Canada hockey team regret champagne-on-ice, cigars celebration

February 26, 2010

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Canada's women's ice hockey team have apologised for celebrating their Olympic gold by swigging champagne and beer and smoking cigars on the ice, according to BBC News.

The revelry took place after the players had collected their medals for a 2-0 win over the United States.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is looking into the incident.

"The members of Team Canada apologise if their on-ice celebrations, after fans had left the building, have offended anyone," Hockey Canada said.

The statement went on: "In the excitement of the moment, the celebration left the confines of our dressing room and shouldn't have.

"The team regrets that its gold medal celebration may have caused the IOC or the Canadian Olympic Committee any embarrassment."

They had a few cigars and some beers and champagne and basked in the glory of this Olympic moment

Brent Pope, BBC ice hockey pundit

About half an hour after securing the hosts' eighth gold of the Vancouver Games, Canadian team members re-entered the arena at Canada Hockey Place wearing their medals.

Some lay stretched out on the ice drinking from beer cans and champagne bottles, while one player climbed on the ice-resurfacing machine and honked the horn several times.

"We will look into this matter but it is not an investigation," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams.

BBC ice hockey pundit Brent Pope said the scenes were nothing more than a "traditional" ice hockey celebration.

"They had a few cigars and some beers and champagne and basked in the glory of this Olympic moment once their duties and responsibilities had been completed," said Pope, general manager of the Cardiff Devils team.

Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice in the first period to give Canada's women the title for the third straight Olympics.

BBC News