No Crystal Ball

Former Olympian Refuses to Speculate on Olympic Outcome

by Brenda Cosens

Danielle Goyette with her medals. / Photo: Brenda Cosens

Experience has taught Dinos Women’s Hockey Head Coach, Danielle Goyette one thing—never make a prediction on who will win gold at the Olympics.

A veteran of three Olympic Games, Goyette has routinely seen the underdogs come out on top.

“You can’t really predict what will happen,” says former National Team member, Goyette. “The 1998 and 2002 Olympics showed me that.”

“We were such a dominant team in 1997,” she says. The team was expected to take gold at the 1998 Olympics (the first year women’s hockey was an official Olympic sport) but was upset by the American team and only managed a disappointing silver. By 2001 the American team was dominant, having defeated Canada eight games in a row in the regular season.

“We never lost faith in each other. We knew that we could do it if we worked as a team,” says Goyette. “We won the one game that counted,” and took the gold at the 2002 Olympics. “The fact that we won against the US was the icing on the cake.”

Coming in to her third Olympics in 2006 in Torino, Italy, Goyette was part of the team to beat. Canada had once again become a dominant force in women’s hockey and was the defending Olympic Gold medalist. The Canadians felt confident and prepared to face the USA in their third Olympic finals match up. But this time the bookmakers had another upset on their hands, as Sweden beat the USA in the semi-finals.

“It was the first time we were not against the U.S. in the final game at the Olympics,” says Goyette. “So we had some young players who thought: ‘We are going to get the gold medal for sure’ and as a veteran I had to tell them: ‘Don’t think that way because if Sweden could defeat the US in the semi-finals then they could do the same with us.’ That’s why we were so focused on what we had to do that day to come out on top.” Fortunately Team Canada did come out on top, winning its second consecutive Olympic Gold.

While Goyette, who is now retired from the national team, refuses to speculate on the results, she says the teams to beat will be Canada, the US, Finland and Sweden.

“Canada and the U.S. centralize their players before the Olympics. With the Olympics being held in Vancouver, Sweden and Finland might centralize also, which would be a huge benefit to their teams.”

Of course her heart and hopes remain with Team Canada. While the team has lost the last two World Championships to the USA, Goyette thinks that might just be the wake up call they need to take gold.

“I always say if you have to win one game, the gold medal game in the Olympics is the one you want to win. That’s what people remember the most. I want Canada to win. There’s no doubt in my mind that they have the talent and the people to do it.”

Among the U of C-based Oval Xtreme players who Goyette expects will make the cut are Tessa Bonhomme, Delaney Collins, and ’06 Olympic veterans Colleen Sostorics, Gina Kingsbury, Gillian Ferrari and Carla MacLeod.