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BEIJING — Friday at the Beijing Winter Olympics promises plenty of intrigue for Canadian fans. There are medal hopefuls to be on the watch for in two separate freestyle skiing events, speedskater Laurent Dubreuil will be racing for a podium spot, the men’s and women’s curling tournaments enter crucial stages and the semifinals of the men’s hockey tournament will play out.

Here are five things to watch at the Beijing Olympics on Friday, Feb. 18.

Dubreuil looking for a better result this go-around

Dubreuil finished in fourth place in the 500-metre speedskating sprint earlier in the Games after he was charged with a false start. The Quebec City native will be hoping for a better result Friday in the 1,000. Dubreuil enters the competition as the reigning bronze medallist from last year’s world championships and will be hoping for a similar result or better in Beijing.

Men’s hockey tournament enters the semifinals

Both semifinal games of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament will be played on Friday. Both Canada and the United States were bounced in the quarterfinals but North American hockey fans will still recognize some familiar names on the ice. Finland has a number former NHLers on its roster including Valtteri Filppula, Markus Granlund, Leo Komarov, Mikko Lehtonen and Sami Vatanen. Artem Anisimov, Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Nesterov and Slava Voynov are all playing for the Russian Olympic Committee, while forwards Marcus Kruger and Joakim Nordstrom are representing Sweden. The surprising Slovakian team features a couple of top European prospects who are expected to go high in this year's NHL Draft in Simon Nemec and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Bronze medal СÀ¶ÊÓƵ handed out in men’s curling, women’s tournament in semis

In the men’s curling tournament, two nations will go to battle in the bronze-medal game. There’s hope and even expectation that Brad Gushue’s Canadian rink will be competing for gold, but a shot at a bronze certainly wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize. On the women’s side, Canada’s Jennifer Jones will hopefully be competing in one of two semifinal matches on Friday's schedule. 

A couple of Canadian medal threats in women’s freestyle ski halfpipe

Calgary’s Cassie Sharpe is expected to be going for her second Olympic gold medal in the women’s freestyle ski halfpipe event. A dominant force in halfpipe competitions over the last four years, Sharpe won gold at both the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and 2019 Winter X Games. She also collected X Games silver last year and a bronze in 2020. Another athlete to watch for is 24-year-old Rachel Karker of Guelph, Ont., who won halfpipe silver at the 2021 world championships and is a multi-medal winner at the X Games..

Leman looking to repeat as Olympic champion in men’s ski cross

Defending Olympic men’s ski cross champion Brady Leman will be on the hunt for another gold. At 35-years-old, Leman is competing in his fourth and potentially final Olympic Games. There’s little doubt, if these are his last Games, he’ll be looking to end his career on a high note. The Calgary native’s best result most recently was a silver medal at the 2019 world championships.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2022.

The Canadian Press