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Life Editor

The U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team’s first fan club meet-and-greet event was Friday (Nov. 13) at the Schwan Super Rink.

Players were available for photos and signed autographs from noon to 12:30 p.m. in the Herb Brooks Training Center, said Barclay Kruse, National Sports Center (NSC) chief communications officer.

Prior to the meet-and-greet, the Olympic team had an open practice on Rink 6 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Fan club registration was required only for the meet-and-greet, Kruse said.

Simple refreshments were served during the half-hour player event, Kruse said.

The U.S. women’s national hockey team is training for the February Olympics at the Schwan Super Rink.

Thirteen of the team’s 23 players have established residence in the city.

With the countdown clock nearing 90 days remaining before the start of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, the team recently returned to Blaine.

From Nov. 3 to Nov. 7, the U.S. team participated in the Four Nations Cup, the last international tournament prior to the start of the Olympic games Feb. 12.

The tournament was played in Finland, and brought together the world’s top four women’s hockey teams – the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden.

Team USA finished first in the Four Nations Cup preliminary round standings with a perfect 3-0 record, defeating Canada 3-2, but failed to take a rematch final.

The Canadian team snapped its four-game losing streak in international finals play with a 5-1 victory over the U.S. Saturday to take home the Four Nations Cup.

Barring an upset, Canada and the U.S. are expected to meet Feb. 25 in the Olympic gold-medal game in Vancouver. The Canadians have won the last two Olympic titles.

Canada and the U.S. meet again Dec. 12 in Denver and Dec. 15 in Calgary, Alberta, as well as Dec. 30 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and Jan. 1, 2010, in Ottawa, Ontario.

The U.S. Women’s National Team will be actively involved in planning and participating in local fan club activities before they leave for the Olympics, Kruse said.

The team has selected a steering committee of six players, chaired by three-time Olympian Angela Ruggiero, to work with NSC staff to organize local fan club events.

Caitlin Cahow, Kerry Weiland, Hilary Knight, Brianne McLaughlin and Karen Thatcher are other members of the fan club steering committee.

Fan club members can take advantage of special benefits, including future meet-and-greet sessions with the players, Kruse said.

Opportunities will include “Skate with the National Team” parties, and the chance to enter contests to win prizes like personal tours of the team’s locker room in Blaine and school visits.

Ticket access to Qwest Tour games, the team’s pre-Olympic preparation tour, and front-row pep rally seats are also benefits of fan club membership, Kruse said.  

Visit http://www.nscsports.org/facilities/superrink/fan_club.htm to register.

Tim Hennagir is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it