Winter Olympics: Let's Dive In 🇨🇦
Sask. WBB goes undefeated, Farewell Buck, figure skating student-athlete, quick hits ➡️
The next couple of weeks will be filled with updates coming out of Milano Cortina 2026 — so let’s get down to business.
Quick rundown: First and foremost, Calgary’s curling couple, husband-and-wife duo Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, were eliminated from playoff contention this past Sunday.
Peterman and Gallant, who both serve as coaches at the University of Calgary, with Peterman leading the women’s curling program and Gallant serving as an assistant coach for the men’s team, suffered five straight losses in the mixed doubles event. A 7-6 loss to Sweden on Sunday afternoon put a dagger in the playoff hopes of Peterman and Gallant, with a 9-5 loss to Korea later confirming the end of the event for the duo.
Gallant will be joining forces with Ben Hebert and former U SPORTS athletes Brad Jacobs (Algoma University) and Marc Kennedy (Brandon University) in the men’s team event. Gallant will be the first Canadian player to compete in both mixed doubles and the team event. They kick off action later today against Germany in round robin play at 1:05 pm EST.
Team Homan, led by Rachel Homan and featuring Emma Miskew and former U SPORTS athletes Tracy Fleury (Laurentian University) and Sarah Wilkes (Laurier University), will be taking the ice for the women’s team event with their first match tomorrow against Denmark at 3:05 am EST.
U of T alum and former figure skating team member Paul Poirier currently sits in the bronze medal position with his partner Piper Gilles after a score of 86.18 in the rhythm dance section heading into the free dance program finals today at 1:30 pm EST.
Former Ottawa Gee-Gee and biathlon athlete Shilo Rousseau has already begun her Olympic quest, competing this past Sunday in the mixed team relay. She placed 17th in that event and 78th in the women’s 15km individual this morning.
Her following events include (all Eastern time):
Saturday, Feb. 14 - 8:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Women’s 7.5km Sprint
Sunday, Feb. 15 - 8:45 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. Women’s 10km Pursuit
Wednesday, Feb. 18 - 8:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Women’s 4x6km Relay
Sunday, Feb. 21, 8:15 a.m. - 9:05 a.m. Women’s 12.5km Mass Start
The U SPORTS-stacked bobsleigh team will begin action this Sunday in the women’s monobob.
Their schedule is as follows:
🗓 Sunday, February 15, 2026
4:00 AM EST – Women’s Monobob — Heats 1 & 2
🗓 Monday, February 16, 2026
4:00 AM EST – Two-Man Bobsleigh — Heats 1 & 2
1:00 PM EST – Women’s Monobob — Heats 3 & 4
🗓 Tuesday, February 17, 2026
1:00 PM EST – Two-Man Bobsleigh — Heats 3 & 4
🗓 Friday, February 20, 2026
12:00 PM EST – Two-Woman Bobsleigh — Heats 1 & 2
🗓 Saturday, February 21, 2026
4:00 AM EST – Four-Man Bobsleigh — Heats 1 & 2
1:00 PM EST – Two-Woman Bobsleigh — Heats 3 & 4
🗓 Sunday, February 22, 2026
4:00 AM EST – Four-Man Bobsleigh — Heats 3 & 4
The bobsleigh roster includes former U SPORTS athletes:
Luka Stoikos — University of Toronto, football
Jay Dearborn — Carleton, football
Keaton Bruggeling — Carleton, football
Taylor Austin — Calgary, football
Mike Evelyn O’Higgins — Dalhousie, hockey
Mark Zanette — McMaster, baseball
Cynthia Appiah — York, track and field
Melissa Lotholtz — Alberta, track and field
Dawn Richardson-Wilson — Calgary, track and field
Kelsey Mitchell — Alberta, soccer
Six former U SPORTS women’s hockey coaches have begun preliminary action with the women’s hockey team. Canada is 2-1 in preliminary action, with a 4-0 victory over Switzerland and a 5-1 victory over Czechia. Former McGill women’s hockey assistant coach and Team Canada captain Marie-Philippe Poulin, who suffered a lower-body injury in the team’s win over Czechia, did not participate in Canada’s 5-0 loss to their bitter rival, the United States, who have won seven straight matches against Canada. They play their final preliminary matchup tomorrow against Finland, with quarter-finals starting on Friday.
The women’s hockey roster consists of:
Brianne Jenner — U of T / Mount Royal, women’s hockey (former assistant coach)
Erin Ambrose — University of Toronto, women’s hockey (former assistant coach)
Laura Stacey — McGill University, women’s hockey (former assistant coach)
Marie-Philippe Poulin — McGill University, women’s hockey (former assistant coach)
Blayre Turnbull — University of Calgary (Calgary Dinos), women’s hockey (former assistant coach)
Natalie Spooner — Ontario Tech, women’s hockey (former player mentor)
Last but certainly not least, the men’s hockey team will kick off preliminary competition tomorrow, with Brock University alum and former U SPORTS athlete Logan Thompson being the favourite to start Game 1 for the Canadians against Czechia tomorrow at 10:40 am EST.
Love to see U SPORTS talent shining on the international stage — especially on a stage as bright as the Winter Olympics.
50 Straight: Huskies Keep On Rolling 🏀
The University of Saskatchewan women’s basketball program is on an absolute roll.
Quick rundown: The Huskies won their 50th straight game this past weekend with an 84-54 victory against the Winnipeg Wesmen. The victory sealed an undefeated season (20-0). The women’s basketball program has not lost since November 2024. This is their first undefeated season since the inaugural 1971-72 season, where they went 6-0.
They are the only team in all of U SPORTS women’s basketball that is undefeated and are undoubtedly the favourites to take the Canada West conference and the U SPORTS national championship.
After two straight appearances in the national final and a win in 2025, will the Huskies go back-to-back and defend their national title?
Deadline extended ✅: Canadian Figure Skater Gets Extension on Assignment at Winter Olympics
She didn’t need a doctor’s note — competing at the Olympics was enough.
Quick rundown: Schizas, a Canadian figure skater and undergraduate student at McMaster University, broke the internet when she had to ask for an extension on an assignment after mixing up the due dates because of her competing at the Olympics.
Schizas posted an image of the email she sent to her professor requesting an extension on a sociology assignment, in which she had mixed up the due dates.
After the weekend in which the assignment she asked for an extension on was due, she placed 5th in the women’s free skate with a season’s best score of 125.00.
Schizas will graduate in May with a degree in environment and society from McMaster.
Update: she got the extension.
End of an Era: Buck Martinez Bids Farewell ⚾️
The Blue Jays — and Canada as a whole — are saying goodbye to Blue Jays legend Buck Martinez.
Quick rundown: This past Friday, the legendary Buck Martinez announced his retirement from broadcasting. His time with the Blue Jays spanned over four decades as a player, manager, and, most notably, a broadcaster who called over 4,000 Blue Jays games.
This marks the end of the career of a name that has become synonymous with baseball in Canada and a voice that has defined many generations of Blue Jays fans.
There’s nothing else to say other than — thank you, Buck.
Quick Hits – Olympic Edition 🇨🇦
⛸ 42-year-old Deanna Stellato-Dudek has been medically cleared to compete at Milano Cortina 2026 after suffering an injury in practice prior to the Olympics. Stellato-Dudek and her partner, Maxime Deschamps, pulled out of the team event but are set to compete in the individual pairs event, making her the oldest woman to ever compete in an Olympic figure skating event.
⛸ Quebec’s Valérie Maltais claimed Canada’s first medal of the Winter Olympics, with a bronze medal victory in the 3,000m women’s speed skating event. This is Maltais’ third Olympic medal, posting a time of 3:56.93 behind Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida (3:54.28) and Norway’s Ragne Wiklund (3:56.54).
🎿 Monday kicked off with slopestyle skier Megan Oldham capturing bronze in the women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle. She took home bronze with a score of 76.46 behind Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud (86.96) and China’s Eileen Gu (86.58).
⛸ Canada’s William Dandjinou, Félix Brousel, Courtney Sarault, Kim Boutin, Steven Dubois, and Florence Brunelle won silver in the mixed relay short track speed skating event. Canada fell behind Italy, which posted a time of two minutes, 39.019 seconds, while Canada posted a time of 2:39.258.