Turin, Italy 2006 Winter Olympic Games

Olympic Ice Hockey Analysis

TURIN, Italy – Katie King spent the final 12 seconds of her competitive hockey career in the penalty box.

It wasn't the most glamorous way to go out, but it certainly was admirable.

Just like the overall effort from the U.S. women's hockey team.

The Americans beat Finland 4-0 on Monday, largely on the strength of King's hat trick, to clinch the bronze medal at the Turin Olympics.

Afterward, they tried to put the best face on finishing third, even though that wasn't what they were in Italy for. Coming into these Olympics, everyone expected the United States and Canada to be playing for the gold medal like they did at Nagano and Salt Lake City.

"Obviously I didn't want to go home with the bronze but at least we got something to go home with," King said. "I'm pretty proud of this team."

The Americans' aggressive play came one game too late. They were relegated to the bronze-medal game because of an embarrassing effort in a shocking shootout loss to Sweden in the semifinals on Friday. It was first time since women's hockey went international in 1990 that the Americans were beaten by a team other than Canada.

A loss in this game, of course, would have meant no medal for the team that won the sport's first Olympic gold medal at Nagano in 1998.

"We had a lot of energy that we left in the last game," King said. "I think everybody played with that anger tonight. That was kind of our focus, was to go out there and play with energy, and everybody did it."

The Americans were still playing hard at the end, in a half-empty arena that a few hours later would host the Canada-Sweden gold medal game they wished they were playing in.

King didn't intend to be in the penalty box when the buzzer sounded, setting off a subdued American celebration. But when a Finnish player went after teammate Kristin King during a scrap in front of the losers' net, King ended up tangling with two Finns.

"I didn't like them hitting Little Kinger. I wanted to help her out a little bit there," King said.

"It would have been easy to come into this game and be low and not have any energy and not have any focus," she added. "That was the challenge for us, to come out and play hard. The focus was basically on us, not the other team. Just us."

Kelly Stephens scored 2:32 into the game. King took over with her natural hat trick, including two goals in the first period. Her third goal, 1:44 into the second period, led the Finnish coach to pull his starting goalie.

"We were lucky that we had a second opportunity to play after a loss," defenseman Angela Ruggiero said.

Besides bemoaning their lost shot at gold, the Americans tried to comprehend going through an Olympics without playing Canada. The rivals have dominated international women's hockey, with the United States beating Canada for the gold medal at Nagano before Canada got its revenge in Salt Lake City.

"It's weird, actually, more than anything," team captain Krissy Wendell said. "Because you think about them all year, and you just assume that at one point you're going to play against them.

"It takes a while to get used to. The mindset that we're so focused on going to that gold-medal game, and so focused on preparing for that game, and then when it takes a turn, I mean, nobody in the U.S. has ever played in a bronze-medal game. You don't know how to prepare for something you've never prepared for."

Several players predicted changes for the U.S. program. Four Americans were playing in their third Olympics, including King. But she won't make it to Vancouver in 2010.

Afterward, her eyes were red from crying, and she had to compose herself a few times during post-game interviews.

"It's been great for me. I've had great teammates, great experiences. You know, it's been 10 years. It's been a long time, and I'll leave it up to this one," King said, hugging 18-year-old teammate Sarah Parsons.

"I didn't think it would be this emotional," said King, who will return to her job as assistant coach of the women's team at Boston College.

The Americans at least tried to begin dealing with the sting of knowing they're no longer one of the two best teams in the world.

"It's a bronze medal, and they're not too easy to come by at the Olympics," King said. "I think we'll be proud of it. We have the whole set now."

Updated on Monday, Feb 20, 2006 5:09 pm, EST

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