Sting Take Europe Day 2

Stockholm is an awesome city.  Very clean and beautiful.  Everyone has been so friendly and helpful.

This morning the Sting entourage had free time. In general, everyone either slept, shopped or went to the Vasa Museum.  The Vasa was a huge Swedish warship that sank in 1628 on it's maiden voyage.  It was raised and has been preserved and rebuilt piece by piece over the last 40 years.  It is incredible.  The ornate wood work is better seen than described.  (See wikipedia).

In the early afternoon, we finally had a chance to meet our Finnish host team that are also staying in the same hotel.  Although all of the girls were initially shy to begin with, in retrospect I think chaos probably best describes the scene in the lobby.

Then to the rink.  We played a Swedish team of 1994/1995/1996 girls (like our own), but they also had roughly 5 older ladies from their National team suit-up.  They played well, but emotion was certainly on our side.  The girls were surprised after their pregame run to return to the locker room and find a new top secret "Third" black jersey hanging in each of their stalls.  When we hit the ice, the sound system played Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones (They had no way of knowing - fate I guess).  Then to start the game the Swedes were nice enough to hang the Canadian flag and both teams lined up for the singing of both national anthems.  Cool.  After that introduction - it was all Sting.  Final score was 11-2.  Shots were 49-26.  Sting player of the game was Kelsie Caine, but everyone played awesome and we are very proud of the effort.  The girls have been great ambassadors for Canada, Alberta, Red Deer/Lacombe so far.  The game was three (3) 15 minute periods with an ice cleaning between the second and third periods.  That was neat.  Benches only had one gate, so we are glad that we have been playing with only one gate since provincials in all of our games.

Tonight at 9:30 we are having supper (banquet) back at the hotel with the Finns.  Needless to say the girls are busily making sure that they look their best, and the adults just want to eat. It will be very exciting I am sure.  Tommorrow at noon we play another Swedish team of 1995 and older players.

A few observations after day two.

• Firstly, Swedish coaches tend loose any sense of "ha-ha" or international comraderie when on the ugly side of an 11-2 ringette game.  I guess our good ol' down home Central Alberta charm only works to a point.  
• Secondly, when two opposing players collide full speed at center ice and go down - it is the prairie girl that gets up and skates to the bench.  That a girl Meag!
• Thirdly, the money here is weird.  One Canadian dollar is worth six Swedish Kronor, so you'd think any conversion would be easy.  Nope.  Nothing is relative.  Beer is expensive, water is more expensive, ice rental and art work are cheap. 
• Finally, the accent must be neat since apparently the homliest, dorkiest looking tour guide in the world is "cute" by 15 year old standards.  I tried to argue, but was just mocked.  Must be a Dutch thing.

C.K.