WinterSports2002.com, Saturday, March 16, 2002

Single shot golden for U.S.

By Dennis Romboy
Deseret News Paralympic specialist

WEST VALLEY CITY — The U.S. sled hockey team toiled for years to grasp a medal, any medal, in international competition.

So what would another 10 minutes and a five-round shootout be when the gold medal was within reach?

Just the longest stretch of gut-wrenching hockey in their lives. The difference between gold and silver came down to a single shot.

Team USA prevailed over Norway 4-3 on Friday night before a frenzied record Paralympic crowd of 8,315 at the E Center. The dramatic shootout victory — decided when goalie Manuel Guerra Jr. forced the last shot wide of the net — ended a dozen years of futility.

"It's been an amazing ride. I mean a lot of long, hard years. A lot of incredible people have helped us get here," said veteran Kip St. Germaine. "This thing is beautiful," he added, holding up the gold medal. "Look at it."

Team USA entered the 2002 Paralympics hoping to sneak up on a few teams. It stayed away from international competition after the 2000 World Championships so as to not reveal its hand.

The poker-face gambit worked to perfection. The team caught its opponents off guard and even surprised itself.

The previous American highest finish was sixth at the 1998 Paralympics and 2000 Worlds.

"This is what I've been working for personally for six or seven years, some of the guys 13 years," said Joe Howard, who proposed to his girlfriend on the ice after Thursday's game. "We're both going home with gold."

And the drama of how they achieved it will live on in sled hockey lore.

"It was a very tremendous game. It was one of the best games we ever played. One of the best perhaps in sledge hockey history. I think it's real fun the American team has improved that much within the last two years. That's very important for the sport," said Norway's Helge Bjoernstad, the tournament's most valuable forward.

Some U.S. players, all of whom have lower-body disabilities, knew nothing about hockey when they first strapped on a sled. They were like sponges looking to absorb any drop of knowledge that would make them better.

Players paid their own way to training camps, spending as much as $25,000 a year. They spent countless hours away from their jobs and their families.

"These guys have had a commitment that nobody knows about," said coach Rick Middleton.

The team was so raw when Middleton took over a year ago February that he couldn't figure out what positions anyone was playing at his first scrimmage. He didn't know the defensemen from the centers and wingers or even "who was on what side."

Players, both the veterans and the 10 Paralympic rookies on the 15-man roster, found in the former Boston Bruins star a coach who not only knew the game but had a passion for it that rubbed off. He installed a simple offensive and defensive system that the team had lacked.

Middleton remedied the headless-chicken strategy with a simple hockey system. The emphasis is on defense, forechecking and getting the puck to the neutral zone if there isn't a play. All five skaters have a role, a place to be, a job to do.

The team started to gel early this year, and Middleton sensed something special might be in the offing. He joked about another "Miracle on Ice" team during a training camp at the Olympic Oval.

"It just goes to show you that if you have a lot of heart, a lot of commitment and you put yourself to it and you stick with it, that's the most important thing. We've been through peaks and valleys," Guerra said.

Friday, the team finally reached the top of the mountain. "It's just crazy. I don't think I realize it yet. When I wake up tomorrow and this things still on my neck, that'll be it," Howard said, tugging at his gold medal.

E-mail: romboy@desnews.com

© 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company