NFL
By: Zachary Draves
Twenty five years ago, a group of twenty American women laced up the skates, put on the gloves, grabbed their sticks, and made history at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan by capturing the gold medal in a 3-1 victory over Canada in what was the Olympic debut of women’s hockey. Furthermore, they helped pave the way for a whole generation of women and girls to follow suit.
Going into Nagano, the US national team were decisive underdogs against the heavily favored Canadian team. Since the official start of the national team in 1990, the US had met Canada on six occasions, with Canada winning five including in the World Cup and Nation’s Cup finals. However, the US managed to defeat them in the 1997 Three Nations’ Cup in Lake Placid 3-0 and there was a sense that things were looking good in their favor.
(Courtesy: US Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum)
The US team steamrolled their way through their first four games before playing Canada in their final round robin game on February 14. The score remain tied 1-1 through the first two periods until Canada scored three goals to put them up 4-1 in the third.
With the game seemingly slipping away, the US surged their way back to tie the game with three goals by Laurie Baker, Cammi Granato, and Jenny Schmidgall in a span of seven minutes. Twenty three seconds later, forward Tricia Dunn put them ahead 5-4. In the final three minutes of the game, the US notched two more goals by Lisa Brown-Miller and Baker and capped off an improbable 7-4 victory.
A renewed sense of confidence and optimism stayed with the team three days later as they clashed with Canada again for the gold medal. Defensemen Colleen Coyne recalled to Team NBS Media that in the locker room before the game the team was cool, calm, and collected.
“There was something about that gold medal game that we were so relaxed, “she said. “The environment in the locker room that really struck me. There was a lot of smiles and discussions.”
(Courtesy: Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images)
With two goals from Gretchen Ulion and Shelley Looney, the US lead 2-0 and held on for most of the game before a late goal from Canada cut it to 2-1. Then with eight seconds left, forward Sandra Whyte scored on an empty netter and the US took home the first ever gold medal in women’s hockey.
(Courtesy: USA Hockey)
Coyne described the moment as feelings of satisfaction, joy, and relief after years of hard work.
“Finally. So many of us were a part of that journey,” she said. “That was a huge moment to celebrate and let it sink in that we finally did it. Sandra White scored a goal with 8 seconds left, an empty netter, we knew that we had to just wait those 8 seconds. A moment we all envision multiple years but that was the first time it all came to fruition.”
(Courtesy: United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum)
(Courtesy: USA Hockey)
Their victory came at a time when women’s team sports were achieving remarkable successes in the United State. Two years prior, the US women’s basketball, soccer, gymnastics, softball, and swimming teams had dominated the Atlanta Olympics. Coyne and her teammates drew inspiration from these women and followed the, in their path.
(Courtesy: Youtube)
“It was definitely let’s just follow suit,” she said. “They set the bar and it was up to us to meet it.”
Furthermore, these women were of the Title IX generation who were bearing the fruits of the labor from the women’s movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s that helped pass Title IX in 1972, which granted educational and athletic opportunities for women and girls. For Coyne and her teammates, this historic law carries special significance.
(Courtesy: Positive Coaching Alliance)
“If it wasn’t for Title IX, we wouldn’t have been in that position,” she said. “That piece of legislation was huge. Some of us weren’t born yet or just born when that passed. For that to be passed within a year of me being born and for everything else to unfold ahead of me. When I was in high school, there was no girl’s hockey teams. I ended up being at a prep school and got a scholarship. The timing was uncanny. “
The legacy of the 1998 US Women’s Hockey team is seen the women and girls who have taken up hockey twenty five years later. Before Nagano, registration for women’s hockey was around 28,000 and since that historic win it has swelled to around 74,000.
Twenty years later, the US team recaptured the gold medal during the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Many of the players had grown up watching or knowing about the ’98 team and were able to carry on the tradition with superb excellence.
Coyne recalls one shining moment where she knew that the team had an impact on the next generation.
“I remember walking into a rink where the first time it was an all-girls youth tournament, she said. “When I saw all girls taking up the lobby, I got it. Those girls were six, seven, maybe younger when we were playing. To see those girls have that experience and be able to play and travel and build those relationships at that young age, that has stuck with me.”
Today, Colleen Coyne is the President of the Boston Pride of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women’s Hockey League. She remains close with her teammates from ’98 as they regularly check in with one another through a group chat. Her endgame is simple and profound with a clear focus on the future.
“Everybody wants to leave the game in a better place than they found it,” she said.
One small step for woman, one giant leap for womankind.
