Less than a week since their coach resigned for "personal reasons" Canada's national women's ice hockey program announced Tuesday that former NHL player Kevin Dineen has been hired to lead the team's gold medal defense at the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympic Games.As the three-time defending Olympic champions, the team was thrown into disarray Thursday when coach Dan Church abruptly quit over differences with his Hockey Canada bosses. He later told media he had doubts in his abilities to coach the team.Dineen, who appeared in 1,188 NHL games as a player over 20 seasons, became available after he was fired as the coach of the Florida Panthers on Nov. 8 as the team got off to a poor 3-9-4 record. Over parts of three seasons leading the Miami-based team,Wholesale Lingerie Sexy Lingerie he had a 56-62-28 record in his first NHL coaching job."When this opportunity presented itself, I immediately jumped at it. The opportunity to work with Team Canada, the staff, more importantly these world-class athletes, is thrilling for me," the 50-year-old Toronto native said."Things are happening pretty quickly. I know I'm hopping on a moving train here and we'll rely very heavily on the whole coaching staff and (assistants) Lisa (Haley) and Danielle (Goyette) to help this initial stage for a couple of weeks."Dineen is effectively coming full circle with Canada's Olympic program.nike shox shoes He played for the national team in the 1983-1984 season, going to the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics where the Canadians finished fourth.
He noted leaving the former Yugoslavia without an Olympic medal was something that had stuck with him for a long time.Lululemon Women's Pants"I am a product of Hockey Canada. I've had the opportunity to represent my country on the international stage and I may have a little unfinished business from my Olympic experience. So I'm extremely excited about that end of it ... As we move forward things are going to be happening pretty quickly."In hockey-mad Canada, Dineen will be expected to bring home the gold medal and nothing less. Since women's hockey was introduced to the Olympic roster in 1998, Canada has won the championship three times, and the rival Americans once.It is the dominance of the two neighboring countries at the sport that caused former Olympic chief Jacques Rogge to state at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games that greater parity was needed among the participating countries and regions to ensure its Olympic future, as "we cannot continue without improvement."In the preliminary round in Vancouver, Canada outscored its opponents 41-2, while the Americans shelled the opposition 31-1. China was one of the weaker teams facing the barrage of goals, appearing in the tournament for the third time and finishing seventh overall.The Canadians and Americans will again be the favorites for gold in Sochi this February, with improving nations in Russia, Finland and Sweden also in the medal hunt.Despite not winning the Olympic gold in the last three Games, however,Isuzu Auto Parts the Americans have had the Canadians' number in recent years winning four out of the last five world championships, including a 3-2 victory in Ottawa in April.The two women's hockey powerhouses are currently in the midst of a six game friendly series in the run up to Sochi with the Canadians winning two of the first three meetings. The two sides meet again Friday in Grand Forks,canada goose jacket women North Dakota, in the first of three games before the end of the year.
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