The 1980 Men's and 1998 Women's United States Olympic Hockey Teams by Fritz Knapp

Author:Fritz Knapp [Knapp, Fritz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Price World Publishing, LLC
Published: 2012-02-23T00:00:00+00:00

The youngest member of the 1998 U.S. Olympic women’s ice hockey team was born in 1980, the year of the Miracle on Ice. That Cinderella story inspired many of the U.S. women in this first-ever Olympic competition in women’s ice hockey. The media referred to them as “pioneers” on the sporting frontier. Some of the older women players had vivid memories of watching their male heroes beating the Russians in 1980. As team member Sue Merz put it, “I had the memory of that moment in the back of my head when we went out on the ice.” The United States women had equally stif competition, mainly from a powerful Canadian unit and a strong Finnish team. The fight for the first women’s ice hockey gold medal would be intense. Some dreams crystallized; others dissolved.

The basis for bringing women’s ice hockey to the Olympics was a sharp rise in its popularity in the United States and around the world. In the six years preceding the 1998 Olympics, the number of women ice hockey players registered in the United States grew by more than 300 percent, from 6,805 to 23,830. Women, who as young girls had to change their names and hide their long hair so they could play on the same ice as boys, could boast their own national team (since 1990) and now a premier Olympic team. “When I started out,” said the U.S. national team coach, Karen Kay, “Bobby Orr [former Boston Bruins star] was my idol. Now it’s Cammi [Granato] and Karyn [Bye].”

Assembling and coaching a team of mostly college and former collegiate players was the mission of head coach Ben Smith, who took the helm in July 1996. Smith, a well-respected men’s Division I hockey coach at Northeastern University, initially made a bad impression on some of his female players. He obviously did not know what to expect, but after his first practice with “his women,” he had nothing but praise for their hockey talent. “I’m pretty impressed [with the skating, shooting and passing],” gushed an otherwise unexcitable Smith. His quirky, quiet and philosophical approach to hockey and life caused one player to call him a “bozo” behind his back. But it took Smith less than a week to gain the respect of the entire team. Sportswriters dubbed him “the man behind the women.”

Smith knew his role was to maximize Team U.S.A.’s potential by instilling teamwork and discipline. Many rigorous practices over a fifteen-month period, and the tough pre-Olympic exhibition game schedule gave Smith’s American women ample opportunity to gel as a team. Though much less confrontational in style than Herb Brooks, Smith likewise demanded excellence of his capable and ambitious players. He also allowed his players to enjoy the limelight, knowing full well the historic nature of the first Olympic women’s ice hockey championship.

Canada was a dominant force in international women’s ice hockey. The 1998 Canadian team was stacked with veteran players. The Canadians had won four straight world championships. They were the frontrunners leading up to the Olympics.

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