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HSBC 2025 SVNS Vancouver Day 2 – Recap & Photos

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Argentina, Fiji, New Zealand, and South Africa have advanced to the semi-finals, bringing them one step closer to claiming gold in Vancouver.

Fiji secured a dramatic 26-21 extra-time victory over Spain, with Filipe Sauturaga scoring the decisive try. Their momentum carried into the evening as they delivered an impressive performance against Great Britain.

Spain rebounded from their loss to Fiji with a fast-paced, open match against New Zealand, ultimately winning in extra time. This victory earned them a place in Sunday’s semi-final against Argentina.

Spain’s rising star, Jeremy Trevithink, shared his excitement after the win: “We’re on top of the world right now! We’re very happy.

“I think it’s important for us now to switch off on what we’ve done today and focus on recovery and what we have to do tomorrow.”

Argentina remains unbeaten after four consecutive wins, including an impressive double victory over France on Saturday, securing their spot in the semi-finals.

South Africa bounced back from an opening extra-time loss to Australia with a dominant performance in the men’s quarter-finals, securing the last semi-final slot with a commanding win over the same opponents.

Read the Day 2 Men’s Report.

Japan and the USA met for the first time ever in the Cup stages, and their clash did not disappoint. The Sakura Sevens made history in a thrilling extra-time battle, clinching a hard-fought 22-17 victory—marking their first-ever quarter-final win. This triumph sets up a semi-final rematch against Fiji, a team they previously defeated on the opening day of HSBC SVNS Vancouver.

After the historic win, Marin Kajiki expressed his excitement: “I’m really excited to be in the last four teams. Playing two matches on the final day of the tournament is a first for Japan.

“We have played Fiji already, and we feel we are ready to play in our style tomorrow.

“We take it game by game and hopefully we will finish in the best place that we can.”

Australia recovered from a Friday night defeat to Brazil with a dominant 35-14 victory over host nation Canada in the final pool stage match. They carried this momentum into their quarter-final clash against Great Britain, securing a 28-14 win and extending their remarkable Cup quarter-final streak to 13 consecutive victories.

Fiji experienced mixed results on day two. They suffered a narrow 24-21 loss to Great Britain in their final Pool C match but responded emphatically in the quarter-finals with a commanding 46-0 win over Brazil. The match was a showcase of attacking brilliance, featuring eight tries, with standout performances from Sesenieli Donu and Mere Vocevoce, who each crossed the line twice.

In the final match of the night, host nation Canada saw their quarter-final hopes dashed as New Zealand powered to a 34-12 victory. Earlier, the Black Ferns Sevens dominated their final pool match, defeating the USA 37-0. With the competition intensifying, anticipation is building for an electrifying final day of HSBC SVNS Vancouver at BC Place.

Read the Day 2 Women’s Report.

Finals day kicks off at 10:50 AM (GMT-8) on Sunday, with the semi-finals scheduled for 12:30 PM. The men’s and women’s finals will take place at 5:05 PM and 5:41 PM, respectively.

Following the format established in Perth, the women’s final will once again serve as the tournament’s grand finale, taking centre stage on Sunday evening and closing out HSBC SVNS Vancouver in style.

Check out our favourite photos of the day below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!

All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer

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Canada’s Best Skaters Take to the Ice for the Vancouver Stop of Stars on Ice

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Stars on Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Roman Sadovsky – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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 & Trennt Michaud – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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 – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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 – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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 & Maxime Deschamps – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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 – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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 Gilles & Paul Poirier – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Elvis Stojko – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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?

Marie-Jade Lauriault & Romain Le Gac – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Madeline Schizas – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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 Sadovsky – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Kaetlyn Osmond – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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 Stojko – Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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.

Stars On Ice Canada 2026 in Vancouver

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

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PWHL Boston Fleet falls short to Ottawa Charge in Game Two of the Walter Cup Playoffs

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PWHL Boston Fleet vs Ottawa Charge-18

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

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