Toronto Star Sports
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Disappointed Rheaume not deterred
By Alan Adams - Toronto Star Sports Reporter
October 29, 1996 

URL: http://www.thestar.com/thestar/editorial/sports/961029SPB4_SP-HOCKEY29.html


Manon Rheaume didn't hide her disappointment well at all.

Scratched from the championship final of the Three Nations Cup,
Canada's most popular female hockey player said all the right things
rather than spark a controversy.

But she had an anxious look on her face as she stood and watched
Canada beat the United States 1-0 in Ottawa on Sunday. It was easy to
tell that she wanted be to the goalie who was mobbed by her teammates
at the end of the game.

``Sure you want to play,'' said Rheaume. ``But they only need one
goalie and they want to try different players to see how they will do
in big games.

``But you want to be out there, you want to play.''

It's not that Rheaume has anything to prove to Canada's national
women's program. She's been the main backstop in Canada's successful
run at the world titles in 1992 and 1994. She is expected to be front
and centre at the world tournament next April in Kitchener, and then
the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, in 15 months.

Rheaume's regime gives her the inside track in the months leading into
the worlds and Olympics compared to the other 26 women who wore
Canada's colors in last week's tournament.

While the rest of the Canadians headed to college teams or house
leagues in their respective cities, Rheaume was off to California to
play for the Reno Renegades of the West Coast Hockey League.

That bodes well for Rheaume because she'll hone her skills against men
who shoot the puck much faster than the women and with far greater
accuracy.

The next time Rheaume and the rest of the Canadian women will assemble
is in January for a week-long evaluation camp in preparation for the
world championships.

After that, they go their separate ways until just before the world
championships. Then they won't see each other until September when the
Olympic tryouts are held.

Team U.S.A., in comparison, will be together almost every weekend
between now and the Winter Olympics in Japan.

While the Canadians are spread out across the country, most of the
Americans are on scholarships at universities in the east, making the
logistics easier to assemble as a group.

But that's not to say the Americans are taking it more seriously than
the Canadians. Each woman will be seen a couple of times by Canada's
coaching staff to see whether their effort has diminished, or
conditioning has dropped off.

``When you see the plan, you say: `Wouldn't it be great if we could
have mini-camps every weekend.' But it is so unrealistic with the
geography of Canada and the geography of our players,'' said Glynis
Peters, manager of the women's program for the Canadian Hockey
Association. ``Of course it would be beneficial the more we can bring
them together, but we are confident of our plan.''

The Canadian women are available for tournaments but would need a
sponsor to meet the $30,000 in costs it would take to bring the team
together and house them, Peters said.

Come September, they will remain as a unit through to the Olympics and
will tour Canada playing all-star midget and Tier II teams.

Rheaume said while she would like to see a full-time national team
program, it isn't a necessity.

``It is hard but our team spirit is the best and we are very strong
mentally,'' she said.

One option available to the women, which many have taken or will take
advantage of, is attending a high-performance program designed to
enhance their skills at the Canadian Olympic Oval in Calgary.

Rheaume spent a week at the facility in the summer and said it helped
her game.

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