Familiar roles for hockey foes
Victorious Canada one-ups US again
Canada and the United States playing in the finals of the International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championships is about as predictable as it gets in sports.
The teams have faced off in the finals every year since the tournament's inception in 1990, but the results are hardly even. Canada pulled out its eighth straight gold medal Tuesday night, defeating the US, 2-0, at Halifax, Nova Scotia.
"I thought we gave a great effort and we lost to a wonderful team," said US coach Ben Smith.
The US made some noise in the tournament by beating Canada, 3-1, in a preliminary-round game. It was Canada's first loss in World Championship play and broke a streak of 37 straight wins in the Worlds.
Despite the one-sided outcomes, Smith said the teams have a classic rivalry. "We know we can beat them," he said. "It usually comes down to a one-goal difference. They were just a little better than us."
Several local players were key members of the US team. Goaltender Chanda Gunn of Northeastern stopped 19 of 21 shots during the tournament in a backup role. Harvard standouts Julie Chu and Angela Ruggiero played big roles. Ruggiero was voted the top defensive player in the tournament.
"[Ruggiero] is the best defenseman in the world in women's hockey," said Smith.
Smith, a native of Gloucester, has coached the team for eight years. He has previously served as coach of the men's hockey team at Northeastern. In the last six months, the US went 8-1 in tournament play (November's Four Nations Cup and the World Championships), and beat Canada three out of four times, except, said Smith, when it mattered most.
Smith has turned his sights to next year's championship in Sweden and said his team has a great chance to take down the champs.
"I think we have the capacity to raise our play a little bit and I'm sure Canada will, too," said Smith. "We'll be raising the bar and the real winner will be women's hockey."
Muscle-bound
While most of her colleagues at
And at 4:30 p.m., while most of her colleagues head home from work, she is back in the gym.
What separates Fletcher from her colleagues, and most of the workforce, is her passion for fitness training and competitions. It's a passion that has guided her to the regional Fitness Atlantic Pageant in East Haven, Conn., April 24, in hopes of qualifying for a spot in the national tournament, the Fitness America Pageant.
"When you're getting ready for a competition, your life kind of revolves around it," Fletcher said.
Her hard work paid off last year, qualifying for the national tournament after competing in her first competition (the 2003 Fitness Atlantic Pageant). At nationals, she placed 22d of 67 and she is looking for a top-10 performance this year.
The 30-year-old Billerica native got into fitness training two years ago. "I thought I'd do fitness someday," she said. "I kept saying it and saying it, and then I finally did it."
Fletcher said her specialty is flexibility and she relies on strength moves, such as one-armed pushups, in her routines.
"You get judged really highly on entertainment value. You have to make the judges say, `What's she going to do next?' " she said.
Fletcher also is a personal trainer, and though she is concentrating on the upcoming competition, she has long-term goals.
"[How long I want to compete] changes all the time. As long as I choose to compete, I want to do well. When it stops being fun, then I'll stop," she said. "I also want to raise awareness about what I do."
