OLYMPIC
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of their favorite heroes. To say they’re just role models to kids is
an understatement. The impact is beyond belief for the girls that
play now and for the other girls and boys who used to just watch;
all of a sudden they all want to get out there and play.”
The USWNT was able to showcase their skill to the hockey
community well before the start of the Four Naons up.
The team played ehibion games at FH against Florida ulf
oast University, the University of South Florida and University
of Tampa.
“t was both a humbling eperience and a true honor for our
program to parcipate in the development of the U.S. Women’s
lympic Hockey team,” University of Tampa coach Steven ucera
said. “These women are some of the best players in the world,
plain and simple. While we would have liked to have seen a more
solid game with much beer eecuon on our part, as well as
a beer outcome for us, it was truly a blast to be on the same
ice as U.S. lympians. These players are, uite simply, phenomenal.
They are a complete and total package when it comes to
individual skaters and their team approach to the sport. They
are relentless and incredibly disciplined in the systems that they
eecute and their hockey is o the charts.”
The games were part of the regular-season schedules for the
Division college hockey teams and counted towards their overall
stascs.
“Watching them out there on the ice, you’re just in awe of
what they can do,” USF assistant coach Aaron Humphrey said.
“The players at this level have never been in games with anyone
like them before. t was a good learning eperience for our guys.
Everything that team does so well are things that our players can
implement into their own game in order to improve and make
the team beer. Playing them was something no one will ever
forget.”
owness spoke highly of the naonal players’ “team dynam-
Crunch captain Alex Boser tries to avoid the defender as she See OLYMPIC page 23
works the puck down the ice.