November 20, 2009
By Cameron Eickmeyer
USAHockey.com
The road ahead for the 2009-10 U.S. Women’s National Team gets a whole lot bumpier once the puck drops Sunday afternoon in Durham, N.H., for the fourth game of the Qwest Tour.
When the U.S. takes on the Hockey East All-Stars at 1:05 p.m. ET at the Whittemore Center, it marks the beginning of a busy stretch of games that will factor into some very difficult roster decisions for head coach Mark Johnson.
“We’re doing quite well in fact,” Johnson said of the team’s morale during the Qwest Tour. “The training load we’ve been implementing has been going up the past couple weeks. They’ve been pushing themselves hard and collectively we’re seeing some progress.”
 | Head coach Mark Johnson believes the team is in good shape heading in to Sunday's game. |
Coming off a second-place finish at the 2009 Women’s Four Nations Cup in Finland, the U.S. hasn’t faced a collegiate team since the University of North Dakota on Oct. 10 and hasn’t played a Qwest Tour game since Oct. 16 against Canada.
Johnson said facing a collegiate team again will bring a different mindset than facing an international rival, but it presents an opportunity for him and his coaching staff to stress improvement over a game result.
“From a coaching stand point you are looking to take things away from the game that are going to make you better,” he said. “The message we’re trying to tell our players is that we’re looking for improvement. We’re looking at making strides so it doesn’t matter who you’re playing or where you’re playing at, it’s what are we going to do to improve ourselves as a team.”
After Sunday’s game, the U.S. will play Canada on Dec. 12 in Denver, Colo., and then face its rival again on Dec. 30 in St. Paul, Minn. Expect intense on-ice action, as well as off-ice tension, as the roster is trimmed to the Olympic squad.
“That’s going to be really tough on everybody,” Johnson said. “When you have to let people go, especially half way through this experience, it’s not going to be easy.”
The team will be busy with non-Qwest Tour games as well, facing Canada on Dec. 15 in Calgary, Alta., and again on Jan. 1 in Ottawa, Ont.
Johnson said the players and coaches can only focus on working hard every day and improving with every game.
“What we do on a daily basis is try to get better,” he said. “We try to push each other and try to hold each other accountable.” |