LionDen
02-20-2006, 12:16 PM
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Angela Ruggiero, above, of the United States takes a shot on goal against Sweden during their sudden death overtime shootout. Ruggiero and the American team can still win a bronze medal in Turin to go with the silver and gold from the previous two Olympics.
Ruggiero says she'll have complete set of hockey medals
TURIIN, Italy - Angela Ruggiero wanted to return from the Olympics with something a little better than a bronze medal — and now that’s not even a guarantee.
The American women finish their hockey season in the third-place match against Finland on Monday, and they’re doing their best to get excited — even for the kind of game they’ve never played, not in 16 years of international competition.
After winning gold medals in Nagano and silver in Salt Lake City, Ruggiero isn’t looking forward to her first consolation game and its tarnished reward.
“Oh, I get the complete set,” the defenseman said sarcastically. “We’re going to bring home bronze. Is it a guarantee? I don’t know.”
Ruggiero is full of self-effacing humor these days: She points out that the Americans’ four three-time Olympians have been on a steady career decline since that perfect day in Japan.
But it was impossible to avoid. For Ruggiero, Katie King, Tricia Dunn-Luoma and Jenny Potter, everything in their hockey lives has been something of an anticlimax after winning their sport’s first gold medals eight years ago.
They won’t return to the U.S. as heroes, as they did then in a whirl of attention and excitement. Led by charismatic captain Cammi Granato, the team amplified a boom of interest in women’s sports that extended to the U.S. soccer team’s famous victory in the 1999 World Cup.
King remembers those days fondly. Women’s hockey wasn’t given a passing thought until her team’s gutsy performance in the gold-medal match against Canada changed perceptions across the globe. Sarah Parsons, the Americans’ youngest player in Turin, had a poster of the 1998 team on her bedroom wall.
“I think we did a lot of good for hockey and for women in general,” King said. “I guess in a way, there’s really nowhere to go but down, but I’ve enjoyed every year I’ve been able to play on this team. I wouldn’t change anything.”
Except, of course, the Americans’ dismal performance in Friday’s semifinals against Sweden and its indomitable 19-year-old goalie, Kim Martin. The U.S. dominated long stretches of play early on, but made equally inept turnovers in its own end that led to both Swedish goals.
The Turin game is much better than the version played in Nagano, say the players who have been with both teams. The four who made it through all three Olympics love the game’s international growth — even when the biggest step in that expansion was Sweden’s shocking semifinal win.
“I don’t think I ever imagined it would last this long for us,” said Dunn-Luoma, the Americans’ oldest player at just 31. “None of us even knew if women’s hockey would ever be in the Olympics again. I remember a lot about that year, just because we knew it was special while we were going through it.”
All four are young enough to entertain thoughts of playing in the Vancouver Games in 2010. Ruggiero and Potter already have said they’ll try to make it that far, or at least until the next World Championships in Winnipeg in April 2007. King and Dunn-Luoma, the Americans’ only players over 29, haven’t decided yet.
But just in case this is the last trip for any of them, the foursome is soaking up every minute of Italy. The team watched the U.S. men’s team on Saturday night, sitting together in matching jackets — and when Granato, now an NBC commentator, came down from the press box for a visit, the veterans hugged their former captain tightly.
“We’re just trying to make every day special,” Dunn-Luoma said. “The memories of what we’re doing will last a lot longer than the pain of not winning.”
The Associated Press
Angela Ruggiero, above, of the United States takes a shot on goal against Sweden during their sudden death overtime shootout. Ruggiero and the American team can still win a bronze medal in Turin to go with the silver and gold from the previous two Olympics.
Ruggiero says she'll have complete set of hockey medals
TURIIN, Italy - Angela Ruggiero wanted to return from the Olympics with something a little better than a bronze medal — and now that’s not even a guarantee.
The American women finish their hockey season in the third-place match against Finland on Monday, and they’re doing their best to get excited — even for the kind of game they’ve never played, not in 16 years of international competition.
After winning gold medals in Nagano and silver in Salt Lake City, Ruggiero isn’t looking forward to her first consolation game and its tarnished reward.
“Oh, I get the complete set,” the defenseman said sarcastically. “We’re going to bring home bronze. Is it a guarantee? I don’t know.”
Ruggiero is full of self-effacing humor these days: She points out that the Americans’ four three-time Olympians have been on a steady career decline since that perfect day in Japan.
But it was impossible to avoid. For Ruggiero, Katie King, Tricia Dunn-Luoma and Jenny Potter, everything in their hockey lives has been something of an anticlimax after winning their sport’s first gold medals eight years ago.
They won’t return to the U.S. as heroes, as they did then in a whirl of attention and excitement. Led by charismatic captain Cammi Granato, the team amplified a boom of interest in women’s sports that extended to the U.S. soccer team’s famous victory in the 1999 World Cup.
King remembers those days fondly. Women’s hockey wasn’t given a passing thought until her team’s gutsy performance in the gold-medal match against Canada changed perceptions across the globe. Sarah Parsons, the Americans’ youngest player in Turin, had a poster of the 1998 team on her bedroom wall.
“I think we did a lot of good for hockey and for women in general,” King said. “I guess in a way, there’s really nowhere to go but down, but I’ve enjoyed every year I’ve been able to play on this team. I wouldn’t change anything.”
Except, of course, the Americans’ dismal performance in Friday’s semifinals against Sweden and its indomitable 19-year-old goalie, Kim Martin. The U.S. dominated long stretches of play early on, but made equally inept turnovers in its own end that led to both Swedish goals.
The Turin game is much better than the version played in Nagano, say the players who have been with both teams. The four who made it through all three Olympics love the game’s international growth — even when the biggest step in that expansion was Sweden’s shocking semifinal win.
“I don’t think I ever imagined it would last this long for us,” said Dunn-Luoma, the Americans’ oldest player at just 31. “None of us even knew if women’s hockey would ever be in the Olympics again. I remember a lot about that year, just because we knew it was special while we were going through it.”
All four are young enough to entertain thoughts of playing in the Vancouver Games in 2010. Ruggiero and Potter already have said they’ll try to make it that far, or at least until the next World Championships in Winnipeg in April 2007. King and Dunn-Luoma, the Americans’ only players over 29, haven’t decided yet.
But just in case this is the last trip for any of them, the foursome is soaking up every minute of Italy. The team watched the U.S. men’s team on Saturday night, sitting together in matching jackets — and when Granato, now an NBC commentator, came down from the press box for a visit, the veterans hugged their former captain tightly.
“We’re just trying to make every day special,” Dunn-Luoma said. “The memories of what we’re doing will last a lot longer than the pain of not winning.”
The Associated Press