BECAUSE SOME MEDALS COME WITH A TASTY CREAM-FILLED CENTER

It took members of the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team so long to win their gold medals, they weren’t about to let those medals out of their sight.

Most players settled for simply sleeping with the medal, but one had a different way of appreciating it.

“I kissed it. I checked and I bit it. It’s real,” forward Jennifer Schmidgall said.

WE TRIED TO CALL, BUT THE LINE WAS, UH, BUSY. YEAH, THAT’S IT

Members of the Canadian men’s hockey team turned out in full force to support their female counterparts, but possibly because of a team dinner, only a few members of the U.S. men’s team were on hand for their compatriots’ victory Tuesday.

New York Islander defenseman Bryan Berard was spotted in the stands, and Lisa Brown-Miller said she saw Pat LaFontaine afterward and was congratulated by him. And goaltenders Sarah Tueting and Sara DeCosta got a phone call from Mike Richter.

However, that’s nothing compared with the Canadian attendance of Wayne Gretzky, Rob Blake, Eric Lindros, Rob Zamuner, Adam Foote, Ray Bourque and others.

JIM CRAIG CALLED TO WARN GOALIE HER CAREER WOULD END SOON

Among the good-luck messages the U.S. women got before the game was a note from 1980 U.S. Olympian Bill Baker to Karyn Bye, who wears the same number--6--that Baker wore when the U.S. team won at Lake Placid, N.Y.

The note read, “Good luck. I’ll be watching you go for the gold.”

BUT THEIR HANDS WERE SWEATY AND KEPT SLIPPING APART

After their victory, the U.S. players returned to their locker room for a few private moments. That’s when Cammi Granato, who had been exulting with her teammates, suddenly realized she had won a gold medal.

“I sat back in my stall and I kind of lost it,” she said. “I had to gather myself before I went back out.

“We had a toast, to us. We just said, ‘We did it. We made it.’ ”

When players reemerged for the medal ceremony, they were holding tiny American flags, which they waved to the crowd. They somehow managed to keep hold of those flags while joining hands in one long line while they awaited their medals.

“That was very spontaneous,” defenseman Angela Ruggiero said. “This team has something I’ve never felt before. We’re so close. We supported each other and we pushed each other. It’s awesome.”

AND THEY WORKED SO HARD WITH THEIR VOICE COACH--ROSEANNE

More than a few players wept when the American flag was raised and the national anthem was played, and most were also singing. A.J. Mleczko was virtually belting it out.

“We can’t carry a tune to save our lives,” she said.

They didn’t have to.

“It’s so moving. I’ve never felt so patriotic in my whole life,” she said. “It was just overwhelming. I’ve been on this team three years, and every year we’d lose to Canada in a big tournament and hear the Canadian anthem. To hear “The Star-Spangled Banner” is incredible.

“Canada’s a great team, and to see them suffering [while the U.S. anthem was played] was hard to see.”