Team USA: Women's Ice Hockey at Nagano

views updated

Team USA: Women's Ice Hockey at Nagano

American team that won the gold medal at the first Olympics to feature women's ice hockey.

Bailey, Chris (1972—). Defenseman. Name variations: (nickname) "Bails." Born on February 5, 1972, in Syracuse, New York; graduated from Marcellus High School, 1990; graduated from Providence College, 1994, with a degree in business management; lived in Marietta, New York.

Named Most Valuable Player at the ECAC championship tournament (1994); four-time member of the U.S. Women's National Team (1994–97); named to the IIHF Pacific Women's Hockey championship All-Tournament Team and selected as the tournament's Outstanding Defensive Player (1995).

Quick-tempered, Chris Bailey played hockey at Providence College. She was named PC's Rookie of the Year in 1990–91, and earned All-Eastern College Athletic Conference honors as a junior and senior. She also played two years of soccer while in college. Bailey's father died when she was 13. "He never said I couldn't do anything," she said, "and he always was interested in everything I did. We went to so many games together."

Baker, Laurie (1976—). Forward. Born on November 6, 1976; lived in Concord, Massachusetts.

Blahoski, Alana (1974—). Forward. Born on April 29, 1974; lived in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Brown-Miller, Lisa (1966—). Forward. Born on November 16, 1966, in Union Lake, Michigan; daughter of Jean Peters and Bob Brown; graduated from West Bloomfield (Michigan) High School; graduated from Providence College, 1988, with a degree in humanities; married John Miller (an engineer), in August 1995.

Earned Eastern College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors (1991–92 season); served as head coach of the Princeton University women's ice hockey team (1991–96); named the ECAC Player of the Year and American Women's Hockey Coaches' Association Player of the Year following her senior campaign; played four years of hockey at Providence College; named Most Valuable Player of the U.S. Women's National Team (1992); member of the U.S. Women's National Team since its inception; played on six teams (1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997); member of the U.S. Women's Select Teams (1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997).

The oldest member of the U.S. women's Olympic ice hockey team and the smallest (5'1", 128 pounds), Lisa Brown-Miller was also the only married memberof the USA Team. Wed to her engineer husband John in August 1995, she skipped her honeymoon to attend training camp. Brown-Miller was ready to hang up her skates years before hockey became an Olympic sport, but her husband convinced her she would regret it if she didn't give the Olympics a shot. After Nagano, Brown-Miller looked forward to starting a career, pursuing other sports, and finally spending some time with her husband. "Every time we're together, we're driving around looking at homes, wanting to get a dog," she said. "We just want to settle down and get on with things."

Bye, Karyn (1971—). Forward and assistant captain. Born on May 18, 1971, in River Falls, Wisconsin; daughter of Dorothy Bye and Charles Bye; graduated from River Falls High School, 1989; graduated from the University of New Hampshire, 1993, with a degree in physical education; received a graduate degree from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

Five-time member of the U.S. Women's National team (1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997); member of the U.S. Women's Select Teams (1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997); earned all-tournament honors and an Outstanding Performance Award for the U.S. at the Women's World championship (1994); named USA Today's Athlete of the Month (May 1995); named USA Hockey Women's Player of the Year (1995); captain at the IIHF Pacific Women's Hockey championship (1996).

As a high school student, Karyn Bye was a standout in softball and tennis as well as ice hockey, and was teammates with her brother Chris for one season when he was a senior and she was a sophomore.

Coyne, Colleen (1971—). Defenseman. Born on September 19, 1971; lived in East Falmouth, Massachusetts.

DeCosta, Sara (1977—). Goaltender. Name variations: (nickname) "D. C." Born on May 13, 1977; graduated from Toll Gate High School, 1996; attended Providence College; lived in Warwick, Rhode Island.

Member of the U.S. Women's National Junior Team (1995); member of the U.S. Women's National teams (1996).

At Toll Gate High School, Sara DeCosta was a backup goalie for two years before moving into a starting position during her final two years. She was the first woman ever to play in the Rhode Island Interscholastic League's championships, and earned the team's MVP award in 1995 and 1996.

Dunn, Tricia (1974—). Forward. Born on April 25, 1974; lived in Derry, New Hampshire.

Granato, Cammi (1971—). Forward and team captain. Born Catherine Granato on March 25, 1971, in Downers Grove, Illinois; lived in Manhattan Beach, California; sister of Tony Granato (hockey player for the San Jose Sharks); graduated from Downers Grove North High School; graduated from Providence College with a degree in social science, 1993; attended graduate school at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

Six-time member of the U.S. Women's National Team (1990, 1992, 1994–97); led U.S. in scoring at the IIHF Pacific Women's Hockey championship (1996); named Outstanding Forward at the Pacific Women's Hockey championship and received an Outstanding Player Award for the U.S. (1996); USA Hockey Women's Player of the Year Award (1996); captained the U.S. Women's National Team (1997); leading scorer at the Women's World championship (1997); earned a place on the Women's World championship All-Tournament Team; scored 256 goals in her career by the time of Nagano; scored first goal at Nagano.

One of the most recognized women hockey players in the U.S., Cammi Granato played on the boys' hockey team when she was in high school, and was also the MVP of her high school soccer and basketball teams. She was the leading goal-scorer of the Providence College hockey team (the Friars), and earned the ECAC Player of the Year Award in each of her final three years. When not competing for the U.S., Granato served as radio color commentator for the NHL's Los Angeles Kings on KRLA-AM, which she called "the hardest thing I've ever done. Hockey always came naturally and it was fun to push yourself to higher levels. This is kind of painful."

King, Katie (1975—). Forward. Name variations: (nickname) Kinger or Nitro. Born on May 24, 1975; lived in Salem, New Hampshire. Known for her power and speed.

Looney, Shelley (1972—). Forward. Born on January 21, 1972; lived in Trenton, Michigan.

Merz, Sue (1972—). Defenseman. Name variations: (nickname) Merphy. Born on April 10, 1972; lived in Greenwich, Connecticut; Olympic play: one goal, two assists.

Mleczko, A.J. (1975—). Forward. Born Allison Jaime Mleczko on June 14, 1975, in Nantucket, Massachusetts; daughter of Thomas Mleczko and Bambi Mleczko; graduated from the Taft School; attended Harvard University.

Earned first-team All-Ivy League honors (1994–95) and was a two-time ECAC Player of the Week; earned first-team All-Ivy League honors in junior year; was Harvard's lone All-Eastern College Athletic Conference selection (1994–95); led Harvard Crimsonto a 22–1 record and the American Women's College Hockey Alliance National championship during her senior year; three-time member of the U.S. Women's National Team (1995, 1996, and 1997); member of the U.S. Women's Select Teams (1995, 1996, and 1997); named Patty Kazmaier Award winner for most outstanding player in women's intercollegiate hockey as well as the player of the year in the Ivy League and the ECAC (1999).

Mounsey, Tara (1978—). Defenseman. Born on March 12, 1978; lived in Concord, New Hampshire; graduated from Concord High School, 1986; attended Brown University.

Member of the U.S. Women's National Junior Team (1995); member of U.S. Women's Select Teams (1995 and 1996); won Outstanding Performance Award for the U.S. at the IIHF Pacific Women's Hockey championship (1996); two-time member of the U.S. Women's National Team (1996 and 1997).

In high school, Tara Mounsey captained her team to the 1996 New Hampshire State championship and was named the New Hampshire (Class L) Player of the Year (1995–96), the only woman ever to win that award. While attending Brown University, where she studied biology, Mounsey was the 1995–97 ECAC Rookie of the Year and was named to the ECAC Division I All-Star Team. She planned on pursuing a career as an orthopedic surgeon.

Movessian, Vicki (1972—). Defenseman. Born on November 6, 1972; lived in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Ruggiero, Angela (1980—). Defenseman. Name variations: (nickname) Rugger. Born on January 3, 1980; lived in Harrison, Michigan.

Schmidgall, Jenny (1979—). Forward. Born on January 12, 1979; lived in Edina, Minnesota.

Tueting, Sarah (1976—). Goaltender. Name variations: (nickname) Teeter. Born on April 26, 1976; daughter of William Tueting and Pat Tueting (a neuro-scientist at the University of Illinois); lived in Winnetka, Illinois; graduated from New Trier High School; attended Dartmouth College.

Named Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Dart-mouth's Rookie of the Year (1994–95); member of the

U.S. Women's National Select teams (1996); member of the U.S. Women's National Team (1997).

A music lover who plays the piano and cello, Sarah Tueting led the New Trier High School boys' hockey team to the state championship during her senior year and was named to the state all-star team. Having studied neurobiology at Dartmouth, she planned on a career in the medical field.

Ulion, Gretchen (1972—). Forward. Born on May 4, 1972; lived in Marlborough, Connecticut; graduated from Loomis-Chaffee High School; graduated from Dartmouth College; received a master's degree in education.

Set 11 Dartmouth and 4 Ivy League records during her college career; named Ivy League Player of the Year (1992–93 and 1993–94), and was Ivy League Player of the Year as a freshman; named to the New England Hockey Writers All-Star Team following her senior year; member of U.S. Women's Select Teams (1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997); three-time member of the U.S. Women's National Team (1994, 1995, and 1997).

Gretchen Ulion was a ninth-grade history and math teacher before the Olympics and planned to return to teaching.

Whyte, Sandra (1970—). Forward. Born on August 24, 1970; graduated from Harvard University, 1992, with a degree in bio-anthropology; lived in Saugus, Massachusetts.

Named Ivy League Player of the Year (1990–91 and 1991–92); five-time member of the U.S. Women's National Team (1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997); member of the U.S. Women's Select Teams (1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997).

Considered an Ivy League intellectual, Whyte explained her dedication to hockey as a matter of heart over intellect, but she had struggled with the decision to put her life on hold. "The last four years I have followed the lives of my college roommates as they progressed through medical school and law school," she wrote in a diary entry for USA Today. "I am awed by their accomplishments and cannot help but make comparisons as to the state of my own neglected career. Perhaps hockey is not the best way to make use of my expensive education, but oh how the Olympic rings pull at my heart."

In the mid-1980s, when Team USA players Tara Mounsey and Allison Mleczko were lacing up their first pairs of hockey skates and clutching sticks belonging to their brothers, the idea of a women's national hockey team was not even a glint in anyone's eye. Most young female players were forced to play with the boys, tucking their long hair under helmets and adopting assumed masculine names (thus, A.J. Mleczko, K.L. Bye). Many endured harassment from coaches and fellow players, or were subjected to jeers and insults from spectators. Indeed, all the women of Team USA told of the agonies of attempting to gain acceptance and recognition playing a "man's game." The struggles were all forgotten, however, on the night of February 17, 1998, at Big Hat Arena in Nagano, Japan, when the American women beat archrival Canadian Women's National Ice Hockey Team 3–1, winning the first-ever Olympic women's hockey tournament. Sticks flew, gloves scattered, and several of the women took a victory skate around the arena wrapped in an American flag. At the medal ceremony, team captain Cammi Granato broke down and wept into her hands. "When that medal went around my neck, I was so filled with emotion, I didn't even know how to handle it," she said later. "It's because of how much we've all worked and how much adversity we've all faced. It's that it all paid off—that all hits you at once." Even Canadian coach Shannon Miller , noted for her "clenched jaw," rough manner and unyielding drive to win, was moved to tears during the medal ceremony. "I couldn't believe an Olympic gold medal was being hung on a female hockey player's neck. I couldn't believe the impact that had on me."

From the formation of the first national team in 1990, women's hockey advanced at an amazingly rapid speed. Between 1990 and 1997, the number of women players registered with USA Hockey almost quadrupled, and the number of women's teams went from 149 to 910, although many of the women played on mixed-gender squads. The women's game differs from the men's in that it is slower and bars full-body checking, putting more emphasis on passing and stick handling. "There is no room for goons," said Granato. "Everyone's got to be skilled." Like women's basketball, it is more a game of finesse, more like the men's hockey games of yore. There is still plenty of physical contact, however, and the game has been known to get pretty rough. "Don't be misled by the no-checking rule," writes Mark Lasswell. "That just means the players get penalized for blatant bashing. 'Incidental contact' is allowed, and referees have been known to consider board-bending crunches incidental." Erin Whitten , a member of the U.S. Women's National Hockey Team and the first American woman to play hockey professionally, agrees that the women's game is one of finesse. "You have to find a way around the body checking so it tends to be a little more wide open, and then again a little more concentrated down by the goaltender," she told Phil Ponce. "There are a lot of close-in shots and a lot of rebounds."

Many of the 20 women on the 1998 team were long-time veterans of the national team and all of them had made incredible sacrifices for their sport. "I've postponed like everything," said forward Sandra Whyte , who has a college degree in bio-anthropology. "My boyfriend and I haven't been in the same state forever, it seems like. My college roommates, two of them are doctors and one's a lawyer. I don't even know what I want to be." Lisa Brown-Miller , who gave up a coaching job at Princeton to join the team, married in 1995, but was so busy training and touring that she did not have time for a honeymoon. Angela Ruggiero , the youngest member of the team, had to stockpile enough credits to be able to take off the fall and winter terms at prep school. On tour, she missed a morning practice to take her SATs at a school near Boston; she also submitted her college admissions essay from the road, writing about the tour. "It's too bad they couldn't have waited a few more weeks," she said. "I could have written about the Olympics."

Canadian Women's National Ice Hockey Team (1998)

Botterill, Jennifer. Defenseman. Lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba; was Team Canada's youngest player at Nagano at age 18.

Brisson, Therese. Defenseman. Lived in Fredericton, New Brunswick; was inducted into the Concordia University Hall of Fame.

Campbell, Cassie. Defenseman. Lived in Brampton, Ontario; was a star at the University of Guelph.

Diduck, Judy. Defenseman. Lived in Sherwood Park, Alberta; is the younger sister of NHL defenseman Gerald Diduck.

Drolet, Nancy. Forward. Lived in Drummondville, Quebec; won three World championship gold medals with Canada.

Dupuis, Lori. Forward. Lived in Williamstown, Ontario; played at the University of Toronto.

Goyette, Danielle. Forward. Lived in St. Nazaire, Quebec; was a veteran of international competition.

Heaney, Geraldine. Defenseman. Lived in North York, Ontario; played in the first Women's World championship in 1990.

Hefford, Jayna. Forward. Lived in Kingston, Ontario; was the OWIAA Rookie of the Year with the University of Toronto.

Kellar, Becky. Defenseman. Lived in Hagarsville, Ontario; played four seasons at Brown University.

McCormack, Kathy. Forward. Lived in Fredericton, New Brunswick; played for the University of New Brunswick.

Nystrom, Karen. Forward. Lived in Scarborough, Ontario; played at Northeastern University in Boston.

Reddon, Lesley. Goaltender. Lived in Fredericton, New Brunswick; won four OWIAA championships at the University of Toronto.

Rheaume, Manon. Goaltender. Lived in Charlesbourg, Quebec; was the first woman to play professional hockey (see separate entry).

Schuler, Laura. Forward. Lived in Scarborough, Ontario; played at Northeastern University and the University of Toronto.

Smith, Fiona. Defenseman. Lived in Edam, Saskatchewan; played on a Canadian Senior Women's championship team.

St. Louis, France. Forward. Lived in St. Hubert, Quebec; at age 39, was the oldest Canadian hockey player in Nagano.

Sunohara, Vicki. Forward. Lived in Scarborough, Ontario; was an All-American at Northeastern University.

Wickenheiser, Hayley. Forward. Lived in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan; is a cousin of former NHL player Doug Wickenheiser.

Wilson, Stacy. Forward. Lived in Salisbury, New Brunswick; had represented Canada at every major international competition.

Team USA lived and toured together for five months before the Olympics, perfecting their game under the guidance of Ben Smith, who became their coach in June 1996. "He's our stability. He's our leader," said team captain Granato. "He made us stronger mentally and physically. He's made us better hockey players." Spending so much time together, the team bonded like a family. Off-ice activities included a Halloween outing to the Spooky World amusement park in western Massachusetts and a shopping spree in Osaka, where they were processed before heading to Nagano. Pranks were also a large part of downtime for the women. Tara Mounsey, who traveled with a Beanie Baby named Wrinkles and a Tigger doll, frequently entered the shower in her hotel room to find Tigger hanging from the showerhead, a shoelace tied around his neck. "Every time I get a chance, I'm terrorizing that thing," said Granato, who no doubt took a few jabs about her own traveling buddy, a bear named Jake.

Team USA's victory in Nagano was all the sweeter in light of their long-standing rivalry with the Canadians, who had won all four women's World championships dating back to 1990, leaving the U.S. in second place each time. In the four months leading up to the Olympics, however, the Americans won 7 of their 14 match-ups with Canada, giving rise to new hope. In their early Olympic matches, the team won grueling games over China, Sweden, Finland, and Japan to obtain their play-off position. Confronting Canada in the last game of the preliminary round (Canada, too, had already clinched a place in the gold-medal play-off), the U.S. rebounded from a 4–1 deficit in the third period to win the game 7–4. It was a gritty, controversial encounter which later prompted accusations from Canadian coach Shannon Miller that an unnamed U.S. player had made a remark about Canadian player Danielle Goyette 's father, who had died just before the Olympics. Sandra Whyte, who had confronted Goyette on the ice a few minutes earlier, took the heat for the remark and was forced to defend herself to the media. "I did make a comment to her but it was not about her father," she admitted. "What I said to her was not a nice thing. I was upset about something that happened in the game. But there's no excuse for me losing my temper." Coach Ben Smith defended Whyte, saying that none of his players would have made such a crude remark. "Our team sent a card to that player the other day, expressing our deepest sympathies," he said. "I know everybody signed it because I signed it myself."

The controversy made for an even more intense final game, which drew a record crowd of spectators. Ironically, Whyte assisted on the first two U.S. goals of the game (power-play goals by Gretchen Ulion and Shelley Looney ). With 17 minutes left in the third period, and the U.S. still ahead 2–0, goalie Sarah Tueting blocked a shot by Canada's Danielle Goyette; two minutes later, Tueting had to block another shot. The Canadians, who were on the attack, finally broke through at 4:01 on a power play (Goyette), and the score was now 2–1. Minutes later, Tueting kicked away a potential game-tying shot, and the U.S. struggled to hold its lead. In the final eight seconds of the game, Whyte intercepted a Canadian pass just outside her own blue line, then, slipping by a defender, made the 40-foot winning shot into an empty net. "I was thinking," she recalled later, "I have plenty of time. I better make sure it goes in." Seconds later, the Americans were tossing equipment into the air in a display reminiscent of the men's 1980 celebration following their win over the Russians at Lake Placid. At the medal ceremony, it was not only team captain Granato who could not stop crying. Karyn Bye , alternate captain and one of the team's leading scorers, also dissolved into tears. Brown-Miller, who received her medal after Bye, sobbed even harder. At the end of the ceremony, the players joined hands in a line at the middle of the rink as the national anthem was played. Tueting, whose brilliant play and 21 saves were invaluable to the team, was still beaming 90 minutes later. "It's beginning to sink in," she said, clutching flowers and wearing an Uncle Sam hat. "My cheeks still hurt from smiling so much."

As the glow of Nagano fades, the future of women's hockey remains uncertain. While some of the women of Team USA dream of a repeat gold-medal win at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, others have hung up their skates. Unable to return to multimillion dollar contracts with professional teams as their male counterparts do, they have moved on to other pursuits. As more women are drawn to the game, there may eventually be a talent pool large enough to support an NHL version of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), but for now women's ice hockey remains an amateur sport.