Changing of the guard? Youngsters aplenty for women's national teams 04-09-09 Back On a youthful U.S. team, veteran Julie Chu (13) still enjoys success. Her squad downed Canada 4-2. Photo: Jeff Vinnick / IIHF VANCOUVER – One key element for women's hockey success at the 2010 Olympics will be integrating youngsters seamlessly into the lineup. That's already coming into play as the Hockey Canada Cup pre-Olympic test event at GM Place continues. On Thursday, Sweden beat Finland 3-1 and the USA defeated Canada 4-2 to wrap up the six-game preliminary round. Those two matchups were likely previews of the bronze-medal and gold-medal games respectively. The USA claimed first place in the round-robin and will play Finland in Saturday's first semi-final, while second-ranked Canada will take on Sweden in the late semi-final. The tournament's top goal-scorer so far is a 19-year-old forward. Canada's Rebecca Johnston, who is hoping to appear in her first Olympics, has amassed five goals. The ultra-youthful Swedes managed their first victory (and goals) of the tournament after being blanked 7-0 in each of their first two games against the North American powers. Canada ran into penalty trouble with some undisciplined play versus the USA, taking seven consecutive minors at one point. Jenny Potter scored a pair and Hilary Knight had a goal and two assists in front of 6,833 fans. “I've had Hilary since she was a freshman down at Wisconsin, and in the last 15 or 18 months she's really grown as a player,” said USA coach Mark Johnson of one of his brightest young talents. “People have seen that who've been around our program and the international game. She scored a nice goal, and she plays well with Jenny out there.” Want proof that youth is being served? Except for the USA, all the Hockey Canada Cup squads feature players that were born in the decade that brought us Bill Clinton, Nirvana, and the Internet (the 1990's, in case you're still wondering). Even bearing in mind that the average age of female players skews younger, since this is still a developing sport, the numbers are interesting to contemplate. Among the second-tier powers, Sweden stands out as a team in transition. Its roster includes 11 kids from the 1990's, two of whom only recently turned 17. They include forwards Johanna Fallman (June 21, 1990), Cecilia Ostberg (January 15, 1991), Erika Grahm (January 26, 1991), Tina Enstrom (February 23, 1991), Isabelle Jordansson (March 8, 1991), Klara Myren (May 25, 1991), and Anna Borgqvist (June 11, 1992); defensemen Emma Nordin (March 22, 1991) and Annie Svedin (October 12, 1991); and backup goaltenders Valentina Lizana (March 30, 1990) and Josephin Lennstrom (August 23, 1992). To really put things in perspective, only four of the Swedes were born before 1985. It will be difficult for Sweden to replicate its silver medal exploits from the 2006 Winter Games. Tre Kronor's go-to players are still the 1970's-born stalwarts, who helped them to a surprise silver in Turin: forwards Maria Rooth and Erika Holst, and blueliner Gunilla Andersson. Of course, 20-year-old forward Pernilla Winberg is a threat too. Meanwhile, Finland's roster includes four 1990's-born players: forwards Michelle Karvinen (March 27, 1990), Minnamari Tuominen (June 26, 1990), and Linda Valimaki (May 31, 1990), and defenceman Tea Villila (April 16, 1991). For some other teams, it's just a question of bringing in a little new blood. Canada, the defending Olympic champion from 2006, has 18-year-old forwards Marie-Philip Poulin (March 28, 1991) and Brianne Jenner (May 4, 1991), both of whom are expected to develop into impact players. The host team will have to help make up the scoring deficit with the loss of such longtime aces as Vicky Sunohara and Danielle Goyette. “I think Brianne's played quite well,” said Team Canada captain Hayley Wickenheiser of Jenner. “She's a big body, she plays hard, and she goes to the gritty areas. She creates space and opportunities. She has a legitimate chance of playing in the Olympics if she can keep up the pace at this level.” Changing of the guard? “It's been that way the last few years for us,” Wickenheiser said. “We've brought young players in that need to step into more of a leadership role. More is expected of them. After the last couple of Worlds, we've got a team that's coming together well. It's just a question of putting all the pieces together.” Between a quarter and a third of Team Canada is expected to retire from international competition after the 2010 Games, too, but the Canadians will have an easier time replacing their stars than other nations due to their perennial depth. The Americans, who suffered from the lack of Cammi Granato's veteran leadership in Turin and surprisingly fell 3-2 to Finland in the Hockey Canada Cup opener, will have to prove in Vancouver that the experience they've gained in winning the last two Women's World Championships can translate into Olympic gold. They boast speed, skill, defensive awareness, and aggressive forechecking, but do they have the mental toughness required in the Olympics? Capturing gold in front of sparse crowds in Harbin, China (2008) and Hameenlinna, Finland (2009) offered a very different atmosphere from what will confront the Americans if they face Canada for gold at a sold-out, screaming GM Place (will be renamed to Canada Hockey Place) in February 2010. From the current group, only Potter and defensemen Angela Ruggiero will be over 30 when the Olympic tournament kicks off. The average age of the current group is 23.5 years old, and the 2010 Team USA will feature at least 15 Olympic rookies. Team USA's youngest forwards to watch include three 20-year-olds: Knight, the leading scorer for the University of Wisconsin Badgers in 2008-09, and twin sisters Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, who play for the University of North Dakota. The Hockey Canada Cup runs through September 6, when the gold-medal and bronze-medal games will take place at GM Place. LUCAS AYKROYD

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Blueangels team playing at woodbridge , new jersey Youth Hockey League Fall 2009 United Skates of Woodbridge is the area's premier operator of Youth Ice Hockey Leagues. The Fall season begins with evaluations for 18U on Saturday, September 12 and evaluations for 8U, 11U and 14U on Sunday, September 27. Our expert staff strive to make up teams that are as balanced as possible. Once placed on a team, the season will run til Thanksgiving. Each player will get 10 games, 2 practices and 1 clinic. 18 & Under will play on Saturdays at 6:45pm and 8:00pm 8U, 11U, and 14U will play on Sundays at 12:30pm, 1:45pm, 6:45pm and 8:00pm Fee: $295 Woodbridge Residents: $270 Important Notice about USA Hockey Registration: All players must self register with USA Hockey for the 2008-09 season. On line registration is easy and can be done by going to: www.usahockeyregistration.com . Cost is $40. Please print your receipt and mail, fax or bring it in with your program registration. Receipts may also be emailed to us at ushl@usa-skating.com . USA Hockey registration is required for all players! EQUIPMENT NEEDED: HECC approved helmet with full face mask, mouthpiece, shoulder pads, elbow pads, hockey gloves, knee and shin guards, hockey pants, socks, protective cup, skates and ice hockey stick. For 8U please use the Mite registration form. Questions email Ryan at ushl@usa-skating.com or call 732-596-4102. You can register over the phone with a credit card (Sorry No checks accepted)by calling 732-596-4103 or Mail to: United Skates of America, Woodbridge Community Center, 600 Main St Woodbridge, NJ 07095 Questions email: ushl@usa-skating.com

Women Mark History With 5-0 Rout By Kevin Sullivan Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, February 8, 1998; 11:31 a.m. EST The Japanese and U.S. women mixed it up in an exhibition game prior to the start of the Olympics. (AP Photo) NAGANO, Feb. 8 (Sunday) — Women skaters are the marquee athletes at the Olympics, the household names with faces and stories that dominate prime time coverage of the Olympics. But those women have always been the ones wearing figure skates and sequins and stage make-up. Tonight, female athletes wearing shoulder pads and face masks and steel-toed hockey skates proved there is more to graceful skating than triple toe loops. A new breed of women on ice introduced itself to the Olympics today as the United States scrapped and slapped its way to a lopsided 5-0 victory over China on the first day of women's hockey in Olympic history. The American women, one of the top U.S. medal contenders, completely dominated the Chinese in a historic victory on a day that opened opportunities beyond figure skating for young girls everywhere who dream of Olympic gold. "It's not just a man's game anymore," said U.S. team captain Cammi Granato, who scored twice tonight. "We really feel like we're out here paving the way for all the women behind us." Women's hockey is making its Olympic debut here after decades of relative obscurity. While it's been largely overshadowed at these Games by Olympic men's hockey, which includes millionaire stars from the National Hockey League for the first time, the women's game is one of the most popular and watched additions to Olympic competition. "I think this is doing a lot for young girls; they have a lot more dreams now," said U.S. forward Jenny Schmidgall, 18, who had a goal and an assist tonight, and will enter the University of Minnesota this fall to play on the school's first women's hockey team. In every Olympic games, a new sport emerges as the "hip" game of the moment. In Nagano, snowboarding and women's hockey have captured imaginations of athletes and spectators. Granato and her teammates, mostly well-spoken products of New England colleges, have been swamped by media from around the world. Defenseman Sue Merz, from Greenwich, Conn., who played hockey in Switzerland after graduating from college, was interviewed by a Swiss television station — in German. "Our top priority is to win a medal," Merz said. "But for all those young girls out there, they can look these women playing and say, 'I want to be like that, Mom.'" Women's hockey is markedly different from men's game. Skating is slower and shooting is weaker, but it is still played with great skill by the top teams here. The Americans played a precision passing game tonight that gave them almost continuous possession of the puck. The Americans outshot the Chinese 31-10, and U.S. goalie Sarah Tueting didn't make a save that required pads until the third period. Body-checking is illegal, so there is none of the violent crashing and banging that television viewers are accustomed to when watching men play. An American player was given a roughing penalty tonight for a slap that was probably softer than the one she got from the doctor when she was born. The women are also smaller than the men, but a lot bigger than their figure skating counterparts. The heaviest player on the U.S. team is 175-pound defenseman Angela Ruggiero, who weighs five pounds more than Jason Dungjen, the heaviest U.S. male figure skater. And the lightest player, 127-pound forward Alana Blahoski, is still a lot bigger than 79-pound figure skating sensation Tara Lipinski. Checking at Women's Game The United States' Karyn Bye scored a goal in the victory over China. (Denis Paquin/AP Photo) The Americans' crushing victory over China shows that women's hockey is still wildly uneven, with Canada and the United States, the No. 1. and 2 seeds in Nagano, dominating world play and other countries lagging far behind in a tournament that numbers only six teams. Earlier in the day, Canada crushed Japan by the football-like score of 13-0 and Finland also defeated Sweden by a touchdown, 6-0. That means the three top teams won by a combined score of 24 to nothing. Although the U.S.-China game was even more one-sided than the score suggests, fans in the cavernous Aqua Wave rink, which looks like a hangar for jumbo jets, were still excited. A large contingent from the United States waved flags and screamed for the U.S. women. "I think about girls growing up and knowing that their are more options for them than just figure skating," said Christina Dunn, 28, of Watertown, Mass., whose sister, Tricia, plays on the U.S. team. "These women are showing them that they can do something maybe a little more non-traditional." Heather Norton, 23, of Ogunquit, Maine, who played hockey at the University of New Hampshire, called the game "historic." "So many women have spent their lives breaking down the barriers between men's and women's sports and breaking down old stereotypes," Norton said. "This game should have happened a long time ago." © Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company