The Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota is the largest ice arena complex in the world. Since early October of last year, the U.S. Women's National Team has been living and training there in preparation for the Beijing Olympics.
This is not the first time the U.S. Women's National Team has trained for the Olympics at the Super Rink. In September 2008, women’s hockey players were there for the first U.S. Women's National Team residency camp. The locker room had been renovated at a cost of $350,000 for the women's team. After the 2010 Winter Olympics, the women's hockey team did not stay in residence at the Super Rink. Instead, the program went to Boston for the 2014 Sochi Games and to the Tampa, Fla., area for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
When Katie Million, director of USA Hockey's women's national teams, considered training facilities for the current women's national team she checked out the Super Rink. When she saw it she said, "Why are we not using this space? It's fabulous. It just made a lot of sense. We really would like to keep it home.''
Subsequently USA Hockey raised funds to renovate the dressing room and build a new players' lounge. The dressing room has been painted and updated with new signage. The lounge is equipped with a kitchen, conference table, couches, television, a ping pong table and a cornhole set.
"The locker room, the signs, all the red, white and blue, it makes us feel at home,'' says forward Abbey Murphy, who is training with the national team. "It's awesome.''
Coincidentally, the Herb Brooks Foundation Rink 6 is located nearby the women's rink. Herb Brooks, of course, was the head coach of the gold medal winning Men's Olympic Ice Hockey "Miracle on Ice" Team in 1980.
Players joining the 2022 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team will be sporting new uniforms announced in late November. Jerseys and hoodies will feature a horizontal band with a field of stars around the entirety of the garments with “USA” written within it in white with red trim.
