Ice hockey forward Dana Antal spent two years at Cornell University studying psychology, from 1995 through 1997, and was selected as the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year. After taking a year off to play with Switzerland’s SC Reinach, she returned to Canada to attend the University of Calgary and suit up with the amateur Calgary Oval X-Treme. In 1998 she scored the goal that gave Team Alberta the gold medal at the Women’s National Hockey Championships, a feat that she would later repeat for Team Canada at the 2004 Four Nations Cup. Although she was slated to participate in the 2000 World Championship, she tore an anterior cruciate ligament during an exhibition game against Germany and was unable to play. Her first world championship medal, therefore, came in 2001 as a member of Team Canada, and her performance at these games helped her make the Canadian team that was sent to the 2002 Winter Olympics. In the tournament, she played in five games and scored two goals, helping her team earn the gold medal that year. Despite this, she was cut from the 2006 Olympic delegation. An arena in her hometown of Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, is named in her honor.
Canada