Potter draws family strength in 4th Olympics

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Jenny Potter is reveling in the little delights of her fourth trip to the Olympics, from new jerseys and fresh ice sheets to the daily teasing from U.S. women's hockey teammates who call her Potsy or Mom.

That perspective is always on the 31-year-old Potter's mind after the changes in her life since the last games. Her husband and two children will be in Vancouver to cheer the Americans' run at another gold medal, but her mother won't be in the seats Potter's family bought for her just a few months ago.

"With my mom passing away, it's become more about how you live your life," Potter said Thursday. "I'm enjoying everything about this experience. It's just about living life to the fullest and working hard each day, and then spending time with your family and being grateful."

Potter, the only mother on the U.S. team, has been playing international hockey since 1997, yet her decade-long balance between family and hockey is almost as impressive as her wrist shot.

She took one winter off for the birth of her now-9-year-old daughter, Maddy, but returned a year later for the Salt Lake Olympics. Six years after that, she played into the fifth month of her pregnancy with her now-3-year-old son Cullen - and she returned for the 2007 world championships just three months after giving birth.

Potter's husband, Rob, is a high school coach and together they also run a hockey school in Minnesota. With help from family and friends, they manage to juggle their hectic schedule - but the sudden loss of Potter's mother added a bittersweet element to this Olympic run.

Terri Schmidgall died at 57 on Nov. 20 from a persistent form of melanoma, which returned aggressively several months ago. Just 11 days earlier, Potter's grandmother also died at 89.

"When she was going through that, it was going through the team," U.S. coach Mark Johnson said. "It was hard, especially for the kids that are close to Jenny. It was tough on Jenny, and she persevered. She has grown from it."

Potter is the Americans' oldest player, one year older than fellow four-time Olympic defenseman Angela Ruggiero - and her teammates make sure she remembers it. Potter relishes the jabs, yet she's also embracing her role as a teacher and a more vocal leader for young teammates who grew up idolizing speedy little Jenny Schmidgall in the Nagano Games.

"I grew up in a different era, playing against boys and learning the fundamentals," Potter said. "Today, it's all about breakaways and having a good move in the shootout. What I've tried to tell some of the younger players is how I pride myself on conditioning and work ethic. If you're willing to keep working hard all the time, you're going to get better."

Potter spent the past two summers training with Hilary Knight, who emerged as the U.S. team's surprise leading scorer during the months leading up to the Olympics. Knight and 20-year-old twins Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux all look up to Potter for both her skill and maturity.

"Potsy has been great to us since we met her," Jocelyne Lamoureux said. "We remember all the way back to Nagano, seeing hockey on television and thinking it was great. Now we get the chance to play with her. It's pretty amazing."

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