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Dunn is eyeing gold medal, not fanfare
By Zack Van Eyck
Deseret News staff writer
WEST VALLEY CITY — Tricia Dunn's name may get lost in the crowd of 20 players who will wear Team USA jerseys during the 2002 Olympic women's ice hockey tournament. But her contributions will not go unnoticed.
The former University of New Hampshire standout does not enjoy the celebrity of a Cammi Granato, the youthful quickness of a Natalie Darwitz or the offensive statistics of a Krissy Wendell.
But the savvy, hard-working veteran of the '98 Olympic team doesn't care much for goals and glamor. Winning her second Olympic gold medal is what the 27-year-old left wing is concerned about and she'll do whatever coach Ben Smith asks of her to accomplish the task.
In this tournament, Dunn will be teamed with a pair of first-time Olympians, providing the experience and leadership on a young line centered by 19-year-old Julie Chu and featuring first-time national team member Andrea Kilbourne at right wing.
"Forecheck the heck out of lines is what we try to do, and whatever goals we get is a bonus," Dunn said Thursday after Team USA defeated Russia 7-0 at the E Center in a closed-to-the-public practice game, the Americans' last tune-up before Tuesday's Olympic opener against Germany.
"We're starting to come into our own a little bit and score a little more, but we primarily look to ourselves to play more of a defensive role, really forecheck somebody, hem them in there and get things rolling so the next line can come out and feed off that."
But Dunn's line did much of the feasting Thursday. She scored two goals and assisted three times as the second-seeded but favored Americans outshot Russia 42-12. The United States scored three power-play goals, including one by Dunn. Chu added a goal and one assist. Kilbourne assisted three times.
If Smith can get that much production out of the Dunn-Chu-Kilbourne line in its five Olympic games, Team USA could be a lock to defend its gold medal.
Russia, which placed third behind the U.S. in the 2001 Women's World Championships, did give the Americans more of a challenge than China provided in its four recent exhibition games with the United States.
"It was good preparation for us. They've really improved," said Granato, the team captain, who scored a power-play goal off an assist from Dunn and Wendell. "They're very physical, very smart and people are starting to pay attention to them."
Russia and the United States could meet in the semifinals, if things go as expected for both squads.
Team Canada, the defending world champion and the Americans' likely opponent in the Feb. 21 gold-medal game, arrived in Utah on Wednesday and held its first practice Thursday. The Americans didn't pay much attention.
"I think we're just trying to worry about ourselves," Dunn said. "Everybody's trying to get better. We haven't changed anything, and our focus has been on being the best passing team and using our speed and using our skill."
In the only other practice game held Thursday, fourth-seeded Sweden blanked seventh-seeded Germany 5-0 at the Peaks Ice Arena in Provo. The women's tournament begins Monday with two games, including top-seeded Canada against eighth-seeded Kazakhstan at the E Center.
E-mail: zman@desnews.com
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February 8, 2002
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