Going for the Gold: Women's Hockey

The "Going for the Gold" series kicked off our One-Year-Countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. We will feature a different 2010 U.S. Olympic or Paralympic hopeful each week with a vodcast on the first and second Friday of every month.

The U.S. women's ice hockey national team has a shot at Olympic gold next year on the turf of its biggest opponent: Canada. This week's Going for the Gold features six players who have a shot of making that Olympic team.

Natalie Darwitz - Forward
The 25-year-old from Eagan, Minn., is the captain of the women's ice hockey national team and helped guide Team USA to the world title in April. Darwitz was on both the team that won a silver medal in 2002 and the team that earned a bronze in 2006. She was the youngest member to be on the national team when she joined at 15. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007 with a degree in business and an emphasis in sports management. While attending college, Darwitz played on the hockey team and set career points (246) and assists (144) records. She is now an assistant coach of Minnesota's women's hockey team. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games would mark her third trip to the Games.

Angela Ruggiero - Defenseman
The 29-year-old from Harper Woods, Mich., has won gold, silver and bronze at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Games, respectively. Before Darwitz came along, Ruggiero was the youngest member to join the national team at 18. She graduated with honors from Harvard University in 2004 with a government degree. In 2005 she broke more gender barriers in the sport when she became the first woman who wasn't a goaltender to play professional men's hockey in the Central Hockey League. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games could be her chance at a second Olympic gold medal.

Julie Chu - Forward
This Fairfield, Conn., native started out as a figure skater, but she quickly switched to hockey. Like Ruggiero, Chu played hockey at Harvard. She graduated in 2007 with a degree in psychology. She is the first player of Asian descent to be on the women's national team. In addition to playing on Team USA, Chu has been a member of the Western Women's Hockey League's Minnesota Whitecaps for the past two seasons. The 27-year-old was a part of the 2002 and 2006 Olympic teams.

Jenny (Schmidgall) Potter - Forward
Potter of Edina, Minn., is a three-time Olympian and the true hockey mom. A mother of two children, Potter has been able to balance motherhood and training exceptionally well. Her first child, a daughter, Madison, was born in January 2001. Although she took some time off from training, Potter continued to skate through her ninth month of pregnancy and returned to the ice six months after Madison was born. Her second child, a son, Cullen, was born three months before the 2007 World Championships, yet Potter somehow managed to return to the ice to play for Team USA. Should she make the Olympic team in 2010, she will be the oldest member of the squad at 31. While attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth, she was a part of the women's team. Like Chu, Potter is a member of the Minnesota Whitecaps. This past season, she was named MVP.

Jessie Vetter - Goalie
Hailing from Cottage Grove, Wis., Vetter played hockey at the University of Wisconsin. Earlier this year the 23-year-old was the recipient of the Patty Kazmaier Award, an honor designated to the NCAA's best women's hockey player. She was named the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Frozen Four in 2006 and 2009. Vetter and the Wisconsin team took the NCAA Championship three times. In her senior year, she had a national-best save percentage of .942 and a season record of 14 shutouts. She is a contender for Sportswoman of the Year, which will be awarded in October. She would make her Olympic debut at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. She also would be playing for her college coach, Mark Johnson, a member of the 1980 Miracle on Ice gold-medal-winning men's hockey team.

Hilary Knight - Forward
A resident of Hanover, N.H., Knight learned how to skate and first got interested in hockey when she was 6. At the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship, she was the youngest player on the team at 17. In addition to the national team, she plays hockey for the University of Wisconsin. This past season she was the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year, and she played on the Frozen Four All-Tournament team. Come February, the 20-year-old could be playing for Team USA for the first time at the Olympic level.

Tags: US Women's National Hockey Team, USA Hockey