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Canucks are in the playoffs!

Hockey Fever

Every spring in Canada, a strange illness takes a hold of the country. From St. John's, Newfoundland to Victoria, B.C.; from Toronto, Ontario to Iqualit in the Nunavut Territory. This illness is called "Hockey Fever."

The "fever" actually has it's early beginnings in October of the previous year. When the National Hockey League's 30 teams starts their regular season of play. Each team plays 82 games in the regular season. After the regular season, only 16 of the 30 teams are allowed to continue into the playoffs. The goal of each team is to win the most coveted prize of Canadian sports: the Stanley Cup.

Hockey Fever makes Canadians rabid hockey fans. When there are important hockey games on. The streets are quiet and everyone is either at home or at a bar watching the game. This fever has other symptoms. Some like to wear their favourite teams colours, clothing, and jerseys. Some Canadians will paint their faces and bodies to emulate their favourite team. The biggest symptom of this fever is when you see them scream and shout when a goal is scored.

Hockey Fever is a temporary fever and there is no real cure for it. After four rounds of playoffs and one team becomes victorious, the fever will die down, until it all starts again next October.

So when in Canada, beware of Hockey Fever. There are no immunization shots for travellers coming to the country. Just be careful. =)

Canada's Hockey Teams

	Vancouver Canucks The Canucks are my hometeam and the team I cheer for the most. Canuck means Canadian. It is just a nickname. It's similar to the way people call Americans, Yankees. Their arena is called General Motors Place, or GM Place. We like to call it 'The Garage.'
	Calgary Flames Calgary is the economic centre of the province of Alberta and is home to the Flames that play in the Pengrowth Saddledome. It's called the Saddledome because it looks like a saddle.
	Edmonton Oilers Edmonton is the capital of the prairie province of Alberta. Alberta is a wealthy province because of their oilfields. That's where they get the name Oilers. I was born in Edmonton, so I really like the Oilers too.
	Toronto Maple Leafs One of the original six teams that started the National Hockey League over 80 years ago. The maple leaf is a Canadian symbol and is proudly sewn on the chest of every Toronto player. The Maple Leafs are also called 'The Buds' as a nickname. They play in the Air Canada Centre, also known as 'The Hangar.'
	Ottawa Senators The nation's capital's team is the youngest of the Canadian teams and joined the league in 1992. Senators are politicians and where better to find politicians than in the national capital. They play in the Corel Centre, which is sponsored by software giant, Corel.
	Montreal Canadiens Canadiens is not a spelling mistake, but is the French spelling of Canadian. So in the largest Quebecois city, they should have a team with a French name. The Canadiens are also called the Habs as a nickname. They are the winningest team in the league with 24 Stanely Cup Championships. They play in the Molson Centre, named after one of Canada's largest beer companies.