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Canada sets record, 18-0, as women's hockey faces criticism
By Greg Wyshynski
February 14, 2010
Vancouver, BC — The Canadian women's hockey team set an Olympic record Saturday night, welcoming Slovakia to its first Winter Games tournament with an 18-0 demolition at Hockey Place. Before you shed a tear for the Slovaks, keep in mind they're the nation that defeated Bulgaria by the score of 82-0 in an infamous game in 2008.
Here's what the Canadian shellacking looked like, as the 18 goals set an Olympic mark for most goals scored in a women's hockey game – a record the team previously set in 2006 in Turin, with a 16-0 drubbing of Italy in that nation's first Winter Games appearance.
CTV hockey analyst Cassie Campbell called Slovakia's inaugural beating in the Olympics a "great moment" for women's hockey – much in the same way, we imagine, a flyweight getting his face punched in by Mike Tyson would be a great moment for boxing.
Other than some impressive stats for the Canadian women -- including a hat trick for Meghan Agosta and a record-tying six points for winger Jayna Hefford -- there's nothing all that great about this moment for women's Olympic hockey. In fact, the Canadian and U.S. players were facing heat over the preliminary-round disparity before the tournament started.
The blowout reinforces every criticism of the women's tournament, such as the need for a mercy rule or the notion that the women's tournament is "essentially an intramural competition between the same group of Canadian and U.S. women," as Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail opined.
The Canadian and American women have heard this criticism since the IOC officially sanctioned the event in 1998, and they have some canned answers to those critiques. Like the fact that when men's ice hockey first appeared in the 1924 Winter Games, in Chamonix, France, Canada outscored its foes 122-3.
The Canadian Press spoke with women's ice hockey players and coaches about the sport's disparity, and found all of them preaching patience:
"Unfortunately, in the world we live in with all the technology, patience is a word people don't use very often," U.S. head coach Mark Johnson says. "You look back at when women's basketball started in the NCAA in the early days and the struggles they had to go through, and where they are today, it's much different. Women's hockey is still young in my eyes."
International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel told the CP that the IOC "does not have concerns" about the blowouts, partly because it's a sport that sells tickets every Olympiad.
While it's clearly dominated by two participants, it isn't likely to suffer the same fate as softball in the Summer Games because participatory numbers are decent around the world. Non-North American games are competitive, such as Sweden's 3-0 win over Switzerland in women's preliminary hockey on Saturday.
No, it won't suffer softball's fate. The only suffering will be done by teams that have to face Canada in the first round. Some sort of mercy rule would certainly help decrease criticism of the tournament, even if it means sacrificing scoring records.
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In a twist, Canada again comes up dry
By Lisa Dillman
February 14, 2010
Vancouver, BC — Hannah Kearney of the U.S. pulls out a win in women's moguls, depriving the host nation of its first-ever gold on its home soil. Teammate Shannon Bahrke takes the bronze.
Personal and career definition wasn't going to come from one race at one Olympics.
But freestyler Hannah Kearney didn't run (or ski) away from what happened to her in Turin, Italy, four years ago, realizing it was part of her resume and, well, part of her life.
One pressure-packed run showed Turin would not be the last word about her Olympic experience. Kearney, who finished 22nd four years ago, snatched gold away from Jenn Heil and Canada on the very last run of a drama-filled women's moguls final, a night filled with sublime skiing and spectacular crashes.
Kearney, of Norwich, Vt., won the first gold medal for the United States at these Winter Olympics, taking the air out of a jubilant, expectant crowd at Cypress Mountain here on a rainy Saturday night to watch the defending Olympic champion Heil.
"I felt like I had let down my country, myself, my friends," Kearney said. "I was embarrassed by my performance. I knew I had more in me. But once it was behind me, a couple of months later, it was sort of looking forward because looking backward doesn't help you."
Kearney, whose mother is from Montreal, even had to deal with a question about Turin in between the qualifying session and the final. She was the top qualifier in the afternoon and Heil was second.
"Today, I think it crossed my mind, someone asked me about it in between runs," Kearney said. "Of course it's there because it's part of my career. It's part of what got me here today. Everything happens for a reason.
"And if I had known I was going to win a gold medal four years ago, I probably wouldn't have been crying so hard about how poorly I skied."
Heil won the silver and American Shannon Bahrke took the bronze, a fitting finish for a stellar career. Bahrke won silver at the Olympics in 2002.
"This is Canada's medal," Heil said.
It was supposed to be a moment for all the Canadian athletes who, at worst, faltered on over-pressurized home soil during the Olympics or, at best, overachieved and came up just shy of gold.
But finally, and mercifully, it could put an end to the questions about the failure of Canada to win gold during an Olympics on its home soil.
The wait got just a bit longer.
Heil wasn't a lock, by any stretch. No one could really be considered such a favorite in this random sport on such an inclement night. But spectators were ready for a golden coronation.
"Canadians can be assured that gold medal is coming on home soil," Heil said.
It was compelling theater, with the gold medal coming down to the final two freestylers.
Heil didn't falter, putting down her own stellar run, and she had to watch and wait for Kearney and the judges' decision.
Kearney had 26.63 points to Heil's 25.69.
The quality of the women on the podium was even more impressive considering how much conditions had deteriorated in the hour before the final, with winds picking up and driving rain coming down harder. The first huge spill came from 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tae Satoya of Japan.
Veteran American freestyler Michelle Roark gambled hard, attempting a big 720 and crashing hard.
Also going down were two other top skiers, Heather McPhie of the United States and Kristi Richards of Canada.
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