2002-03 National Women's Under-22 Team

Captain's Log : 06

February 8, 2003

This was our final day here. What a trip this has been. We have been through a lot over the past week. We overcame the dreadful fatigue of the 24-hour trip to Saltzgitter by playing a healthy game of Dino, which is bouncing a super ball off the walls of our very small dressing room into a garbage can. In Saltzgitter our good pond hockey memories were brought back by the – 40 ¾C temperature inside the arena (outside was warmer). The only thing missing were the snowdrifts in the corners. The arena may have been cold, but the people of Saltzgitter gave us a very warm welcome.

The Hannover arena was certainly different… it came fully equipped, which included cheerleaders with pink & white pom-poms. The cheerleaders, which were 5 to about 15 years old, stood on the ice as we entered, creating a sort of tunnel for us to skate through. They even put on a little dance show between the 1st and 2nd periods.

Our week could not have gone better and we finished in true Canadian style winning the last of our four games. We scored very early in the game and never looked back. There were all kinds of fans, mostly cheering for Germany, however all game long we could hear a small group of people across the ice from our bench (not our parents) chanting GO CANADA GO. By the end of the game the 10 or so fans had moved to behind our bench and when the game ended they took off their shirts and had the words Canada written in red paint on their chests. I guess you can find Canadian hockey fans all over the globe!

The post game ceremonies we very professionally done. We aren't to sure what anyone was saying, however we knew when it was time to get our trophy because Canada sounds the same in any language. They presented us with a very beautiful glass trophy (not sure how we are getting it home). Since they left the lights off, except for a spot light at center ice, we had to do the tradition celebration picture in the centre of the rink. It took forever because there must have been 28 cameras on the ice to take a picture

There were many funny and memorable moments… The hot and cold contrast baths, to help with heavy legs… we almost lost La Toya Clarke in the deep end of the bath tub… thank goodness for snorkels. Heather Logan tried as hard as she could to master the German language… I am sure the Germans have never heard thank you said in so many ways… dorka, dinke. Then there were our daily psych ups which saw a brilliant Spice Girl's performance from Lara Perks, Charline Labonté, Logan, Val Hall and Allison Edgar. You would have thought the real Spice Girl's were in the room. Navada Russell risked her playing time by imitating Margot, right in front of everyone, coaching staff included… thankfully Margot didn't get too emotional. Who could forget the techno group dance with the Finns following our post-game meal together?

For more information:
Kalli Quinn Director, Female National Teams | Équipes nationales féminines