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Cammi's Dad (Brinks) and I drove my Hybrid car up to Kitchener, Ontario to watch the USA women's Hockey team play Canada, Finland and Sweden.
The above pictures were taken during warm ups before the USA, Canada game on November 7, 2002.
(Above) More warm up and pre-game ceremonies.
(Above left) Game action in a sold out rink the game was on National TV. (Center and Right) Team USA has their second practice with 12 new players
(Above left) Team USA watches Coach Ben Smith diagram a play. (Center and Right) Team USA gets ready to play Finland.
(Above left) Award presentations after USA beat Finland 4-2 (Center and Right) pre-game ceremonies before the USA, Sweden game on Saturday.
(Above left) Cammi and Shelley Looney fuss over the twins. (Center and Right) Cammi, Greg Lopatka and her Dad, Don after Cammi was named player of the game. (4 goals and 2 assists)
(Above) Post Game ceremonies after Canada beat USA 4-2. The game was tied wit one minute left to play. Canada scored on a bad bounce (USA view) Lucky bounce if you are rooting for Canada with 58 seconds left to play.
| Cleve Dheensaw Times Colonist Monday, November 25, 2002 Playing the most Canadian of sports, on perhaps the most Canadian of sporting Sundays, you would think Cammi Granato would be a star spangled fish out of water. But the U.S. Olympic women's hockey team captain is a true laser on the ice in the former and surprisingly knowledgeable about the latter. "I played three years of hockey at Concordia University in Montreal, so I know all about Canadian football," laughed Granato, who fired two goals as the Vancouver Griffins of the National Women's Hockey League defeated the Island All-Stars 9-1 Sunday at Esquimalt. So her teams won on the ice at the Archie Browning Sports Centre and the turf of Commonwealth Stadium. Granato, gold medallist at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics and silver medallist at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and all the Griffins were impressed by the crowd of about 400 at Archie Browning on a Grey Cup Sunday. "The crowd was great . . . right into it," said Granato. Granato admits she gets some ribbing north of the border because she's the leader of the American national side, which is the nemesis of Team Canada in international women's hockey. "I heard a few boos when we played the Chimos in Edmonton but I don't hear too much of that up here now because the outcome of the Salt Lake City Olympics went your way and has put Canadian fans in a better mood than they were in after Nagano," said Granato, with a sly smile. Griffins captain Nancy Drolet, the controversial final cut on Team Canada before Salt Lake City, didn't get a chance to savour that Canadian Olympic gold in Utah earlier this year. But she showed she's still got it and rifled three goals Sunday for the Vancouver squad, which has a 5-6 record in the elite NWHL. "The reception from the crowd was super, even up against the Grey Cup, and it shows just how much women's hockey is booming," said Drolet, silver medallist at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. "My goal is the development of women's hockey in B.C. and this shows how much people on the Island are excited by the opportunity to see female hockey of this level. With NWHL teams in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, we're well positioned to get exposure through much of Western Canada through exhibition games such as this. The Olympics were the clincher for our sport's recognition. Nagano and Salt Lake City are always mentioned by fans. The next step is a full pro women's hockey league and hopefully that's what the NWHL will evolve into." The Griffins dominated the contest and outshot the Island All-Stars 46-18. Former Griffins player Caroline Hall managed the lone Island All-Stars goal against Jennifer Price, the Griffins' outstanding goaltender from Victoria. |
Cammi's Schedule
Fri 29-Nov Calgary at Vancouver 7:45pm Queens Park Arena
Sat 30-Nov Calgary at Vancouver 6:30pm MSA Arena--Abbotsford
Sun 1-Dec Calgary at Vancouver 12:15pm Queens Park Arena
Fri 13-Dec Vancouver at Edmonton 7:30pm Coronation Arena
Sat 14-Dec Vancouver at Edmonton 7:30pm Coronation Arena
Sun 15-Dec Vancouver at Edmonton 1:00pm Coronation Arena
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