WinterSports2002.com - U.S., Canadian women hit ice for biggest game in years

WinterSports2002.com, Thursday, February 21, 2002

U.S., Canadian women hit ice for biggest game in years

By Zack Van Eyck
Deseret News Olympic specialist

WEST VALLEY CITY — Not since the U.S. and Canada met in Nagano four years ago has there been so much riding on one women's ice hockey game.

Team USA and Team Canada, the best teams in the world since the sport emerged on the international scene 12 years ago, will play for the 2002 Olympic gold medal today, 5 p.m., at the E Center.

USA Hockey, the sport's national governing body, has invested heavily in America's best female hockey players in hopes of defending the gold medal Team USA won four years ago in Japan, when the sport debuted at the Winter Games.

Twenty-five players spent the 2000-01 season in a residential program in Lake Placid, N.Y., then continued training and playing together this season on an undefeated, 31-game pre-Olympic tour. Ben Smith, the former Northeastern University men's coach and a Harvard graduate, has coached the national team full time since 1996. Essentially, he has been preparing for today's game for the past four years.

"For all those people out there watching, this is the best women's hockey you can get," said American A.J. Mleczko, tied for second in scoring among all defensemen in the tournament. "This is the best competition we can get. We thrive on these situations and love to play them."

To be sure, the Americans' push to win this medal has something to do with hosting the Olympics. But gaining superiority over the Canadians, or simply establishing equivalency, has been a goal since the first national team was formed in 1990.

The Canadians and Americans have played for all 14 of the gold medals awarded in the sport's sanctioned international tournaments. But Canada has won 12 of them, including all seven Women's World Championships. The United States, however, defeated Canada in each of the eight games they played between October and January on the Skate to Salt Lake tour.

"I don't look at the record in the past. We're here, we're now. We're going to focus on the gold-medal game," said U.S. forward Karyn Bye, who tied for the team lead in scoring at the '98 Games. "I love being on the ice every time we're playing them because I know it's going to be a great game,"

Many of the American and Canadian women know each other from playing together or against one another in the U.S. collegiate ranks. But when the puck drops, any friendships are temporarily put on hold.

"It's a much more physical game than most teams play," said U.S. goalie Sara DeCosta, who watched teammate Sarah Tueting beat Canada in the '98 gold-medal game but is expected to start Thursday. "The rivalry just brings a whole new realm of presence to the ice."

The Canadians, considered underdogs for the first time in any international competition, have their own motivations.

"You grow up holding the Stanley Cup and thinking gold medals and that's the kind of thing that's in our blood and in our nature," said Canadian team captain Cassie Campbell. "We don't accept anything but gold; that's kind of our mentality. If our men's team doesn't win, everyone's all over them. As Canadians, that's what we expect, and as players that's what we expect as well."

Obviously, losing 3-1 to the United States in the gold-medal game in Nagano was a big disappointment.

"It's a moment that you never forget and that you never want to feel again," said Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser, who is tied for the tournament scoring lead (nine points) with teammate Danielle Goyette and Team USA captain Cammi Granato. "We have a good core of players who lived through that, so coming in here and beating the U.S. in their own building would be a pretty good story. I'm very hungry for a gold medal."

Canada has outscored the U.S. 32-13 in the seven World Championship gold-medal games, although the past four have been decided by a total margin of five goals. Canada won 3-2 in regulation last year and 3-2 in overtime in 2000.

"It's an intense rivalry. There's no love lost between the two," Wickenheiser said. "We play with our pride on the line. Nobody wants to lose."

In last year's final, Canadian goalie Kim St. Pierre was nothing short of phenomenal, and her American opponents gave her plenty of credit afterward.

"If you look at the shots on goal, we outshot them two to one (35-18) but they got more goals," U.S. forward Natalie Darwitz, the Games' leading goal-scorer with seven, said of last year's World title bout. "Both teams are in great shape and we both have tremendous skills, but the team that executes and puts the puck in the net most wins and that's what we need to do."

The bronze medal game will be played at noon Thursday at the Peaks Ice Arena in Provo. Third-seeded Finland (2-2), which won the bronze in Nagano and has won all seven Women's World Championship bronze medals, will attempt to maintain its long-standing dominance over fourth-seeded Sweden (2-2).

E-MAIL: zman@desnews.com