Let the Games Begin

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic opening ceremony is just around the corner, about twenty days to be exact. It will be interesting to see how the team USA womens hockey will do. 
A sport typically known to be male dominated, like some many other unfortunately, the coach for this Olympic team is Mark Johnson. Johnson is currently in his seventh season as head women’s ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin. He has a .802 winning percentage coming into the season and is one of the top active coaches in NCAA Division I.
Returning to the rooster are six veteran players, two of the players Jenny Potter and Angela Ruggiero will be playing in their fourth Olympic games. The team includes 6 Olympians, 19 world champions, 9 NCAA national champions and a long  repertoire of other awards and titles that go along with each of the players on the team. This experienced team will hopefully have the advantage leading to the medal stand, in the past USA womens hockey has been one of the leading forerunners in every tournament, minus the 2006 Winter Olympics having won the bronze medal over Finland.
The preliminary rounds will begin February 13, the rounds are doublie elimination allowing for a small window of chance. Group B in the preliminary rounds will have an interesting Valentine’s day as they duke it out to find out who will continue on to the medal rounds. The U.S. women’s team is in group B, playing game 3, against China. Also scheduled to play that day is Finland versus the Russian Federation. The U.S women’s team is playing game 7 in the preliminary round against Russia on February 16. Their last preliminary game is schdueld for February 18, against Finland. February 20, depending on which countries made it past the preliminary rounds will begin their way toward the medal stand.
Hopefully the women’s team will make it past the preliminary rounds allowing them for a chance to win another medal for the U.S. It is with great hope that these women, along with the skill they have acquired over a long career in ice hockey, will give them the capacity to play and win. Hopefully the country will all tune in and watch the women as they make their way through the preliminary rounds and eventually to the final games leading to the U.S. anthem being played while standing and waving and their fellow Americans.