tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56286050864190298772024-03-14T03:57:14.158-07:00Women's Hockey LegendsWomen's Hockey Greatest PlayersJoe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-81644713639188074062019-01-03T19:26:00.000-08:002019-01-03T19:26:01.013-08:00Women's Hockey Legends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Canada</b><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2014/09/meghan-agosta.html">Meghan Agosta</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2015/09/gillian-apps.html">Gillian Apps</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2014/09/tessa-bonhomme.html">Tessa Bonhomme</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2011/03/jennifer-botterill.html">Jennifer Botterill</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2008/07/cassie-campbell.html">Cassie Campbell</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2011/08/delany-collins.html">Delaney Collins</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2011/03/judy-diduck.html">Judy Diduck</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2014/02/nancy-drolet.html">Nancy Drolet</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2012/11/danielle-goyette.html">Danielle Goyette</a><a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/11/elizabeth-graham.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span> Elizabeth Graham</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2014/09/jayna-hefford.html">Jayna Hefford</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2008/07/abby-hoffman.html">Abby Hoffman</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2008/08/angela-james.html">Angela James</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2013/04/becky-kellar.html">Becky Kellar</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2013/04/gina-kingsbury.html">Gina Kingsbury</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2008/07/albertine-lapensee.html">Albertine Lapensee</a><br />
<a href="http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2014/02/carla-macleod.html">Carla MacLeod</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2013/04/cherie-piper.html">Cherie Piper</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/03/hilda-ranscombe.html">Hilda Ranscombe</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2008/10/manon-rheaume.html">Manon Rheaume</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/03/bobbie-rosenfeld.html">Bobbie Rosenfeld</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/03/france-st-louis.html">France St. Louis</a><br />
<a href="http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2013/04/a-hockey-legend-retires-kim-st-pierre.html">Kim St. Pierre</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2013/04/colleen-sostorics.html">Colleen Sostorics</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/12/vicky-sunohara.html">Vicky Sunohara</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2011/02/isobel-stanley.html">Isobel Stanley</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2013/04/sarah-vaillancourt.html">Sarah Vaillancourt</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2015/09/catherine-ward.html">Catherine Ward</a><br />
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<b>USA</b><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2012/11/karyn-bye-dietz.html">Karyn Bye-Dietz</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2008/07/cammi-granato.html">Cammi Granato</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/02/katie-king.html">Katie King</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2012/01/karen-koch.html">Karen Koch</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/12/shelley-looney.html">Shelley Looney</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.ca/2015/08/angela-ruggiero.html">Angela Ruggiero</a><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/12/kathryn-waldo.html">Kathryn Waldo</a><br />
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<b>Sweden</b><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2009/05/pia-grengman-sterner.html">Pia (Grengman) Sterner</a><br />
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<b>Japan</b><br />
<a href="http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2014/02/yoko-kondo-japan-return-to-womens.html">Yoko Kondo</a><br />
<a href="http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2013/04/catching-up-with-long-forgotten-womens.html">Tamae Satsu</a><br />
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<b>Italy</b><br />
<a href="http://womenshockeylegends.blogspot.com/2013/12/valentina-bettarini.html">Valentina Bettarini</a><br />
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<b>Switzerland</b><br />
<a href="http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2014/02/the-american-coffee-barista-who-is.html">Jessica Lutz</a>Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-21272643217212171992015-09-10T10:35:00.000-07:002019-04-12T20:15:30.652-07:00Jayna Hefford<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jayna Hefford's international hockey career has come to an end. The Hockey Hall of Fame will be calling soon.<br />
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The Kingston, Ontario had been with the Canadian National Women's Team since the 1997 World Championships. She retires as second all-time in Team Canada history in games played (267), goals (157), and points (291).<br />
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Hefford is a four-time Olympic gold medallist - 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014, with a silver medal added in 1998. In 2002, Hefford famously scored the game-winning goal with two seconds remaining in Canada’s victory against the United States in Salt Lake City.<br />
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Hefford is also a seven-time world champion (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2012) and five-time silver medallist (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013) at the World Championships.<br />
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She also was 12 time gold medallist at the 3 Nations/4 Nations Cup, winning 5 silver medals there as well.<br />
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“Jayna’s accomplishments on the ice speak for themselves, but it is her off-ice contributions to the game and leadership that I admire,” said Melody Davidson, general manager of national women’s team programs, Hockey Canada. “I want to thank Jayna for the leadership she has shown as a veteran and mentor to our younger players, and to the larger hockey community in Canada and around the world.”<br />
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Hefford was a tremendous skater, both in terms of speed and balance. But it was her desire to always be better that made her a legend.<br />
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"A few years before Vancouver, I decided if I was going to stick in it into my 30s, my mid 30s, I knew I had to get better," said Hefford, only one of five athletes in the world to win gold at four consecutive Olympics. "It wasn't good enough to be there just because I had gotten that far already. I probably had some of my most successful years in the latter part of my career which is something I'm proud of. I saw the results of that hard work."<br />
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The new retiree Hefford is a new mom.<br />
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"Once you become a parent, it's no longer about you. When I'm reflecting about retirement, I'm thinking a lot more about what my parents did for me growing up and all the selflessness and the sacrifice. I guess I'm more appreciative of what they did to help me live out the dream."Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-49938653198666860532015-09-10T10:06:00.002-07:002019-04-12T20:15:38.635-07:00Gillian Apps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The announcement that Gillian Apps was retiring from Canada's National Women's team, so ended one of hockey's great family lines - for now.<br />
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Gillian's father was Syl Apps Jr., who played over 700 games in a decade long career back in the 1970s. And her grandfather was Syl Apps Sr., the Hockey Hall of Famer who is arguably the greatest player in Toronto Maple Leafs player. He was also an Olympic pole vaulter in 1936.<br />
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Apps may find herself in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day, too. Check out this resume:<br />
<ul>
<li>Three time Olympic gold medallist (2006, 2010 and 2014). She scored 10 goals and 21 points at the Olympics, including 7 goals and 14 points in 2006 when she was an All Star.</li>
<li>Three time World Champion gold medallist (2004, 2007, 2012) as well as five-time silver medallist (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013).</li>
<li>164 games played with the national team, scoring 50 goals and 50 assists.</li>
<li>Eight gold medals at the Four Nations Cup (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2013)</li>
</ul>
“I’m so proud to have worn the maple leaf alongside my teammates; we became like a family and those friendships are ones that I will cherish forever,” said Apps. “I have learned so much about myself through sport and my time with Canada’s National Women’s Team has taught me about strength, balance, perseverance, character, and support. I feel very grateful to have gone through so much being part of such an amazing program.”<br />
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Apps also starred at Dartmouth College where she earned a degree in psychology.<br />
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“Those were probably the best four years of my life,” Apps said. “Being a student athlete at Dartmouth was an incredible experience.”<br />
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She loves teaching young girls the game of hockey.<br />
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“I hope our success as a national team at the Olympics has inspired young girls across the country. They have some great opportunities. When I was their age, there were only boys’ hockey camps. So I didn’t attend camps, except for one I participated in with the boys.”Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-68993634674331973702015-09-10T09:46:00.000-07:002019-04-12T20:15:44.178-07:00Catherine Ward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Catherine Ward's hockey dream was to be a part of Team Canada and winning gold medals at the Olympics. But hockey gave her much more than the ultimate bling.<br />
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“Hockey has taught me so much and I wouldn’t be who I am today without it; it has shaped me for the better.," she said.<br />
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Ward debuted with Canada’s National Women’s Program in 2006 as a member of Canada’s National Women’s Under-22 Team and finished her as career as a two-time Olympic gold medallist, in 2010 and 2014.<br />
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The Montreal native first captured a gold medal with Canada at the World Championships in 2012 and added three silvers medals in 2009, 2011 and 2013. Ward also won a pair of gold medals at the 4 Nations Cup (2009, 2013) and two silver medals (2008, 2012).<br />
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In 77 games with Canada’s National Women’s Team the defender accumulated seven goals and 36 assists for 43 points.<br />
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“I dreamed of being part of Team Canada from a young age and I feel very privileged to have had the chance to be part of it,” said Ward. “From the drive and discipline it takes to achieve your goals, to the friendships I’ve made along the way, hockey has shaped me into who I am today. It taught me how to be a leader and how to make others around me better and I’m fortunate to now combine my two passions, hockey and business into one.”<br />
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Ward has been working as an assistant product manager with Reebok-CCM hockey for the past year and will continue to manage the development of hockey sticks with the company.<br />
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Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-54124169333031192452015-08-07T22:14:00.001-07:002019-04-12T20:15:49.421-07:00Angela Ruggiero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There was a time not so long ago that it would have seemed impossible that the Hockey Hall of Fame would ever enshrine someone who was born in sunny California.<br />
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And you certainly never would have guessed that player would be a woman.<br />
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But in the year 2015 that is exactly what happened, as the Hockey Hall of Fame welcomes Angela Ruggiero to hockey's highest honour.<br />
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Ruggiero took to the game early, and it was obvious she had real potential. Her brother really enjoyed the game, too. So the whole family moved to Michigan in 1996. The move was actually more to benefit her brother's career. It resulted in the kid sister having one of the most successful careers in hockey history.<br />
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"I grew up loving hockey and my family loves hockey," said Ruggiero "Fortunately, I found hockey at a very young age when I was 7
when there wasn't a lot of it in the state of California. … My family moved to Michigan in 1996 for my brother's
hockey. My brother and I would train in the summertime. We'd go to different rinks, wherever we could find ice and
join summer leagues. Because hockey was so popular in Detroit relative to California, I think I really benefitted."<br />
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She certainly did. She was a key member of the United States women's team that won the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano
Olympics. She was just 18, still in prep school, and competing at the Olympics. She was well on her way to becoming the most dominant defender in the women's game, and arguably the top female player in the world.<br />
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"I was able to compete in my first [Olympic] team in 1998 and just loved the 15 years I got to spend with USA
Hockey," she said. "I grew as a person, I learned so many things through hockey, and can't say enough about the
opportunity I had because I wore that sweater for so long."
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<br />
Ruggiero's accomplishments include four Olympic medals silver medals in the 2002 and 2010 Olympics and a
bronze in 2006. She also won four gold medals at the World Championships, including in 2005 when she scored the game winning goal in the dramatic shootout.<br />
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"I feel so blessed to have grown up at the right moment. When I started playing, there were no girls in the state, no
Olympics," Ruggiero said. "I didn't even know women's hockey existed at the collegiate level being from California, so
I could have never imagined that I'd get to do all the things I got to do in hockey.
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<br />
"But am very cognizant that if I had been born 10 years prior, I may not have had all these wonderful opportunities in
life."
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<br />
Ruggiero also played at Harvard (she graduated cum laude with a degree in government) and won the national championship in 1999. Her 96 goals and 253 points in her
college career are a school record for defensemen.<br />
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In 2005 she joined her brother Bill for one game with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. In doing so she became the first female skater (not including goalies) to compete in a men's professional hockey league in North America.<br />
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Hockey has opened all sorts of opportunities for Ruggiero.<br />
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"The last few months have been amazing. … It's been a whirlwind," she said. "You start playing hockey as a kid
because you love the sport … so all this stuff is sort of icing. I didn't start playing hockey so I could be in the Hall of
Fame and now the USA Hockey Hall of Fame. It's just a tremendous, tremendous honor."Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-66908621056078742412014-09-25T10:25:00.000-07:002019-04-12T20:15:57.029-07:00Meghan Agosta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Meghan Agosta isn't hanging up her skates just yet. But she is pausing her hockey career and getting her next career started.
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Normally Agosta, a three time Olympic gold medal champion, would be with her Team Canada teammates as training camp opens. Instead she is at the Justice Institute of British Columbia training to become a police officer.
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“I’ve only had two passions in my life and that’s policing and hockey,” Agosta told The Canadian Press from Vancouver. “To be able to fulfill both dreams is pretty amazing.”
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Agosta was Canada’s top scorer at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., with nine goals and six assists in five games. She was named the most valuable player of the women’s hockey tournament.
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She’s represented Canada in women’s hockey for a decade. Agosta celebrated her 19th birthday with a hat trick against Russia at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
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In 2014 she helped Canada win gold in Sochi, Russia, coming from behind by two goals down to beat the United States in overtime.
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Agosta says she is not retiring and wants to play in a fourth Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-67406605411739850662014-09-25T10:15:00.000-07:002019-04-12T20:16:04.616-07:00Tessa Bonhomme<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tessa Bonhomme was a quietly solid defenseman for a decade with Canada's national women's team. Off the ice she was vibrant personality, full of life. It is little surprise that she has left the game to pursue opportunities in television.
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Bonhomme made her international debut at the 2004 Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., and finished her career with 51 points (10 goals, 41 assists) in 107 games. She is the fifth-highest-scoring defenceman in the history of Canada’s senior women’s team.
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The native of Sudbury, Ontario won gold with Canada at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and at the IIHF World Women’s Championship in 2007 and 2012. She assisted on Caroline Ouellette’s overtime winner in the 2012 gold-medal game.
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Bonhomme also won silver at the world championship in 2009, 2011 and 2013. She participated in the Four Nations Cup on eight occasions, winning six gold medals (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013) and two silver (2008, 2012).
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“On behalf of Hockey Canada and Canadian hockey fans everywhere, I want to thank Tessa for what she did not only in bringing Canada success on the ice, but what she did to grow the women’s game off it,” Tom Renney, president and CEO of Hockey Canada, said in a statement. “She will continue to be a tremendous ambassador for the sport, and I have no doubt she will find success wherever her career leads her.”
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Bonhomme, who also had a legendary NCAA with the Ohio State Buckeyes, will continue her broadcasting career with TSN as a full-time host and reporter. She will also contribute to the network’s coverage of Hockey Canada events. She also competed in reality shows Wipeout Canada and Battle of the Blades, winning the hockey turned figure skating competition with partner David Pelletier.<br />
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Did you know Tessa's uncle Tim Bonhomme has been a keyboardist with the Beach Boys since 1997?Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-61777781140749663722014-02-21T06:25:00.001-08:002019-04-12T20:16:11.443-07:00Nancy Drolet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nancy Drolet had a storied career, but I always think of the 1997 world championships when I hear her name.
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Canada captured their 4th consecutive world title that year, and they can thank Drolet's hat trick heroics in a gritty overtime game vs. the United States.<br />
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Drolet scored twice in regulation and then, at 12:59 of OT, scored the 4-3 game winner.<br />
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“I didn't want to say to myself, ‘Can I give more?’ after the game,” Drolet explained afterwards. “I just gave all I got, and I got three goals.”<br />
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Drolet did it again in 2000. Her slap shot at 6:10 of overtime hit American goalie Sara de Costa in the shoulder and trickled over the line to give Canada a 3-2 victory and their sixth straight world titles.<br />
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Drolet, from Drummondville, Quebec, was also a notable softball player who played on Canada's national team in 1990 and 1991. By 1993 she was named as Canada's junior athlete of the year.<br />
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Her career with Canada's national women's team last from 1992 through 2000. She won a silver medal at the Nagano Olympics in 1998 and is a six time world champion.<br />
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Nowadays Drolet is an orthotherapist and massage therapist in Drummondville.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-66330263803236370742013-12-27T03:48:00.000-08:002019-04-12T20:16:21.204-07:00Valentina Bettarini<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is Valentina Bettarini. In 2006 she set Olympic hockey history by representing her native Italy at the Torino games. At the age of 15 years and 228 days she became the youngest hockey player - male or female - to participate in an Olympic hockey tournament.<br />
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Though the Italian women's hockey team has not been strong enough to qualify for another Olympics, Ms. Bettarini continues to play for the Italian national team as well as a women's club team in Austria.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-66644629039783461102013-11-04T19:48:00.002-08:002019-04-12T20:16:29.498-07:00Geraldine Heaney<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On November 11th, 2013 Geraldine Heaney will become just the third female player inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame.<br />
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Heaney will join her long time Canadian teammate Angela James and U.S. forward Cammi Granato, both of whom were enshrined in 2010.<br />
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Why it took so long to include another female player is a controversial mystery made all the more maddening by Heaney's obvious credentials.<br />
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“As a young girl playing hockey, never in my wildest dreams would I ever think I’d be going in the Hall. It shows you where the women’s game as come and how much further it can go.”
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Heaney won gold with Canada at the first seven women’s world hockey championships held starting in 1990. The offensive defenceman, often compared to Scott Niedermayer or even Bobby Orr, was named the tournament’s top defenceman in both 1992 and 1994.
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She scored a highlight reel goal for Canada in the final of the inaugural world championship in Ottawa. She split the U.S. defence, avoided the goaltender’s attempted poke check and sailed through the air after slipping the puck into the net.
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“That very first world championship and scoring the winning goal is something that I always have a chance to see because they play it on TV quite a bit,” Heaney said.
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She took silver when women’s hockey made its Olympic debut in 1998 and won gold four years later in Salt Lake City before retiring.
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In 2008 Heaney joined James and Granato as the first female inductees in the IIHF Hall of Fame.<br />
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Not bad for a girl born in Belfast, Ireland, eh? Her family emigrated to Canada when she was a toddler and she grew up as a rink rat in the Toronto area.<br />
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“It was a male game when I played and going down to the Hall of Fame any time, you never saw in any females in there, so you didn’t think this would ever happen,” Heaney said. “I’m so glad that it has.”<br />
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Heaney had 27 goals and 66 assists in 125 career games for Canada. The 45-year-old still holds national team records for the world championship games (35) goals (8), assists (28), and points (36) by a defenceman.
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Heaney has remained involved in the game as a coach at the University of Waterloo.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-53217694230303517652013-04-26T12:15:00.002-07:002019-04-12T20:17:04.375-07:00Gina Kingsbury<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Gina Kingsbury played forward in two Olympics for Team Canada, winning gold in both 2006 and 2010.<br />
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The Saskatchewan-born, Quebec-raised Kingsbury first joined Team Canada in the under-22 division in 1999. She went on to help Canada win gold at the 2001, 2004 and 2007 world championships as well as silver in 2005, 2008 and 2009.<br />
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She graduated from St. Lawrence University in 2004 with a degree in psychology. She joined the Montreal Axion of the National Women’s Hockey League before making and committing to the 2006 Olympic team. She decided to advance her career with the national team by moving to Calgary where the team trains. She joined the Calgary Oval X-Treme in non-Olympic years. <br />
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In 116 games with the national team she scored 35 goals, 40 assists and 75 points.<br />
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The native of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec has since moved to Penticton, British Columbia and is very active with the Okanagan Hockey School.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-7218836180889326212013-04-26T12:02:00.000-07:002019-04-12T20:17:13.818-07:00Becky Kellar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Chasing Olympic and national team dreams is a big sacrifice for most athletes. But for Becky Kellar (now Becky Kellar-Duke), she put her whole life on hold for the Olympics.<br />
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Every four years left her husband and home in Burlington, Ontario to move to Calgary for seven months of training. But she did bring her kids, parents and dogs with her.<br />
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Kellar played defence for Team Canada in four Olympics, winning three golds and a silver. She was the oldest skater for Team Canada at the Vancouver Olympics, and one of only four women to play for Team Canada to play in each of the first four women's Olympic hockey tournaments.<br />
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She was also the first member of Team Canada's women team to become a mom. She has two sons, Owen and Zach.<br />
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Being a mother adds balance to her life because she has activities, schedules and responsibilities outside of her hockey career, <a href="http://www.canadianliving.com/life/community/meet_3_elite_canadian_athletes_4.php">she told Canadian Living magazine</a>. It also allowed her to give extra focus her on-ice activities.<br />
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While winning the gold medal on home ice in Vancouver was a great way to cap her international hockey career, winning gold in 2002 may have offered her the best life lesson.<br />
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"In 2002, we lost every game to the U.S. leading into that final game. But as a group and as individuals, we were able to still believe in ourselves, even though a lot of people had given up," she says of the team's first golden victory. "The most important thing for us is to stay confident."
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Kellar, who was born in Hagersville, Ontario, starred in both hockey and softball at the Ivy League school Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The psychology major has since been inducted into the school's athletic Hall of Fame.<br />
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She has since earned a Masters of Business Administration from Sir Wilfried Laurier University. She retired from the national team though continued to play hockey in Burlington. She is active on the motivational speaking circuit, including teaming with hockey teammate Cheryl Pounder in providing coaching presentations for management professionals.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-9137528273506943922013-04-26T11:37:00.003-07:002019-04-12T20:17:24.496-07:00Colleen Sostorics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Talk about an amazing storybook ending. Colleen Sostorics went from impossible dreams in small town Saskatchewan to striking gold on the biggest stage in the world.<br />
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Colleen Sostorics, who grew up in the farming community of Kennedy, Saskatchewan, capped her hockey career with an Olympic gold medal on home ice in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games. The 30 year old then left the game at the very top of her profession.</div>
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"Having a chance to step on the ice at GM Place in front of the Canadian fans and get that gold medal with my teammates who had fought so hard all year, that's definitely a highlight of my career," <a href="http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Canadian+Olympic+gold+medallist+Colleen+Sostorics+hangs+skates/3531088/story.html#ixzz2RawhGLbF">she told the Regina Leader-Post</a>. "But, looking back at it, there have been so many other highlights that weren't necessarily involving gold medals. I think back to my days of playing minor hockey in Kennedy. When we got to that league final in bantam (she was the captain of the boys team), that was a huge deal, and the first time I ever wore the (Canadian) jersey in 1998 with the under-22 team, and my first chance on the senior team in 2001. There's a lot of milestones that are really important and things that I'll cherish and always remember.<br />
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"I couldn't ask for anything more. I don't know if you can top that as an athlete," she added. "I knew I was going to try to make this team and hopefully win a gold medal for Canada. Once that was accomplished it took a few months to think about it and decide. Four years is a long time until the next Olympics and I think that was kind of out of the question. Might as well hang 'em up now and see what's next."</div>
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"Of course it was a difficult decision but I know it's the right decision," said Sostorics, who retired as the third-highest scoring defender in Team Canada history. "I've had a really rewarding career. Now I'm just looking forward to what comes next, all the adventures and challenges that will go with the second stage of my life."
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Sostorics is a three-time Olympic gold medallist (2002, 2006 and 2010) and a three-time world champion (2001, 2004 and 2007). In 139 games with the Canadian national team the defender scored 13 goals and 53 points.<br />
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Sostorics has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Calgary. She works the motivational speaking scene and returns to help her parents on the family farm. She plans to stay very involved in hockey and sports (she is a notable fastball and rugby player, too), be it as a coach or administrator.<br />
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"That's where my passion lies," said Sostorics. "I think we all know, all of us Canadians, this game gets in your blood. You can't ever leave it for good. It's the game I love and it has played such a major role in my life. I want to stay involved in some capacity and give back to a community that has given so much to me."
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Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-64640416153194278712013-04-25T19:01:00.002-07:002019-04-12T20:18:12.567-07:00Cherie Piper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Three-time Olympic gold medallist Cherie Piper has announced her retirement from the Canadian women's hockey team.
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The 31-year-old forward from Toronto has not played for Canada since the 2011 world championship as she finished her education degree. She will not be in consideration for Team Canada at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. She will also retire from the Brampton Thunder of the Canadian Women's Hockey League at the end of the 2013 season<br />
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"I've been thinking about it for a little while now," Piper told The Canadian Press. "This season confirmed it for me. I still love the game, but your body hurts a little more at the end of weekend games and I've had a lot of little injuries over the last few years. I've given a large portion of my life to the sport. It's time to be active in the sport in another way and not necessarily playing."<br />
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Piper won Olympic gold in 2002, 2006 and 2010. Winning gold on home ice in Vancouver will forever be her career highlight.<br />
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"The atmosphere and the energy in that building was like having an extra person on the ice," Piper recalled. "To have the opportunity as an Olympian to play in your own country, there's just nothing better than that."
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In 111 career games with Team Canada Piper scored 40 goals and 78 assists over 12 seasons.
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Described as a powerful skater and smart playmaker, she debuted in the Olympics in 2002 replacing veteran Nancy Drolet. Piper was hitting her stride in 2006 when she was second in team scoring behind Hayley Wickenheiser at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, with seven goals and eight assists in just five games.
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But the years between Turin and Vancouver were difficult for Piper, as she suffered a major knee injury playing college hockey that kept her out of the 2007 world championship. Then her father Alan died of a heart attack in 2008. She was actually left off the world championship team in 2009, but reclaimed her spot in the lineup for the 2010 Winter Games.<br />
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Piper will be teaching in the Toronto area while continuing to work with young players at the Markham Stouffville Stars Girls Hockey Association.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-72558422194447211232013-04-25T18:41:00.001-07:002019-04-12T20:18:02.348-07:00Sarah Vaillancourt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Injuries shortened the promising career of Canada's Sarah Vaillancourt</div>
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Vaillancourt was an amazing story in her college career at Harvard University. As a freshman she openly admitted that she was a lesbian, and that she would leave if anyone had a problem with that. Fortunately none of her coaches or teammates did, because she went on to become one of the top players in the Ivy League school's history.</div>
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As a junior in 2008 she was awarded the Patty Kazmaier award as the nation’s top college player in 2008. She was a top ten finalist in her sophomore year, too. As a senior she was named ECAC player of the year. Somehow she also found tie to earn a psychology degree from Harvard, too!</div>
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Vaillancourt, from Sherbrooke, Quebec, was a mainstay on the Canadian national team during that time. She won Olympic Gold Medals in 2006 and 2010. She also played in six World Championships, winning Gold in 2007. All told, Sarah contributed 98 points (45 goals, 53 assists) in her 107 game career with Canada.</div>
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A hip injury and a series of sports hernias have not allowed her to play a full season since 2010. The hip injury required surgery.<br />
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She will be missed in Sochi, as she plays a nice grinder's role for the national team. The Canadian Press' Donna Spencer described Vaillancourt as "Vaillancourt’s game is skill and sandpaper. She has the vision and quick hands of a playmaker, but is also a burr under the saddle of the opposition."<br />
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While Vaillancourt retired from the Canadian national team at age 27, she continues to play and be a role model for young women everywhere. She is playing for the Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League while pursuing a Master’s Degree at the University of Sherbrooke.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-36852554108496645122012-11-23T20:29:00.003-08:002017-11-07T18:48:59.908-08:00Danielle Goyette<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Once called "the Gordie Howe of women’s hockey", Danielle Goyette was a superstar talent on offence who continued to produce well into her lengthy career. In fact, she had more points in her final Women’s World Championship in 2007 at age 41 (11) than she did in her first 15 years earlier as a 26-year-old (10).<br />
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Goyette played in three Olympics and nine IIHF Women’s World Championships, winning gold every time except at the 1998 Olympics and 2005 Worlds when Canada won silver. She has represented Canada at international competitions more than any other hockey player in history – male or female – and has more than 100 goals to her credit in international play. By the time she retired from the national team she was second all-time with 15 goals at the Olympics. At the Women's World Championships she ranked third all time with 37 goals and fourth overall with 68 points.<br />
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Goyette grew up in St. Nazaire, Quebec, a village of just 800 people located some three hours north of Quebec City.<br />
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With such a small population she had no problem being welcomed on the boys teams. Starting at age four she was out with the boys on an outside rink where she dreamed she was playing with her beloved Montreal Canadiens. She also excelled at Tennis (she was a to junior player in the province) and fastball (she once made Canada's under 21 national team and travelled to the World Championships).<br />
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By 1991 she left Quebec for Calgary to join the Canadian national women's hockey team. She could barely speak a word of English. But she was fully fluent in the language of hockey. She slowly learned English and overcame a feeling of isolation to become a Canadian hockey legend. Much of her career she battled the younger Hayley Wickenheiser as Canada's top offensive woman.<br />
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For all the Olympic medals and world championships, Goyette's greatest moment as an athlete came in 2006 when she was selected as Canada's flag bearer for the Opening Ceremonies at the Turin Olympics.<br />
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Goyette, who suffered 24 shoulder dislocations requiring 3 surgeries, later became head coach at the University of Calgary. She led the Dinos to the school's first national championship in 2012.
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<br />Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-22972157577591777492012-11-23T19:59:00.002-08:002019-04-12T20:17:44.584-07:00Karyn Bye-Dietz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Described as a "big hearted" alternate captain of Team USA's gold medal winning 1998 Olympics squad, Karyn Bye was one of the first women inducted into the IIHF Hockey Hall of Fame.<br />
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The IIHF honoured her career in 2011. And what a career it was.<br />
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Karyn was born on May 18, 1971 in River Falls, Wisconsin, USA. She grew up playing on boy's teams until she was 18 years old. Often her parents were register as K.L. Bye so that people did not realize a girl was on the team. By the time everyone found out, few complained because she was so good.<br />
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She went on to be a dominant collegiate player, scoring 164 points in 87 games at the University of New Hampshire. She graduated in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, and later earned a master's degree while playing two more years at Concordia University in Montreal.<br />
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But it was on the international scene that she became a legend. She led Team USA to six International Ice Hockey Federation World Women’s Championship silver medals, as well as gold and silver medals at the Olympic Winter Games.<br />
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As an alternate captain for the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, Bye led the team with five goals in helping to capture the first-ever gold medal awarded in the sport at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. She subsequently was a member of the 2002 U.S. Olympic Team that won the silver in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she tallied three goals and three assists in five games.
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In total Karyn Bye-Dietz played in 175 games for Team USA, scoring 110 goals and 119 assists for 229 points. She retired as the fifth highest scoring American women in international competition.<br />
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Twice she was named USA Hockey’s Women’s Player of the Year and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-34931169323937893692012-01-29T10:06:00.000-08:002019-04-12T20:17:34.184-07:00Karen Koch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Karen Koch was the first professional female hockey player in North America.<br />
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As an 18 year old Koch (pronounced Cook) signed to play with Marquette Iron Rangers of the USHL. She would get paid $40 a game.<br />
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Marquette was a powerhouse in that league, defending champions with two established goalies. Legendary coach Oakie Brumm was impressed with her technique and kept her on the team, carrying three goalies. His only concern that she was quite small. Brumm once said that due to their size advantage his two regular goalies "stopped more pucks by accident than she did on purpose."<br />
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Her teammates brought up the expected sexist complaints of the day, but they all admitted she was a good goaltender. She also drew a lot of media attention from across the United States and Canada. <br />
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Ultimately though her career would be brief. She would be cut with 10 games left in the season with the official reason that she refused to wear a protective goalie mask. Brumm later said that though she was a sound, technical goalie, this league was just too good for her to play in regularly.<br />
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She moved to Toronto and made national headlines again when she was barred by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from playing on men's teams.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.marquetteironrangers.com/kar.htm">Marquette Iron Rangers website</a> has a great collection of newspaper clippings concerning Koch. It is a must read for all fans of women's hockey history.<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Koch">Her Wikipedia entry</a> tells us she has earned a bachelor's and a master's degree, both in English Literature, from the Wayne State University and the University of Dayton, respectivelyJoe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-65442439048186312482012-01-04T17:11:00.000-08:002019-04-12T20:16:52.261-07:00Angela Ruggiero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Angela Ruggiero, a four-time Olympic hockey medalist, retired as the all-time leader (male or female) in games played (256) in a USA hockey jersey. Many consider her to be the best American female hockey player of all time. <br />
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Angela and her brother Bill were inspired to take up the game when Wayne Gretzky arrived in Los Angeles. Soon enough it became apparent both kids were very good at hockey, so good that they quickly outgrew any competition had to offer in Southern California at that time. So the Ruggiero parents left the warm sunshine of California so that their kids could pursue their hockey dreams. <br />
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A huge sacrifice? Absolutely. But it was all worth it given Angela's accomplishments at the collegiate and international levels. In 2005 she even managed to join her brother Bill for one professional game in the Central Hockey League game, in which she became the first woman to play a position other than goalkeeper in a professional game.<br />
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She joined the U.S. national team at 16 and later excelled at Harvard, where she earned a scholarship and graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Government. On the ice she became a leader through 10 world championships and all four women’s Olympic hockey tournaments, winning a gold medal in 1998, silver in 2002 and 2010 and bronze in 2006.<br />
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A recurring shoulder injury and her growing responsibilities to the IOC’s Athletes Commission and other assignments led her to realize her greatest impact on women's hockey now lies off the ice rather than on it. <br />
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“The biggest thing for me is the responsibility I have to the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee, and I’m really passionate about that. The more I’ve done work with the IOC the more I’ve come to realize I’m really excited about this, the work that I’m doing and the impact that I can have if I’m fully committed to it," she said at her press conference.<br />
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“In a way, by being fully committed to the Olympic movement globally, I’m better able to promote women’s hockey and talk about women’s hockey and put a face to women’s hockey, to all the IOC members,” she said. “To all the International Ice Hockey Federation members, to anyone really in the global community and do what I can to promote the game at that level.<br />
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“I still love hockey. It’s just I’m at a different stage of my life and I think I’m just ready to grow in other ways outside of just being a hockey player.”Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-79957605091004202712011-08-23T15:06:00.000-07:002019-04-12T20:26:05.567-07:00Delany Collins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Delaney Collins was not the best known member of Team Canada's women's national team in the 2000s. But she was a nice contributor to three world championship gold medals - in 2000, 2004 and 2007. She also won silvers in 2005 and 2008.<br />
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Collins was a tiny defender, known for her smart offensive play and strong passing ability. In 95 official international games Collins scored 8 goals and 31 assists for 39 points.<br />
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Collins never represented Team Canada at the Olympics. She was one of the final cuts in 2002 and 2006, while a serious concussion injury in 2008 really curtailed her career and all but officially ended any real chance of playing at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.<br />
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The native of Pilot Mound, Manitoba played two seasons at the University of Alberta and played with Calgary in the WWHL and Brampton in the CWHL..<br />
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"DC" officially retired in the summer of 2011, at the age of 34. She is looking forward to teaching the next generation of hockey stars.<br />
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Delaney's father Rod has extensive coaching experience with the famous prep school Shattuck's St. Mary's in Fairbault, Minnesota.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-53190912596297420672011-03-18T17:55:00.000-07:002019-04-12T20:25:55.187-07:00Judy DiduckI had just finished writing about former NHL defenseman <a href="http://canuckslegends.blogspot.com/2011/03/gerald-diduck.html">Gerald Diduck</a> when I realized this would be a great time to also remember his sister Judy. She was a heck of a hockey player, too.<br />
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Now Judy, born in 1966, did not necessarily have the luxuries a lot of hockey playing girls have nowadays. There were few if any girls teams, and coed teams was not welcomed by a lot of the old guard hockey coaches, administrators and event parents.<br />
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So Judy actually grew up excelling at ringette. She was one of the very first players to join ringette when the sport was introduced in her home town of Sherwood Park, Alberta. That was a powerhouse team, capturing 5 consecutive national championships from 1979 to 1983. When a world championship was created in 1990, Judy was a star player on the gold medal winning Team Alberta. All of this has resulted in her being inducted in the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame in 2005.<br />
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But was women's hockey grew in popularity in the late 1980s and 1990s, Judy found herself excelling at the game her brother was famous for. She would make the transition easily, joining the Canadian national women's hockey team for most of the 1990s. She was a member of the first four world championship teams. She also participated in the very first Olympic hockey tournament for women's hockey. In those 1998 Winter Olympic Games held in Nagano, Japan, Judy and her Canadian teammates brought home the silver medal.<br />
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Judy Diduck more or less disappeared from the national hockey scene after Nagano. She enrolled at the University of Alberta where she also played for the U of A Pandas team. After graduating she has stayed with the team as an assistant coach.<br />
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She also had her own business called Just Stuff Enterprises.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-8224104751280126702011-03-14T18:52:00.000-07:002019-04-12T20:25:40.858-07:00Jennifer Botterill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jennifer Botterill announced her retirement for the Canadian women's national team in March 2011, marking the end of one of the most storied international careers in women's hockey history.<br />
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Botterill's trophy case includes 3 Olympic gold medals, 1 Olympic silver medal, 5 World Championship gold medals, and two World Championships MVP awards.<br />
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When not starring with Team Canada she educated hockey players at Harvard, where she is the Crimson's all time leading scorer with 65 goals, 109 assists for 174 points in 184 career games. At one time she had a ridiculous 80 game point scoring streak, and she is the only two time winner of the Patty Kazmaier Awards as top female college hockey player in the US. She even managed to find time to earn an honours degree in Psychology while at Harvard.<br />
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In what proved to be her final game, Botterill, originally from Winnipeg, set up Marie-Philip Poulin for the game winning goal at the 2010 Olympics gold medal game.<br />
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Botterill, by the way, comes from a pretty amazing sports family. Her mother, Doreen, competed as a speedskater for Canada in the 1964 and 1968 Winter Olympics. Her father, Cal, is a noted sports psychologist who has worked with NHL teams and Canadian Olympic athletes. Her brother Jason is the only winner of three World Junior Hockey Championships with Team Canada and played in the NHL. He is now an assistant general manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even her grandfather, Donald Grant McCannell, is a member of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.<br />
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By the way, here's how brother Jason remembers Jennifer when the two were growing up together.<br />
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"She has always been a fairly good skater and an excellent playmaker," says Jason, who will readily admit she was the better skater. Although Jason was not the most agile skater, skating came naturally for the Botterill family. Their mother Doreen was a Canadian Olympic speed skater in 1964 and 1968.<br />
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Although the kids played many sports, hockey was their true love.<br />
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"We used to play ball hockey in our basement. I knew she was probably going to be a pretty good player when I'd go in net and, when she started out, she'd shoot little softballs at me and they'd be no problem at all.<br />
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"Then, as she got going, she'd wind up and take big slappers at me and I'd be darting to get out of the way rather than trying to stop them."Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-60625785808302153782011-02-06T15:28:00.000-08:002019-04-12T20:25:25.686-07:00Isobel StanleyThis is a photograph of women playing hockey at Ottawa's Rideau Hall way back in 1890. It is believed to be the earliest recorded image of women playing hockey.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeRPLYsMXQrNRM7utkFpnKrn4dvFCS9MXPYdBbrxXWZExQxN3UU8UfcXl-89Cebl0ErM1b8zCYPrKr3Ft5ue0FCNp-99JLeIAcMkYAJdrvDIveK1ALCAInl8Lv6q8dyx4TrDle87ug7c/s1600/isobel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeRPLYsMXQrNRM7utkFpnKrn4dvFCS9MXPYdBbrxXWZExQxN3UU8UfcXl-89Cebl0ErM1b8zCYPrKr3Ft5ue0FCNp-99JLeIAcMkYAJdrvDIveK1ALCAInl8Lv6q8dyx4TrDle87ug7c/s320/isobel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Note the lady white. Why she is the only lady in white I do not know. Her identity may be hard to make out in this photo, yet her identity is unmistakable. She is the star female player in Ottawa in this time period. She also happens to be the daughter of Governor General Lord Stanley of Preston - the donator of Stanley Cup!<br />
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Of all the members of the family, it was Isobel Stanley (one of two daughters) who had the real passion for the game. She attended her first organized hockey game in 1889 at the Montreal Winter Carnival. From that moment on she fell in love with the game, and whenever she could she would put on her customary long skirt and played regular games of shinny at Rideau Hall. She and other Government House ladies enjoyed the game immensely. She was also a regular at the Rideau Rink, a new rink in Ottawa that opened in 1889.<br />
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The Governor General himself returned to England without ever seeing a single Stanley Cup game, but before he left the passionate love of Canada's game that Isobel and her brothers demonstrated convinced him to authorize the purchase of a trophy to be given to hockey's annual champion in the dominion of Canada - the Stanley Cup! Some sources even suggest it was the kids' who recommended the trophy's creation.<br />
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In 2002 another trophy was created, honouring Isobel's pioneering status in women's hockey. The Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Award (her married name) was given to "to an active player (at any level) whose values, leadership and personal traits are representative of all female athletes."Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-88166586299908669402009-12-28T21:26:00.001-08:002019-04-12T20:24:06.717-07:00Kathryn WaldoKathryn Waldo is unlike most of the female legends of hockey profiled on this website. She never played in any international tournaments. No Olympics. No World Championships.<br />
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But she is a legend at Northeastern University in Boston, where she lettered from 1995 through 1999. She had led the Huskies in scoring with 15 goals as a freshman and by her senior season had also earned the ECAC’s Award of Valor. In 1997 she inspired her team to the ECAC division 1 championship. She scored 52 goals and 106 points in her collegiate career, good enough for 19th all time in school history.<br />
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She did it all while battling cystic fibrosis.<br />
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Hockey players are known to be valiant fighters, but Ms. Waldo took that definition to a whole other level. She had CF since she was a toddler, but there was no way she was going to let the terrible lung disease stop her from achieving her dreams.<br />
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First and foremost on her list was to play hockey.<br />
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“Waldo was tiny (5-foot-2, 115 pounds), but she was a little powerhouse and one of the strongest skaters on our team. She inspired us to push ourselves and work harder,’’ said former teammate Emily Sweeney. “I remember so many times we’d be skating laps at practice and my legs would be burning. I’d be gasping for air, and then I’d look up and see Waldo still skating away, pulling ahead of the pack and beating everyone to the finish line. I always admired her.’’<br />
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An amazing story, one that even made it into <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1015241/index.htm">Sports Illustrated</a>.<br />
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Waldo graduated with her degree in education in 2000. She would coach girl's high school hockey before her health took a turn for the worst in 2002.<br />
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She waited one year, seven months of which were in hospital hooked up to a ventilator, awaiting double lung transplant surgery. At first it seemed to be a big success, but in 2004 her body rejected her new lungs.<br />
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She had been hanging on ever since, desperately trying to get the most she could out of each day. She succumbed to complications of cystic fibrosis, specifically lung and kidney failure, in December, 2009. She was 33 years old.Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628605086419029877.post-75709422007218793032009-12-28T16:40:00.000-08:002019-04-12T20:23:53.763-07:00Vicky SunoharaVicky Sunohara was one of the most decorated Canadian female players of all time.<br />
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Sunohara joined the Canada's National Women's Team in 1989-90. She would partake in three Olympic Winter Games (1998, 2002, 2006), winning two golds and one silver; seven IIHF World Women's Championships (1990-1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005); seven Four Nations Cups (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004) and the Torino Ice Tournament (2005). In all that time she won 18 medals, 15 of them gold. From 2000 through to her retirement in 2008 the personable Sunohara was the team's associate captain.<br />
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As women's hockey caught on in popularity in the late 1990s and 2000s, Sunohara was a grand ol' dame of the game. Her prime came back in the early 1990s when women's hockey was just gaining acceptance at the international level.<br />
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Her coach, Don MacLeod at Northeastern University, called her the best female player in the game and called her the Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey. She cemented her status as the best in the game at the first ever world championships in 1990, scoring 6 goals and 9 points in 5 games to give Canada the gold.<br />
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Her highlight of her career was, like so many of the ladies, the Nagano Olympics in 1998. Those were the first Olympics to include women's hockey as a medal sport. Canada would disappointingly drop the gold medal game to the USA, but Sunohara made special memories nobody else on the team could experience.<br />
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Sunohara's grandfather had descended from the ancient mountain city of Ueda-shi, and she was treated like it was <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=archive&ct=res&cd=10-0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.canoe.ca%2FSlamNaganoColumns%2Ffeb23_buffery.html&ei=b2A5S7-TM4XIqwOIosiMBw&usg=AFQjCNEYlyJiNOxfYMDXnL1zvs-ymaBnag">a great homecoming</a>, even though she had never been to the country before.<br />
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Sunohara, who is of mixed Japanese and Ukrainian descent, was encouraged to play hockey by her father, Dave, a first generation Japanese Canadian learning to play on the backyard rink he built every year. He died when Vicky was just 7 years old, but her mother carried on, insisting on educating Vicky of her Japanese heritage, and of course keepg up with the hockey routine.<br />
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Of course routine itself was far from routine for girls playing hockey back then. She found it harder and harder to play as the boys teams would not allow her to play with them. The girls teams tended to be of too little competition for an advanced skater like her.<br />
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She persevered, eventually becoming one of the greatest female players in the game's history (and a very good soccer playerand bowler, too). Along the way she earned a degree in physical education, starting at the University of Toronto but completing her studies at Northeastern University in Boston, where she had a full scholarship.<br />
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Sunohara is one of the nicest people in all of hockey, constantly donating her time to charitable events and helping the next generation of hockey playing girls.<br />
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Sami-Jo Small perhaps said it best about her Olympic teammate:<br />
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"I have had the privilege of playing with some pretty amazing people but none have struck me as born leaders like Vicky Sunohara...She rallies the troops in desperate times and tells funny jokes when the pressure is mounting...She's always there for her teammates and always willing to do whatever it takes to win. She makes those around her not only better hockey players but also better people...in the ten years I played on the team I never saw another player touch as many people in such a positive way as Vicky Sunohara."Joe Pelletierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01906327400250923397noreply@blogger.com2