The Fearless, Frozen Females of Hockey

One element that was established at the Under-18 ice hockey exhibition between Canada and the United States in Rockland, Ontario is that the rest of the world is not yet ready to catch up to them. Those three games were filled with as much emotion and drama as the gold medal hockey games at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Both teams played their hearts out and impressed all in attendance. Canada and the US split the first two games, and the third game was tied at 3-3 after two periods. The level of intensity in ice hockey between these two countries is clearly at all competitive levels. With all the excitement and high level of competition (including scouting by former Winter Games head coaches Melody Davidson and Ben Smith) that was displayed on the ice, there were several players that intrigued:                 Erin Ambrose : Hockey card aficionados already know that she has appeared on cardboard (2010 Upper Deck World of Sports card # 173). Ambrose’s on-ice leadership is reminiscen

With the Canada Sports Hall of Fame in her native Calgary, there should be strong consideration for Joan Snyder as a builder. Snyder’s donations in 2011 ($500K to the Calgary Dinos women’s team and $2 million towards the Winsport Canada facility) are a watershed moment in Western Canadian women’s ice hockey history. Snyder’s contributions help bring stability and structure to a sport that deserved it, but struggled to find it. With the CWHL’s ambitious westward expansion, Team Alberta now has a foundation it can build on. The concept that the club has their own dressing room and training facilities may be taken for granted in other sports, yet it brings this expansions franchise professionalism and dignity. Of note, the discussion of allowing the facility to be used for other women’s teams in the world has also been visited. Although the opportunity of using the Winsport facility as a springboard towards respectability is alluring, it will take a generation (or two), before the rest o