Our Olympic Athletes! - Women's Hockey Team, Part 1

In order to celebrate the EPIC win made by Canada's Women's Hockey Team, the next few weeks will be dedicated to talking about the girls who brought home the gold!

First up born and raised in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, is Hayley Wickenheiser! Being the National Hockey Team Captain since 2007 and regarded as one of the best hockey players in the world, Wickenheiser has competed in 4 Winter Olympic Games, winning 3 gold and 1 silver. Being a famous hometown hero, Wickenheiser even has "Wickenheiser Place" put up in her honour! Not only limited to hockey, this all-around woman also knows the ups and downs to softball and was even appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the highest honours given to those who have contributed a great deal to Canada, in 2011.

Our next athlete is Meghan Agosta-Marciano. Raised in Ruthven, Ontario, she's been part of the national team since 2004 and playing hockey since 6. Prior to taking home the gold just last Thursday, she's won gold in the past Turin, Italy (2006) and Vancouver (2010) Winter Olympics. When she's not practicing the sport she's most famous for, Agosta-Marciano practices Law, earning her Criminal Justice Law Enforcement degree with a minor in Criminalist Psychology. Aside from that, she could also be seen playing golf and skeet shooting. A funny story about Agosta-Marciano, when she first started hockey, she had to play in some of the younger boy hockey teams since there were no girls teams available yet.

Next is Catherine Ward, une montréalaise who's been a part of the team for many years. With Vancouver acting as her Olympic debut, Sochi proved to be, once again, successful for the Canadienne athlete, adding onto her many awards, titles and medals. A cute detail about her is that she started hockey when she was five, wanting to join her dad and brother on the center ice as well. A fun memory that she recalls is the three of them going out to outdoor rinks and skating and playing until they couldn't feel their toes.



Next is our first goalie, born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Shannon Szabados! Growing up playing against and with boys, Szabados currently has a tournament save percentage of 98.04%, making her one of the top goaltenders in the country. In Vancouver, she let in only 1 out of 51 shots on her and earned a shutout in the gold medal game win against the US. She got into the sport by watching hockey on TV with her dad. At the age of five, she one day went up to her dad and asked if she could play. It's a good thing he said yes, because now we have a strong, determined and amazing goalie that we're proud of!

Raised in Beauceville, Québec, Marie-Philip Poulin was only 18; the youngest member of the Canadian Women's Hockey Team, when Canada won the gold in Vancouver. Being a key component, spectators fondly remember Poulin scoring the goals in the victory against the States. Being a part of the national team since 2007, Poulin has a pot-pourri of titles under her belt such as MVP, top forward and media all-star. Outside of the ice, she's studies psychology at Boston U and is close to finishing.

Our last, but never least, athlete for this week is Caroline Ouellette from Montréal, Quebec! A proud veteran of the team, Ouellette has her history of gold, winning it in Salt Lake City in 2002, Turin in 2006, Vancouver in 2010 and; to add to her collection, Sochi just last Thursday! Outside of the Canadian sport, she studied and completed a degree in Criminology and Women's Studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2005. A cool fact, she has an arena named in her honour!

Did you miss the game from Thursday? Ha, well, I'm sure you can find it somewhere. Have any teams you'd like to know about? Any particular athletes? Let us know! Tune in next week for more of the Canadian Women's Hockey Team members!

 

 GOOD JOB LADIES! YOU'VE DONE YOUR COUNTRY PROUD, YET AGAIN!