2006 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team Team USA Media/PR Contacts: GAME NOTES Jamie Fabos ([email protected]) Torino Cell: 011 39 348-453-7745 Team USA vs. Sweden Dave Fischer ([email protected]) Torino Cell: 011 39 348-453-7744 Friday, Feb. 17, 2006 Bill Robertson ([email protected]) Palasport Olimpico, 5:00 p.m. Torino Cell: 011 39 348-453-7744 Team USA (3-0-0) TONIGHT’S TOP STORIES # GOALTENDER GP W L T GAA SV% • TONIGHT’S GAME -- The United States Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey 30 Chanda Gunn 2 2 0 0 1.50 .875 Team faces Sweden tonight in the first semifinal game of the 2006 31 Pam Dreyer 1 1 0 0 0.00 1.000 Olympic Winter Games. Team USA enters the contest after posting a perfect 3-0-0 record in the preliminary round, while Sweden went 2-1-0 in its last three games. The two teams have met twice before in Olympic # POS PLAYER GP G A P +/- PIM competition, with the United States winning both match-ups. Team USA 27 F Sarah Parsons 3 4 3 7 7 0 defeated Sweden, 7-1 at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, and earned a 4-0 shutout at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in 12 F Jenny Potter 3 2 5 7 8 4 Salt Lake City, Utah. Overall, the two teams have met 25 times in inter- 4 D Angela Ruggiero 3 2 4 6 5 6 national competition, with Team USA holding a perfect 25-0-0 record 20 F Katie King 3 3 2 5 4 0 and a 187-29 scoring advantage. 22 F Natalie Darwitz 3 3 1 4 6 4 7 F Krissy Wendell 3 3 1 4 3 0 • COMEBACK KIDS -- Team USA rebounded from a 3-1 deficit in 13 F Julie Chu 3 0 2 2 2 0 Tuesday’s game against Finland by scoring six unanswered goals to 14 F Kelly Stephens 3 0 2 2 4 8 wrap up Group B action with an unblemished 3-0-0 record. The game marked only the third time in U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team 25 F Tricia Dunn-Luoma 3 1 0 1 1 14 history in which the United States faced a two-goal deficit. Team USA 6 D Helen Resor 3 0 1 1 7 6 reeled off six unanswered goals in a preliminary round match with 5 D Lyndsay Wall 3 0 1 1 1 4 Canada at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, after 8 D Caitlin Cahow 3 0 0 0 1 2 having trailed, 4-1, early in the third period. The United States also 9 D Molly Engstrom 2 0 0 0 1 4 trailed Canada, 3-1, in the gold medal game at the 2002 Olympic Winter 11 D Jamie Hagerman 3 0 0 0 1 2 Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, but could only draw to within one before 10 F Kim Insalaco 3 0 0 0 Even 4 settling for the silver medal. 18 F Kathleen Kauth 3 0 0 0 Even 2 • PARSONS ATOP STAT SHEET: She may be competing in her first 3 D Courtney Kennedy 3 0 0036Olympics, but Sarah Parsons (Dover, Mass.) didn’t waste any time 19 F Kristin King 3 0 0 0 1 4 moving to the top of the U.S. stat sheet. The 18-year-old leads the squad with four goals and her seven points have her tied with veteran Jenny Potter (Edina, Minn.) for the team lead. • COUNTRY TIME: Several members of the U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team offered their support at Tuesday’s game as the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team rallied to a 7-3 victory over Finland. Featured on the U.S. broadcast cheering for the red, white & blue were forwards Scott Gomez (Anchorage, Alaska) and Mark Parrish (Bloomington, Minn.). Team USA Schedule & Results • YOU’RE HIRED!: Angela Ruggiero is among a group of 12 U.S. Olympic athletes nominated to compete on the sixth season of the NBC Date Opponent Arena Time/Result hit, “The Apprentice.” Fans will chose six of the 12 athletes via a public Feb. 11 Switzerland* Esposizioni W, 6-0 vote on NBCOlympics.com to compete on the show with Donald Trump. Feb. 12 Germany* Palasport W, 5-0 Voting continues until Feb. 26. “While we’ve let the viewers do the hir- Feb. 14 Finland* Palasport W, 7-3 ing...I’m still doing the firing,” said Trump in an NBC press release. Feb. 17 USA vs. Sweden* Palasport 5:00 p.m. Feb. 20 Bronze-Medal Game^ Palasport 4:30 p.m. • YOU GOTTA SEE THIS: On Wednesday night, nine members of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team gave NBC Today Show host Gold-Medal Game# Palasport 8:30 p.m. Matt Lauer a crash course on goaltending. Pam Dreyer (Eagle River, Alaska) led the lesson while eight players peppered Lauer with shots * Television coverage by USA Network and even simulated a 5-on-3 situation. The piece will run on Monday’s ^Television coverage by MSNBC Today Show. #Television coverage by NBC • THE RECORDS: Includes all games, IIHF and non-IIHF USA vs: Canada: 28-40-1 Finland: 27-0-2 Germany: 7-0-0 Italy: 0-0-0 Russia: 10-0-0 Sweden: 25-0-0 Switzerland: 4-0-0 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team Game Notes ● USA vs. Sweden ● February 17, 2006 ALL-TIME VERSUS THE INTERNATIONAL FIELD: TEAM USA ROSTER STATS: Overall Olympic Record: 13-1-0 YOUNGEST/OLDEST AVERAGES Overall International Record (all games): 130-40-3 Overall: Parsons (7/27/87) Overall International Record (IIHF games only): 56-12-1* Dunn-Luoma (4/25/74) Age: 24.1 years All-Time Versus Canada (all games): 28-40-1 Goaltenders: Dreyer (8/9/81) Height: 5’7” *IIHF-sanctioned games include Women’s World Championship, Pacific Women’s Gunn (1/27/80) Weight: 153 lbs. Championship & Olympic competition Defense: Resor (10/18/85) Kennedy (3/29/79) FOUR THREE-TIMERS -- Team USA’s roster is highlighted by four Forwards: Parsons (7/27/87) BY COLLEGE veterans entering their third Olympic Winter Games. The quartet of Dunn-Luoma (4/25/74) 5 University of Minnesota Jenny Potter (Edina, Minn.), Katie King (Salem, N.H.), Tricia Dunn- 4 Brown University Luoma (Derry, N.H.) and Angela Ruggiero (Harper Woods, Mich.) BY STATE Harvard University has played every U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey game in history 3 Massachusetts 1 Dartmouth College (11 games). The foursome is well-decorated as well, each with a gold Minnesota Univ. of Minnesota Duluth and silver medal. New York Connecticut Univ. of New Hampshire AFTER STARTING AS A 7TH GRADER: Natalie Darwitz ranks sec- 2 New Hampshire Northeastern University ond on Minnesota’s high school all-time scoring chart with 468 points 1 Alaska University of Wisconsin in her career. The two-time Olympian had 316 goals and 152 assists to California Yale University rank second despite only playing two years. Darwitz spent her junior Michigan year with the U.S. Women’s National Team and spent her senior year Ohio with the U.S. Women’s Olympic Team. Washington Wisconsin Player, Sr. year School Goals Assists Points Renee Curtin, 2001 Roseville 332 212 544 Natalie Darwitz, 2002* Eagan 316 152 468 Ronda Curtin, 1999 Roseville 249 216 465 IN JUST THREE YEARS: After helping the University of Minnesota to back-to-back NCAA National Championships in 2004 and 2005, Natalie Darwitz announced on Jan. 25 that she would forgo her sen- ior year of eligibility. The 22-year-old leaves as the Golden Gopher’s all-time leader in points with 246 (102-144) in just 99 games. Her 114 points (42-72) during her junior year also set an NCAA record. Darwitz is a three-time All-American, a three-time selection for First Team All- WCHA, and was the runner-up to Team USA teammate Krissy PRONOUNCIATION GUIDE: Wendell for the 2005 Patty Kazmaier Award, given annually to the top Caitlin Cahow. KAY-how women’s player in NCAA Division I ice hockey. Julie Chu . CHOO Natalie Darwitz . DAHR-wits Pam Dreyer . DRY-er USA HOCKEY VETERANS: The 2006 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Tricia Dunn-Luoma. DUHN-LOW-muh Hockey Team is full of players with international experience. Nine play- Molly Engstrom . EHNG-struhm ers have competed in past Olympic Winter Games, with four (Katie Chanda . SHAN-duh King, Tricia Dunn-Luoma, Jenny Potter and Angela Ruggiero) cap- Gunn . .GUN turing a the first-ever gold medal awarded in women’s hockey at the Jamie Hagerman . .HAY-guhr-man 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Julie Chu, Natalie Kim Insalaco . in-suh-LAH-ko Darwitz, Courtney Kennedy, Lyndsay Wall and Krissy Wendell Kathleen Kauth . KAHTH joined the four pioneers at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Helen Resor . REE-zohr Lake City, Utah, and helped Team USA capture silver. Angela Ruggiero . ruh-JEER-oh Kelly Stephens . STEE-vens Of the 11 Olympic newcomers, 10 (Caitlin Cahow, Molly Engstrom, Krissy Wendell . WEHN-duhl Chanda Gunn, Jamie Hagerman, Kim Insalaco, Kathleen Kauth, Kristin King, Sarah Parsons, Helen Resor and Kelly Stephens) represented the United States at the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship this past April in Linkoping and Norrkoping, Sweden. Following a thrilling 1-0 shootout victory over rival Canada, Team USA captured gold, marking the first time in the tournament’s history that a team other than Canada captured the top prize.