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From the Olympics Toword Tomorrow
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Canadian women's hockey team arrives in Nagano
The four-time world champions canceled several previously scheduled practices at the Aqua Wing, the main venue for the women's hockey tournament at the Nagano Olympic Winter Games, opting for a two-day stopover in Osaka prior to their arrival in Nagano.
''We had a great time in Osaka, the girls got to do a little sightseeing, relax and try different things, they took so many pictures they reminded me of the Japanese,'' the team's coach Shannon Miller said.
Among the most sought after members on the Canadian team was Vicky Sunohara, who fielded a barrage of questions from the local press about her Japanese ancestry.
The 27-year-old native of Toronto seemed somewhat surprised by all the attention.
''I never really thought about it before but I did feel a connection to the country when I got off the plane in Osaka,'' said Sunohara whose grandparents are from Ueda, Nagano Prefecture, some 40 minutes from the Olympic host city.
Another issue awaiting the Canadian team at the Aqua Wing was their opening game against Japan. In their last meeting in the world championships, Canada beat Japan by a score of 19-0.
While there has been some suggestion that Canada might try to avoid embarrassing the host nation in the opening game of the tournament, Miller denied reports that there was a ''friendly arrangement.''
''We don't want to embarrass people but we're here to win every game. If we're up by a certain number of goals you may see us trying different things but we'll still try to put the puck in the net,'' Miller said.
As host nation, Japan was automatically placed in the women's hockey tournament which will be played as an official event for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games.
(Kyodo News)
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Copyright 1998 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun