|
|
Sports
 |
| Canadian Women's Hockey | Les Wiseman
Movie Entertainment
February 2010
Women’s hockey became part of the Winter Olympic Games in 1998, yet only 12 years later, it is rumoured to be in danger of being removed from the schedule after this month’s tournament.
In the short history of women’s Olympic hockey, Canada and the United States have been the only two teams in serious contention for the gold. That’s a problem.
In world championships, Canada dominated the sport for years. It came as quite a shock when the U.S. beat Canada for gold in the sport’s Olympic debut in 1998. Canada rallied, however, winning in 2002 and 2006. At the latter games in Turin, Italy, Canada outscored its other opponents 36-1 over three games.
Such drubbings were seen as unsportsmanlike by the American team, with defence man Angela Ruggiero complaining that the Canadians were running up the scores. Her fear was that with such shellackings, the sport’s future as an Olympic event would be in jeopardy.
Even Hockey Night in Canada maven Don Cherry got on the bandwagon in 2006, warning the Canadians after a 16-0 stomping of the host Italians, “If you keep it up, you’re committing suicide and they’ll throw women’s hockey out of the Winter Games after Vancouver in 2010.”
This attitude might boggle the mind, but we have seen Olympic baseball and softball stricken from the London 2012 Games because the European teams could not compete against North American squads.
Thus, when Canada lost against Sweden in the Four Nations Cup women’s hockey tournament in November 2008, it may well have been the best thing that could have happened.
However, at the Four Nations Cup in Finland last November, Canada again emerged triumphant by defeating the United States. It felt good for Canada, as the U.S. had beaten them in the Hockey Canada Cup in September.
On Feb. 13, the Canadian team led by head coach Melody Davidson faces off against Slovakia. The next day, the U.S. meets China. You don’t have to be a betting person to know where the smart money lies.
Most of the women’s hockey games will take place at the newly renovated (at a cost of $47.8 million), 6,800-seat UBC Thunderbird Arena.
|
|
|
|