April 22, 2009
By Cameron Eickmeyer
USAHockey.com
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When Kendall Coyne scored an overtime goal on Jan. 10 to give Team USA a gold medal at the 2009 IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship, it set off a huge celebration on the ice and on the U.S. bench.
Five months later, the celebration continues as USA Hockey recently added gold medals at the women's, men's under-18 and sled hockey levels.
“Winning the (gold medals) is wonderful and an indication that we’re doing things right,” said USA Hockey President Ron DeGregorio.
The most recent world championship came May 16, in Ostrava, Czech Republic, where the U.S. National Sled Team defeated Norway 1-0 to win Team USA's first IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship.
Team USA's victory came in dramatic fashion when Andy Yohe scored in the last 11 seconds of the game to give the Americans a defining victory and position them in a good place heading in to the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
"To beat Norway with 11 seconds left shows how far they've come in a really short period," said Dan Brennan, general manager for the U.S. National Sled Team. "To be included in the same sentence as all those other great teams and the successes they've had is a real thrill (for the team)."
USA Hockey capped a banner year with its first sled world title and also celebrated its first gold medal on home soil since the 1980 Olympic Winter Games when the U.S. National Under-18 Team routed Russia 5-0 in Fargo, N.D. on April 19.
The win was the second punch of a combination that began just seven days earlier with the U.S. Women’s National Team defeating Canada 4-1 to win back-to-back gold medals.
“It’s a boost to our confidence and an affirmation that we need to continue improving and continually evolve and change to stay ahead of the curve so we maintain our position,” DeGregorio said.
When the final horn sounded in Fargo, America joined Canada as the only two countries to win three IIHF gold medals in one season. While the Star Spangled Banner played at the end of four tournaments to honor American championships in 2009, USA Hockey players, coaches and administrators all echoed the desire to avoid complacency.
“I feel the biggest change in our players is the expectations they now have heading into a championship,” said USA Hockey Assistant Executive Director of Hockey Operations Jim Johannson. “We always respect our opponents and appreciate how difficult it is to win a championship, but in all honesty, we are at the point with the U18 in both men’s and women’s of the gold medal being the standard. It is the driving force for the players.”
Setting a Golden Standard
To me, a miracle is great, but the consistency of excellence evidenced by regular trips to the final four and final two and winning our share of gold medals is more indicative of the success of our program.
-Ron DeGregorio
USA Hockey President |
DeGregorio said a rush of success like the organization has seen in 2009 should be only a starting point to building a tradition of winning across all national team levels.
“What is as impressive as three gold medals to me is the consistency we’ve had in medaling six consecutive years (at the men’s Under-18 level),” he said after the Under-18 championship. “Our goal is to have that same consistency and standard of excellence in every other division. Obviously we’ve done that in our women’s program, they’ve won two straight gold medals, that’s the consistency of excellence that’s as important as getting a miracle every 20 years.
“To me, a miracle is great, but the consistency of excellence evidenced by regular trips to the final four and final two and winning our share of gold medals is more indicative of the success of our program,” DeGregorio added.
Johannson said the standard of success is already achieved, but that the goal is now to lift that standard to a new level.
Team USA Stars |  Who: Kendall Coyne
Team: Women's Under-18
Big play: Scored in overtime to clinch gold medal.
Quote worthy: "After winning one and watching the women's team win, you know what they're feeling and what a good feeling it is."
Turning point: "It was 4-on-4 (in overtime) and I turned to (Amanda Kessel) and said, 'this is our game.' Then they got a penalty and it was 4-on-3 and I thought, oh my gosh, there are only three Canadians on the ice and we just need to use our speed."
Memorable moment: "Just standing on the blue line listening to our national anthem. That's just the best feeling."
|  Who: Julie Chu
Team: Women's National
Big play: Assisted on empty-net goal to seal gold medal vs. Canada.
Quote worthy: "When we get to 'rockets red glare' it's a little off-key, but we still belted it out."
Turning point: "Heading into the second round after we got through Japan and Russia we needed a moment before we played Canada and Finland. We wanted to be sure we were refocused and doing the little things right."
Memorable moment: "It's always great to be standing on the blue line and seeing your flag raised and being with your teammates."
|  Who: Cam Fowler
Team: Men's Under-18
Big play: Assisted on go-ahead goal in semifinal against Canada.
Quote worthy: "Struggling with those guys for two years and battling with them every day through workouts, it just made it all the more special that after those years of work we could come together in the end and win a gold medal."
Turning point: "When we had our 4-0 lead on Finland going into the third and had a little bit of a breakdown and they scored three times in the third and were pressuring us in the last minute … After a little bit of a scare we just realized we had to play 60 minutes and it was good for us to learn that lesson and get it out of our system early."
Memorable moment: "Being able to beat Russia on our home soil with a great crowd around us is just something I’ll never forget."
|  Who: Steve Cash
Team: Sled Team
Big play: Held strong in epic six-round shootout to top Canada in semifinal.
Quote worthy: "Right then and there I wanted to throw my gloves up and get in the huddle, but you have 10 seconds left so you have to do your part and save the celebration for later." - About winning goal in gold medal game.
Turning point: "When we lost to the Norwegians. I guess you could say it was panic mode then and the guys started stepping it up and playing their game ... It helped us see that we had to work twice as hard now to be where we wanted to be."
Memorable moment: "I like to see it kind of like Miracle in 1980 where you beat the No. 1 seed in the semifinal and then move on to the gold medal game and finish it off."
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“Our players now come to these tournaments expecting success and view anything short of that as not a failure, if you will, but an unfulfilled expectation. We have to build on that expectation and back it up with performance,” he said.
The USA Hockey women's national team has enjoyed a particularly successful run, winning four gold medals in two years. Director of Women's Hockey Michele Amidon said hard work and dedication to player development has helped the program achieve its goals.
"We have implemented several new initiatives over the past few years on the women's side," she said. "Beyond developing the hockey player, we have put an emphasis on developing the athlete physically and psychologically. This focus has proved to be very successful."
Amidon said achieving a level of success where gold medals are the expectations is a great accomplishment, but stressed that focusing on what helped build the program to this level is what will help USA Hockey sustain its place in the hockey world.
"It is important for us to continue to stay true to our initiatives and not just gold medals," Amidon said.
Where it all Begins
USA Hockey Executive Director Dave Ogrean looks at the rosters for the 2009 gold-medal winning teams and said he knows volunteers across the United States will be able to identify with many of the names.
“The success those players are having, all started in our districts. These players don’t just come out of a pod at the age of 15, they are being developed in their hometown rinks and their local programs and by grassroots volunteers for years and years,” he said.
Ogrean said the success of the national teams is something these local organizations can be proud of. Johannson said the national team success is a direct result of the efforts put in across the American hockey landscape.
“Our grass roots programs are doing a great job in building a good base of players and providing opportunity in all parts of the country,” he said. “National team rosters are now filled with players from all of our affiliates and the depth of talent overall just keeps getting better.”
Amidon added that winning gold medals attracts positive attention for the sport in America and can only help grow the number of players.
"Gold medals help promote the sport at a national level," she said.
The USA Hockey women's program knows what gold medals can do for membership numbers after seeing a marked increase in female hockey players following the Team USA 1998 Olympic Winter Games gold medal victory. In 1997-98, there were 28,346 registered female hockey players. By the next Olympic Winter Games in 2002, that number had grown to 42,292.
Ron Rolston, who coached the Men's National Under-18 Team to gold and guided the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 Team in 2008-09, said the success of his team starts at the youth levels.
“It’s very important to have success here but to also move players on and build their development as they look to take the next step in their careers,” he said. “We have to keep building that tradition of building players and winning championships.”
Rolston said the Under-18 championship is especially sweet for the NTDP, whose players commit to two years of practice and competition with the goal of winning a world championship.
“It shows that the sacrifice that they made and the dedication over the course of the two years pays off and they get to see the final result and win the gold medal,” Rolston said. “It’s very important to us as a program to build that tradition.”
Signs point to a bright future
Four consecutive gold medals have USA Hockey officials beaming with pride, and the prospect of future podium visits gives Johannson reason to raise expectations on the current crop of players, coaches and staff.
“Our talent level is as deep as ever and that helps push the bar high for all of the players to first, just make the team, and secondly, to be a part of the team success,” he said.
A welcome challenge for USA Hockey will be defending four gold medals as well as pursuing Olympic gold in 2010. |