Women’s Ice Hockey Takes Smaller Stage

Six weeks after the United States’ gold medal victory at Nagano, women’s ice hockey was on display Sunday at Disney Ice during the 1998 USA Hockey National Girls’/Women’s National Championships.

There’s a lot of promise in the youth ranks, surprisingly so, in California.

But the senior open final in the nation’s highest tournament, held in California for the first time in its 19-year history, was anticlimactic.

For the record, the ColorVision Lasers defeated Assabet Valley, Mass., 2-0, in front of about 100 spectators. ColorVision featured two Olympians and many of the nation’s top players. It was put together by Coach Mike Johansson of Walnut Creek, who said he did so, with the blessing of USA Hockey officials, to showcase the top women players in the country.

Assabet Valley, meanwhile, about half an hour west of Boston, is a successful club team that practices year around. In fact, said Coach Eric Gray, two ColorVision Lasers players came up through the Assabet Valley program.

No wonder, then, that the awards ceremony after the game was just about as subdued as possible. Gray said he was happy with the way his team played. Johansson was just happy that his idea paid off.

Olympic defender Alana Blahoski said that winning this event couldn’t come close to her Olympic experience.

“It was competitive, speed-wise it was OK. But it’s an unjust comparison,” Blahoski said. “The Olympics were a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It’s what you work for, to play for your country. Those are world class athletes. Here, the players are a lot older.”

Blahoski got the game-winning goal with 11 minutes 38 seconds to play in the third period and University of British Columbia defender Michelle Johansson, the coach’s daughter, sent a wrist shot into the net after a centering pass from forward Brandy Fisher for insurance five minutes later.

USA Hockey women’s representative Karen Lundgren said attendance had been good during the week, although Gray called the crowd at the final disappointing. The event could return to California as early as 2000 when USA Hockey begins accepting bids to host the nationals, rather than rotate the tournament around the country.

Lundgren was also happy with the caliber of play in the youth divisions. Of particular note, were the 47 saves turned in by Team California goalie Chanda Gunn of Huntington Beach in a 2-1 upset over the heavily favored Minnesota Thoroughbreds in the under-19 semifinal.

Team California lost in the title game, 3-0, to the Connecticut Polar Bears.