the extremely popular movie KPop Demon Hunters. The number is meant to resemble the performance as seen in the movie, including the gold and white outfits and choreography. The ladies definitely nailed the moves.
Roman came back to the ice for a very emotional performance to Chris Mann’s version of “Fly Me to the Moon”. This version really suited Roman’s skating style, and really connected with the audience. Skating to “Give Me Love” by Ed Sheeran, Lia and Trennt came back to the ice for an emotional and touching performance.
For her second individual number, Kaetlyn skated to “Dancing in the Dark” by Lucy Dacus. In some ways, it showcased the resilience skaters have as she fell on a double Axel (one of the jumps that exist in figure skating) before attempting another one as her next jump and landing it beautifully.
Elvis did his second number to “The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed. The heavy metal cover version serves as a background to Elvis’ powerful skating. At age 54, it is pretty amazing to see him still skate with this amount of passion and skill.
For the last individual number, Piper and Paul came back for the third time to skate to “Royals” by Lorde. It just felt like such a Piper and Paul program, dressed in costumes that you may as well find in Queen Marie Antoinette’s court.
To close out the show, all the skaters came out in black costumes with a colourful pixelated print to skate to “Life in Color” by OneRepublic. It was the perfect upbeat song to end the night. It is always great to see the best skaters from Canada, Stars On Ice is an amazing experience for fans across the country.
The Stars On Ice Canada 2026 tour has three more stops before saying goodbye to this year’s edition.
14/5 – Save-On-Foods Memorial Center – Victoria, BC
16/5 – Chilliwack Coliseum – Chilliwack, BC
19/5 – TD Coliseum – Hamilton, ON
Head to their website for all the information.
Also, this year’s 2026 Skate Canada International is scheduled for October 30 – November 1, 2026, at Prospera Place in Kelowna, BC. This is an excellent opportunity to see the best skaters from all over the world. Head over to Skate Canada’s website for more information.
Click the link to our Facebook page for the full gallery of the show!
Words: Elena Del Rivero
Photos: Cindy Shi
Sport Photos
PWHL Boston Fleet falls short to Ottawa Charge in Game Two of the Walter Cup Playoffs
The PWHL playoffs are in full swing with all four teams battling it out to win the coveted Walter Cup. Boston and Ottawa are in for a tough battle this series as both teams have battled well all season. All of their season matches have ended in either a shootout or overtime, with Ottawa taking the season series over the Fleet. But playoffs are a whole different story.
Game one went to the Fleet, 2-1 in a hard fought battle. Both teams are well balanced and feature the goalie battle of fellow Northeastern goalies Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips. So this series is going to be a fun one for sure.
Game two, took place at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, MA on May 2, and the energy was high to a sellout crowd of rowdy Fleet faithful. Though the Ottawa Charge flipped the script in Game 2, skating into Boston and taking down the Fleet 3-1 to even the series.
Ottawa wasted no time setting the tone. Defenseman Ronja Savolainen opened the scoring in the first period, firing a shot through traffic that beat Boston goaltender Aerin Frankel and quieted the home crowd early. Though fans did not give up on their team.
Energy was high and the battles were rough. Boston was heavily outshooting Ottawa, but they simply couldn’t solve Philips’ brilliant goaltending. Even with a few powerplay opportunities the Fleet were given throughout the game, they could not capitalize on them. The Charge kept their foot on the gas in the second. Just minutes into the period, Fanuza Kadirova capitalized on sustained pressure, snapping home a shot to extend the lead to 2-0 and put Boston on its heels. But Boston wasn’t going down quietly.
Time was winding down in the second period, but it was captain Megan Keller who delivered a spark to the Fleet, jumping into the rush and burying a clutch goal with seconds left to cut the deficit to 2-1 and breathe life back into the building. Fans were going crazy and the energy was unmatched.
Going into the third there was hope for a tying goal with numerous scoring opportunities and zone time for the Fleet, but they simply couldn’t solve Philips, who made miraculous save after save to give Ottawa the edge. Gabbie Hughes converted an empty-netter goal with 1:30 remaining, deciding the game for Ottawa, who would walk away with a 3-1 win over Boston.
Game three is set for May 8th in Ottawa at 7pm est. It is sure to be another tight battle. Game 4 will be on Sunday May 10th in Ottawa at 3pm, and game 5 if needed will be back in Boston on Tuesday May 12th at 7pm.
You can find more info on the Fleet on their socials // Website // Instagram // Facebook // X //
Check out our favourite photos of the game below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
PWHL Boston Fleet v Ottawa Charge
All Photo Credit: Erin Crowley
Sport Photos
NSL Ottawa Rapid FC Put On A Show For Home Opener Against Calgary Wild FC
The Northern Super League returns to the nation’s capital for the 2026 season as the Ottawa Rapid FC kick off their home opener against the Calgary Wild FC.
Celebrating Pride Night, Rapid FC delivered an outstanding performance for their home fans with a 5-2 victory over Wild FC.
With NSL Co-founder Diana Matheson in attendance for the ceremonial coin toss, Rapid FC didn’t waste any time to open the scoring. With only 35 seconds played, Melanie Forbes would score the first goal of the game off a rebounded shot from Delaney Baie Pridham.
However, Wild FC would go on an offensive push for the next 10 minutes and secure two goals back to back to take the lead. The first goal to tie the game would come from a penalty kick from Meggie Dougherty Howard after a foul by Rapid FC captain Olivia Scott. Just one minute later Howard would then assist Taegan Stewart for Wild FC’s second goal of the game to take a 2-1 lead.
The lead wouldn’t last long. In the 25th minute, Ottawa native and celebrating her 23rd birthday, Keera Melenhorst scored a top corner goal assisted by Florence Belzile to tie the game. Belzile would then get a goal for herself soon after to regain the lead 3-2. Thanks to an unforced error between Wild FC goalie Molly Race and her defenders, Melenhorst was able to secure a brace and extend the Rapid FC lead to 4-2 before the half as fans sang her happy birthday from the stands.
To cap off the night, Choo Hyojoo would make an exclamation and score Rapid FC’s 5th goal of the day off a through ball from Melenhorst.
While Wild FC had a good start to the first half, they were unable to get past Rapid FC goalie Melissa Dagenais in the second half who made save after save. The depth from Rapid FC was on full display with their solid defense lead by captain Scott, fast wingers in Forbes, Belzile and Hyojoo, and dominant midfield with Pridham and Melenhorst.
Ottawa Rapid FC move up the standings to 4th and will face Vancouver on May 6th at TD Place, Ottawa.
Calgary Wild FC will return to Calgary and look to get their first win of the season against the Montreal Roses on May 16th.
Check out our favourite photos of the match below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
NSL OTTAWA RAPID FC v CALGARY WILD FC
All Photo Credit: Kieran Delport