Victory Is Especially Gratifying for Goyette

Danielle Goyette’s three goals in Canada’s 13-0 rout of Japan on Sunday had special emotional significance.

She accomplished it only three days after her father, Henri-Paul, died of Alzheimer’s disease at 77. She decided to stay in Nagano instead of returning home to Quebec.

“My father was very proud of me, and I will do my best to honor him,” she said. “Life’s trials often make us better, stronger. Unfortunately we don’t choose when these trials will occur. I will continue my journey to attain the ultimate goal--an Olympic gold medal--exactly as my father would have wished.”

Canadian Coach Shannon Miller broke the news to Goyette. “She broke down,” Miller said. “We spent a lot of time together talking. She grieved. But she came to breakfast [Sunday] and said, ‘I’m ready to go. Next to my family, I love hockey best. This is where I want to be.’ ”

Miller had some strong words for her team before its game against Japan, using the lighting of the Olympic torch during Saturday’s opening ceremony as a metaphor for the spark she hoped her players would feel. Her speech worked: Canada outshot Japan, 64-3, and improved its record against Japan since 1990 to 5-0. Canada has won those games by a cumulative 73-0.

“We talked about our own torch and starting a fire within our team,” Miller said. “We talked about lighting our own Olympic torch.”

Despite losing so decisively--and not managing a shot on goal until the third minute of the second period--Japanese Coach Toru Itabashi was not embarrassed.

“This is the first step for Japan’s hockey team,” he said through a translator. “I told my players that since we are playing the number one team in the world, they had nothing to be afraid of and to believe in themselves and that they could win. When I reviewed the first period and saw we gave only three [goals] to Canada, it was as if we won.”