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Botterill shines as Canada romps
By Zack Van Eyck Deseret News Olympic specialist
PROVO — Canadian forward Jennifer Botterill is a native of Winnipeg, the daughter of an Olympic speedskater and the best collegiate women's hockey player in the U.S. last year.
Winter weather and winter sports are in her blood.
But inside that 22-year-old, 5-foot-9 frame is a baseball player trying to get out. The batsman within has emerged twice in these Olympic Games, against Russia on Wednesday and again Saturday in top-seeded Canada's 11-0 victory over fourth-seeded Sweden.
In both instances, Botterill batted flying pucks out of midair, redirecting them into the net for power-play goals.
Saturday, Botterill put wood on a curveball — er, curvepuck — launched from the blue line by Geraldine Heaney. She diverted it onto the ice, and the puck bounced under Swedish goalie Annica Ahlen like a bad-hop grounder sizzling past a shortstop.
"Actually, I haven't played so much ball," said Botterill, whose tip-in gave Canada a 3-0 first-period lead. "I think that is a pretty high-percentage play on the power play. I guess they tend to be just a little lower. It just so happened that those two shots were high shots and I had to hit them out of the air."
Both Derek Jeter-like efforts prompted reviews from the officials to see if Botterill's stick was higher than the crossbar, a no-no in hockey. But both goals were upheld.
Now, she wants an Olympic gold medal, and Saturday's game provided more reasons to think it can happen.
"I think we had a strong finish in the third period. We really had all the lines going and I really feel we're building confidence," she said. "I think our team is really starting to come together. Everyone just felt the energy."
Botterill credits a good deal of her success to her parents. Doreen Botterill competed in the '64 and '68 Winter Games. Cal Botterill is a noted sports psychologist who has worked for NHL teams and encouraged his daughter to believe she might have what it takes to make the Olympic team four years ago.
A silver medal, however, was not exactly what Botterill had in mind. Then Team Canada (3-0) lost all eight pre-Olympic games it played against the U.S. this season, but it was a powerhouse Saturday against the Swedes (2-1).
"This was such a feel-good game for us, no disrespect to Sweden, but it was great to see everyone contribute," said team captain Cassie Campbell. "There's a few girls on the team that hadn't scored a goal, including myself, so it was nice to get some monkeys off the back."
The medal-round semifinals are set for Tuesday at the E Center with Team USA playing Team Sweden and Team Canada taking on Team Finland.
E-MAIL: zman@desnews.com
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February 17, 2002
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