USA Women's Hockey

Team USA’s biggest fan quietly sits alone, intently watching the action on the ice while cheering every American goal.

And while the smile on her face is genuine, there’s no doubt that it masks the ache she feels inside.

For the past five-plus years, Meghan Duggan has been a vital member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, helping the win gold medals at its last three IIHF Women’s World Championships and a silver medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. This time, the only role the 24-year-old forward can serve is the role of cheerleader.

“It’s obviously tough. These girls and this team mean everything to me,” Duggan said during the first-period intermission of Team USA’s 11-0 victory over Finland on Tuesday night.

A concussion suffered in late December cut short Duggan’s season with the Boston Blades of the Central Women’s Hockey League, leaving her with nothing but time and a single-minded focus to get well again.

“I’m not in a position from a health standpoint to be at my best and competing out there. I’m happy that I’m able to even be here with all this commotion and all the noise. It’s difficult to not be able to walk with them out on the ice but I’m glad to be here in this capacity.”

This is not Duggan’s first bout with the effects of a concussion, but it may be the longest she has been forced to the sidelines. She knows that time and rest are the only remedies to resuming the normal active life that will allow her to return to the ice.

“I’ve had a few concussion-type injuries over the years at Wisconsin and with the National Team,” said the 2011 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the top player in women’s college hockey. 

“It’s definitely scary. It’s an injury that you have to take seriously and focus on getting healthy and getting back to a place where you can live normal days and stuff like that. You only get one brain so I need to focus on getting over the last hump.”

As the U.S. Women’s Team continues to steamroll through the competition in Burlington, Vt., Duggan fills her days walking on scenic Church Street and spending time at the rink watching U.S. practices and games. Long before the drop of the puck, teammates stream up into the stands offering words of encouragement as they embrace like sisters. That’s because for all intents and purposes, they are just that.

“It’s a group of great girls and we all love each other so much. We’ve been playing with each other for four or five years and you create this bond where you really care about each other,” she said.

“I love all these girls as if we were sisters. We’re all best friends. And it’s the same for them. They’re all wishing me well and hoping that I get healthy and join the team again.”

That’s why she drove up to Burlington from her parents’ house in Danvers, Mass., to be here when the puck dropped Saturday night for the tournament opener, a 9-2 victory against Canada.

“Obviously I want them to do well. That game the other night against Canada I’ve never been so happy in my life. It was unbelievable just to watch it,” said Duggan, who was among the top scorers at last year’s tournament.
“We’ve had our wins against Canada and we’ve obviously had our losses as well. That was a history-making game right there. To beat that team like Canada by seven goals is amazing. They’re obviously full of skill, they’re very talented and strong so to beat them by a seven-goal margin is something that none of us would ever even thought that we could do.”

The absence of Duggan and fellow U.S. veteran Caitlin Cahow, who is also dealing an injury, leaves a void in the U.S. locker room while at the same time creating opportunities to step up and show what they can do. So far through three games, Duggan is impressed with what her younger teammates can do.

“The youth of this team is definitely a strength for us,” she said. “There are obviously players who are going to come up as older players move on. So it’s a great combination right now with the younger players but also the strong veterans, the type of players that you need around to lead the way. 

“It’s great to see everyone getting some ice time. I know how hard that we all work to put ourselves in this position to make this team and to be in our best physical shape and best mental shape to compete at this level. I’m happy to see everyone out there getting a chance.”

After outscoring the opposition to the tune of 29-2 in three games, Duggan cautions American fans not to become overconfident that the fourth consecutive gold medal is in the bag. She has played enough hockey over the course of her life to know that all it takes is one bounce to change the complexion of a game or a tournament.

“You never want to look past games in between there but as history has shown oftentimes its been the U.S. versus Canada playing for the gold medal,” she said.

“The other night the U.S. came flying out of the gates and wanted it more. I think they’ve enjoyed that victory but they know that there’s still a lot of work to be done and they’re not going to let up. 

“Canada is a great team and definitely won’t roll over, but if that’s the gold-medal game than it should be real exciting and I’m just happy to be here and be a part of it. 

“I love these girls and would love nothing more than to see them win the gold medal, especially on home ice.”