8 THE DAILY VOICE, TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2015 EDITOR VIVIAN CHUL Harry Potter sport on national scene Vancouver kicks off Quidditch Canada’s first national tournament of the magical sport By DUSTIN GODFREY ith Quidditch Canada’s first national championship wrapped up, organizers are saying the new sport contin- ues to gain momentum. Quidditch Canada, formed in 2014, is the national organization for real-life renditions of the fictional sport for witches and wizards in J.K. Rowling’s popular Harry Potter series. Though three Canadian Cups were played in previous years, last week- end’s was the first by Quidditch Cana- da. Executive director Tegan Bridge said she was impressed with the size- able crowd at the event. “We had a lot of people coming in- family and friends-to support players,” Bridge said. “But there were a lot of people who had just heard about it ... and they just were curious.” Bridge said poor weather on Sunday didn’t stop crowds from coming in. “T was also really impressed, day two,” Bridge said. “It was raining and it was very cold, but people still were coming out to watch.” Despite growing popularity, the sport doesn’t appear to have made in- roads at Langara College, but some stu- dents say they would be interested in attending a game, if a school team were formed. “It sounds interesting,” first-year computer science student Mark Rang- es said. “It’s pretty new to this society. I don’t know, I might like it, I might not.” Still, Ranges said he wouldn’t join a Langara quidditch team. Two Lower Mainland teams were among the participants, with the Van- couver Vipertooths placing third and the SFU Marauders fourth-standings that were decided in a final round robin match between the two teams. Even for such a new sport, the Viper- tooths are especially new, having formed less than a year ago, yet the team still performed among Canada’s top teams, such as McGill and the weekend’s champions, the Toronto Avengers. “Our team definitely took that into consideration, but took it well into stride,” Vipertooths player David Dan- os said, noting their first game was against McGill, previously considered the best in Canada. SUBMITTED photo A Vancouver Vipertooth faces up against the Snitch. FINAL standings 1 Toronto Avengers 2 McGlll Quidditch 3 Vancouver Vipertooths Veteran Welsh soccer player Robert Earnshaw ties the latest game for the Vancouver Whitecaps By KELVIN GAWEY he Vancouver Whitecaps Foot- ball Club welcomed a new strik- er, Robert Earnshaw, to the club on Saturday night and he didn’t take long to ingratiate himself to fans. Earnshaw, who signed on with the club on Wednesday, was substituted into the game in the 87th minute with the team tied 1-1 with the Portland Timbers. Moments later, in the 90th minute, and on his very first touch of the ball as a Whitecap, he chipped it over the Timbers’ goalkeeper to net the game winner. Jon Szekeres is the manager of Eighty Six Forever, a blog dedicated to the Whitecaps and Major League Soc- cer. He is glad to see the latest addition to the squad. “Earnshaw is exactly what the doc- tor ordered for the Whitecaps for a multitude of reasons, including his goal-scoring touch, his MLS experience and his invaluable leadership,” he said. The win was not entirely well-de- served by the Whitecaps, according to Szekeres, who was in attendance. He called the called the match “sloppy and disjointed.” Sukh Ahluwalia, who has been a sea- son ticket holder since 2011—the team’s first season in the MLS—said the overall team effort was not impres- sive, despite the win. “We were outplayed,” he said, in an email. “But we now have good talent everywhere on the pitch and some- times good talent steals a win.” Earnshaw is new to Vancouver but not to professional soccer. The Zambi- an-born Welshman has previously played in the Premier League, the Eng- lish Football League and for Toronto FC and the Chicago Fire in the MLS. He has also represented Wales in interna- tional matches. The Whitecaps have won three of four games so far in a season of 35. Sze- keres thinks they need to improve their overall play if they want to continue winning games. “The soccer gods will catch up to the Whitecaps if they continue to play they way they currently are,” he said. Ahluwalia said he had been hoping Earnshaw would start Saturday’s game and was calling for him to be put on the field throughout the game. He said he was jubilant when he saw Earnshaw get the winning goal in the last mo- ments of play. “T jumped a couple feet in the air. My iPhone went flying,” he said. 66 We now have good talent ev- erywhere on the pitch and sometimes good tal- ent steals a win SUKH AHLUWALIA 4-YEAR SEASON TICKET HOLDER Canucks hope to turn tables Vancouver’s NHL team will be tested again on away ice against Nash- ville’s Predators tonight By ANNA DIMOFF history when it comes to playing the Nashville Predators, who have already secured a spot in the playoffs. A win in tonight’s game could help the Canucks gain a more substantial lead in the Pacific Division. The Canucks have lost twice in their previous encounters with the Preda- tors who have been dubbed a “surprise team” this season by sports analyst Ho- sea Cheung. “Nashville’s a good team... They’ve got one of the better goaltenders in the league, Pekka Rinne, and they have a lot of young stars,” Cheung said. “I think [the] Canucks are just an average team compared to Nashville. I mean they’re second in the Western Confer- ence, so it’s not just Vancouver that they’re beating, it’s every one else too.” The rookies on the ice are the ones to watch, according to Rob Williams, hockey editor at Vancity Buzz. “Bo Horvat is a rookie for Vancouver who has seen his role increase for the team. He’s playing more minutes and has become an important player for the team,” he said. “For Nashville, there’s Filip Forsberg, who is one of the best rookies in the league. He’s leading the Predators in scoring, which is very rare for a rookie, especially on a power- house team.” Forsberg is second in scoring for the Predators and leads all rookies with 59 points this season. “The Canucks have a very tight, tough schedule and that doesn’t help that stretch in a road trip where they have to win a lot of their games,” Cheung said. “It’s also the second game of back to back on the road so they'll probably have that fatigue factor play- ing in.” The Canucks played in St. Louis last night against the Blues. “Today is what counts,” Martin Lem- ish said, a 7-year season ticket holder to Canucks games. “These games are so important for the Vancouver Canucks and will deter- mine if there is a further season... vis- a-vis the playoffs.” Vfiscrs Canucks have a rough