Day 2 - 02-17-2010

Started off the day today at the men's Game Rink. It is the same rink where the Vancouver Cunucks play. The room is quite a bit smaller than the woman's game rink, you might say it was very intimate. It works well, and was extremely busy. After four Olympics it seems the athletes have grown to depend on having the service available. We saw a lot of countries come through Russia, Belarus, Chek, Finland, Switzerland......most were very interested in the new way that we have to sharpen skates (FBV). I had a lot of fun going through the process with them and we sharpened a lot of skates and got great feedback. Players were getting tools to tune their sticks and grabbing any surface they could to perform their pregame rituals. I also got a chance to work with the equipment managers from team Canada. Their names are Pat O'Neil from the Vancouver Cunucks and Pierre Gervais from the Montreal Canadians. It was great to work with them and they are truly committed to Canada winning. I also had a great time with a very good friend Mike Aldrich. Its hard to talk about this to all my Canadian Friends and family however he is the equipment manager for the USA. Mike was in the room a lot repairing skates and doing some sharpening, it was a pleasure having him in and seeing him doing the work that he does so well.
I also want to mention about the volunteers that help us out with serving dinners and making sure that we have everything so that we can serve the players. It is amazing how they are donating there time doing things like standing in a parking garage no where near a venue, athlete, or even spectators, but they sure help by making sure that we are going in the correct door or room. As far as I can tell the only thing that they get besides the thrill of being involved in the Olympics is an Official Olympic suit. Don't get me wrong it is a cool suit at the Olympics. I can't say it would be much of a fashion trend after the games are over. Many thanks to the volunteers.
There were 3 games today at the men's venue. USA vs. Swiss, Canada vs. Norway and Russia vs. Latvia. I was very busy and did not have a chance to go out and see any of the game. We do have a TV down in our room and watched it on the closed circuit. There is a delay of about 5 seconds so we know when someone scores as the crowd lets us know before the TV. I did get a snap shot of the USA coming out between periods 1 and 2 heading back to the ice for the third. We watched the first 2 periods of the Canada game from where the Zamboni door is right behind the net. For those who watch the games if you see me that will probably be where I am standing.
There are a few interesting pictures, let me know if there are any other questions or comments and keep passing this along to people that I may not have.
Thanks for reading!