Micah Zandee-Hart of Saanichton, busy with NCAA commitments as captain of Cornell, missed being in the lineup for sa国际传媒 in her hometown in the Rivalry Series game played in February of 2020 before a capacity crowd at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The Peninsula Minor Hockey Association product will more than make up for it this week as the women’s Rivalry Series between the U.S. and sa国际传媒 returns to sa国际传媒 and the U.S. Pacific Northwest beginning Tuesday night at Prospera Place in Kelowna and continuing Thursday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops and concluding Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
“It’s exciting and means a lot to me because I have never played a game for the national team in my home province,” said Zandee-Hart.
“It’s special that my family will be able to experience it with me because it’s easy trips to the Interior and Seattle.”
The trips in red, white and black have mostly been overseas for the Islander, who won gold with sa国际传媒 in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics followed by gold in the IIHF world championship in Denmark.
The talented blue-liner Zandee-Hart overcame a serious shoulder injury, and the pandemic shutdown, to do it.
“I lost a bit of consistency by not playing during that period because of COVID and the injury. It was a challenge but I love adversity and taking on a challenge. Most athletes do,” said the 25-year-old, who is committed through the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
“It made me stronger.”
The Rivalry Series pits the two best national teams in women’s hockey but it also points to a glaring lack of depth in the female side of the sport as sa国际传媒 and the U.S. have dominated the gold and silver medals in the Olympics and world championships. Another serious shortcoming is the lack of night-to-night professional club play in a league such as women’s basketball has with the WNBA.
“I do think it will happen and the WNBA is a great model,” said Zandee-Hart.
“I hope to see something in my time, and past my time, for the next generation of female hockey players to aspire to. But it doesn’t happen overnight and we have to be patient. There are people right now working hard for it.”
