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**OnMAA** · 12-31-2009, 09:06 AM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

I'll lead out

1 - What was the best moment/event of womens hockey
......The 2002 Olympic Final in Salt Lake. One of the most thrilling finals on the biggest posibble stage.

2 - Who was the best overall player of the decade
.....As a canuck gotta vote for Wickenheiser. (Ruggiero a close second)
3 - Who was the best college player of the decade
....The nod goes to Botterill, only player with two Kazmaier awards
4 - Best College team of the decade
....UMD 4 NCAA crowns, and 5 finals.
5 - What was the best move of the decade to advance the game
....The addition of the U18 Worlds and the creation of advanced prep teams like NAHA, SSM etc.

**BadgerFan11** · 12-31-2009, 09:16 AM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Originally posted by OnMAA View Post

Just like all news services thought it be fun to a do a best of the decade:

1 - What was the best moment/event of womens hockey
2 - Who was the best overall player of the decade
3 - Who was the best college player of the decade
4 - Best College team of the decade
5 - What was the best move of the decade to advance the game

i'll take the (obvious) stab at #4...
4 straight National Championships (winning 3 of them), 2 Patty Kaz winners, i think you'll have to include the Wisconsin Badgers as one of the top choices. Duluth took home 3 straight to start off the decade (and one in 08), but the more prominant dominance for the second half of the decade has come from Madison.
Not to mention the 7 Wisconsin players, (and 1 coach) on the current USA team, and 2 players on Team Canada

as for #1 - one of the most memorable moments for many was the 4OT semi-final thriller between Harvard and Wisconsin, in front of nearly 6000 fans at the Kohl Center.

#2 - One of (if not THE) best in the world... Minnesota's own Natalie Darwitz. continues to thrill the nation and the world with her speed, skill, and nose for the net. she makes players around her better by association and has captained some of our finest athletes in international competition. great leader and great player

3 and 5, nothing i can nail down yet

**ARM** · 12-31-2009, 10:14 AM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Because this is a college hockey forum, I'm going to constrain my answers to that context.

Originally posted by OnMAA View Post

1 - What was the best moment/event of womens hockey

NCAA final in 2003. Two of the top teams of the decade going toe to toe for 60 minutes, and then beyond. Hard to top.

Originally posted by OnMAA View Post

2 - Who was the best overall player of the decade

It doesn't make sense to confine this to college players, because that is #3. IMO, it's been a long time since Wickenheiser was Canada's best player. So what player has been at the core of the most international success? I'd have to go with Kim St. Pierre.

Originally posted by OnMAA View Post

3 - Who was the best college player of the decade

I might say Darwitz, in that she put up mega numbers while still playing a complete team game, but she only had 3 seasons. Some of the other top players didn't play their entire career in the decade as well. Honorable mention to Julie Chu, but my pick is Jessie Vetter in terms of overall impact on the college game.

Originally posted by OnMAA View Post

4 - Best College team of the decade

Defining this as "team", not "program", I think the finalists would be 2003 UMD Bulldogs; 2003 Harvard Crimson; 2005 Minnesota Gophers; 2007 Wisconsin Badgers; or 2009 Wisconsin Badgers. Although the 2009 Badgers are fresher in my mind, I think that I'd rank the 2007 Badgers at the top, because they were more dominant. Plus that roster: Vetter, Bauer, Slusar, Mikkelson, Lawler, Zaugg, Duggan, Keseley, Dufour, etc had depth at all three positions.

Originally posted by OnMAA View Post

5 - What was the best move of the decade to advance the game

Expansion of the NCAA tournament to 8 teams.

**scrambledlegs** · 12-31-2009, 10:46 AM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Originally posted by OnMAA View Post

Just like all news services thought it be fun to a do a best of the decade:

1 - What was the best moment/event of womens hockey
2 - Who was the best overall player of the decade
3 - Who was the best college player of the decade
4 - Best College team of the decade
5 - What was the best move of the decade to advance the game

I only have comments on 1 and 5 at this time

1) The "best" moment was Sweden winning the Silver Medal in 2006. While it was very upsetting to me as an American, it was huge that the finals were no longer a given between the U.S. and Canada. It meant that (with a hot goalie

), there were other teams able to compete with these two. In turn, this caused USA Hockey to do a deep dive into their commitment towards Women's hockey.

5) Establishing U18 Worlds and the Blaine residency program.

**OnMAA** · 12-31-2009, 11:18 AM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Originally posted by BadgerFan11 View Post

i'll take the (obvious) stab at #4...
4 straight National Championships (winning 3 of them), 2 Patty Kaz winners, i think you'll have to include the Wisconsin Badgers as one of the top choices. Duluth took home 3 straight to start off the decade (and one in 08), but the more prominant dominance for the second half of the decade has come from Madison.
Not to mention the 7 Wisconsin players, (and 1 coach) on the current USA team, and 2 players on Team Canada

I had the Badgers as a very close number two on my list after UMD. Reason I choose UMD is cause their success spanned the whole decade. Badgers clearly best in second half of decade. Other team in my top 3 for the decade would be Harvard.

**OnMAA** · 12-31-2009, 11:20 AM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Originally posted by ARM View Post

IMO, it's been a long time since Wickenheiser was Canada's best player. So what player has been at the core of the most international success? I'd have to go with Kim St. Pierre.

Looking at it for the whole decade, IMHO you gotta go with Wickenheiser. She was there for both Olympic golds, and IMHO led the charge in 2002.

**ARM** · 12-31-2009, 11:31 AM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Originally posted by OnMAA View Post

Other team in my top 3 for the decade would be Harvard.

Eastern bias.

Harvard's only title came prior to this decade. The Crimson did play in 3 championship games, but Minnesota played in 4 and won 3 of them.

**OnMAA** · 12-31-2009, 01:10 PM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Originally posted by ARM View Post

Eastern bias.

Harvard's only title came prior to this decade. The Crimson did play in 3 championship games, but Minnesota played in 4 and won 3 of them.

Gotta pick at least one from the east.

**scrambledlegs** · 12-31-2009, 02:22 PM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Originally posted by OnMAA View Post

I'll lead out

1 - What was the best moment/event of womens hockey
......The 2002 Olympic Final in Salt Lake. One of the most thrilling finals on the biggest posibble stage.

Not that you aren't entitled to your opinion

, but I thought the game was a snooze-fest. Sure, the Canadian underdogs beat the US on US soil, and that might have been exciting (if you were Canadian

) but I thought the game lacked excitement and both teams looked tired.

Again, just throwing in my two cents!

**ARM** · 12-31-2009, 03:16 PM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Originally posted by scrambledlegs View Post

... I thought the game was a snooze-fest.

I'd agree with you. There was little 5-on-5 play, neither team played well, and when the whistle blew, who knew what was going to be called.

**OnMAA** · 12-31-2009, 08:58 PM

Re: The Decade that was - Make your picks

Looking back is always interesting....

20 Years ago......
.....The first World Championship was held in Ottawa, Ontario
_________(Canada's sweater had a pink maple leaf motif)
.....Players currently in college were in the crib
.....The first wave of growth of the womens game was about to take place
.....No one had ever heard of Angela James
.....Most high end players in the 90's playe4d hockey in the CIAU

10 Years ago......
.....We had just had the Womens game in the Olympics for the first time
.....Growth explosion phase two was just starting
.....Cammi Granato and Manon Rheaume were house hold names
.....NCAA Womens hockey was just about to explode

Today....
....Wickenheiser, Ruggiero, Darwitz, Agosta, Apps are household names
....We have an annual U18 championship
....There are 80 plus NCAA programs
....Prep Programs and Club Programs are blooming
....We have the PWHL and the JWHL to groom the next generation.
....The early generation players are now becoming succesful coaches

Ten Years from Now....
....The early day players will be grandmothers
....Todays college athletes will be coaches
....The game will be more balanced internationally
....There will be a NA U18 super club championship
....There will be a high end senior circuit.

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The Decade that was - Make your picks

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