CBC Radio Post-Olympic Interview ================================ Here are some interview that I used for an interview with CBC Radio Vancouver that recapped women's hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics. INTERVIEW SCHEDULE ================== Tue Feb 17 1998: 11:45 am Vancouver Host: Mark SUGGESTED QUESTIONS =================== They'll start with an introduction that gives the score of the gold medal game (USA 3, Canada 1). They'll talk about the raised profile of the women's game. And then they'll start asking questions, along this line... (1) What did you think of the game? It was a heart breaking loss for Team Canada. It must be particularly hard for the veterans on the team, as this is probably their last chance for an Olympic gold medal. I think the Canadian women really gave it their best effort, and I think Canada is proud of them. I think no matter which team had won, the biggest winner is women's hockey ... the exposure that the Olympics has given to the sport has been wonderful! It was a well played game ... I thought Canada looked a little tense through the 1st and second periods, and then finally they started to relax in the third period and had a lot of quality scoring chances. If they had gotten a lucky bounce in the third period, the game may have had a different outcome. Team USA was very strong. They had a superior passing game and moved the puck very well. This was especially apparent on their powerplay (their first 2 goals were scored on the powerplay). I think the powerplay was the difference. I heard one announcer say that Canada didn't manage a single shot on two powerplay opportunities in the second period. If Canada had scored on a powerplay opportunity sooner, it might have been a different game. (2) Miller's decision to switch goalies for the gold-medal match. I think it was a good decision. Manon sure showed Miller that she made the right decision. She had an amazing game. Their loss was definitely no fault of hers. I think Manon really wanted this win because she may have seen it as an opportunity to show people how she could really play. There had always been a lot of speculation that she was given the chance with the men's teams for publicity reasons only, and I think she saw it as her chance to show how she could really play. Or maybe she just really wanted the gold medal badly, but one thing is certain, she sure played well! She stopped numerous chances early on in the game when the US was really pressing. I really wasn't surprised to see her in net at all. Not that Reddon wasn't playing well, but when your team comes off a loss with one goalie, it's not a bad idea to give them the confidence of a new goalie. Canada: Manon - handles the puck very well, and controls the rebounds. Canada: Lesley - good technically, angles well USA: Tueting played for USA, although DeCosta had the better record against Canada. Teeting played well, but she wasn't tested on as many quality scoring chances as Manon was. She gave up some rebounds but Team USA easily cleared them. (3) Style of the women's game. Did it change over the tournament? Compare to NHL. Canada: more players were trying to do it on their own, but I think that was just because the team was really nervous. USA: a little more physical than Canada. They move the puck quickly. Powerplay worked great because they handle and move the puck very well. I think the biggest difference is that there is no intentional body checking allowed in the women's game. This doesn't mean that there isn't any contact in the women's game ... just no blatant hits. I think that not having body checking adds to the game in terms of the skill level and finesse. There isn't so much clutching and grabbing, and holding along the boards, which in my opinion often slows down the game. The lack of body checking also means that the defense have to be more skilled. They can't rely on a hit to take the puck away from someone. Instead they have to poke check the puck away from their opponent, or ride their opponent off into the boards. (4) Tell us about the web site and the response you've gotten. The response has been incredible! I can't keep up with all the e-mail! The women's hockey web site has been visited by over 200,000 different people since I first created it in 1995. The number of hits because of the Olympics has really been up. Usually I get visited by about 700 different people each day, now it's up to around 1500 different visitors per day! Usually I just have women's hockey fans visiting the site, but now I'm getting people from all over. It's great that the olympics has raised the profile of the sport like this. Response from people all over the world. (5) USA and Canada are strong, but what about the other countries? More and more countries are becoming involved in women's hockey, and the caliber keeps improving. The American college program has really developed over the past decade, resulting in a broader talent pool from which to draw players. In addition, the fact that the Americans, like Canada, have full time salaried coaches, and the opportunity for the players to train full-time before the Olympics, has really helped both programs. Finland has always been very strong. They surprised Canada in the semi-final of the 1997 World Championship. They're a team that works hard and doesn't give up easy. China is also strong. They have a good goalie and like to play a tight defensive game, and then surprise you with a quick goal. The women on the Chinese team train all year round. The leagues aren't developed, but their national team is. This might win you the occasional medal, but it doesn't develop the sport. Sweden surprised Canada in an exhibition game with a tie of 1-1. They have a really developed women's program with regional and national championships. The European teams have improved their play a lot in the last decade. The women's hockey programs in a lot of the countries is fairly new, so it will just take some time to develop. (6) Impact of women's hockey being in the Olympics... Despite Canada's lost, the impact of what the Olympics has done for the game is where women's hockey has really won! I think that most importantly, it gives credibility to the sport. It makes people realize that women can play hockey, and can play it well. I think the increased awareness in the sport will mean that we'll see more and more young girls taking up the sport. I think the fact that there are so many positive role models in women's hockey (such as Cassie Campbell, and Manon Rheaume), parents will be more willing to let their daughters play. Hopefully some of the old stereotypes about it being too physical/rough and masculine will be shed. Olympics has raised the profile of women's hockey. There has been great coverage (TV, Newspaper, Radio, Internet) and athletes are etting endorsements (TV commercials, product promotion). There is also a women's professional league starting up.