In search of victory, Dineen stickhandles around concerns

Kevin Dineen isn’t going to panic and he isn’t going to worry.

Since Dineen replaced Dan Church as the head coach of the Canadian women’s hockey team on Dec. 17, Canada has gone 0-4 against its arch-rival the United States and dropped a pair of exhibition games, one to a midget boys team in Medicine Hat., Alta., and the other to the Western Hockey League Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The skid bothers Dineen but he does not stew over it, not even with the Sochi Winter Olympics bearing down on him in about 25 days.

“It stings,” he said on Saturday afternoon at the Olympic Block Party in downtown Banff, Alta. “I want to get a win. I want to get that W.

“This is not a regular season. We are building to a period of time.”

There is precedence for Dineen’s Alfred E. Newman stance. In 2002, the Canadian women lost all eight preliminary games to the United States but won the gold medal at the Salt Lake City Games, the first of three consecutive golds for Canada. The U.S. won the inaugural women’s Olympic hockey tournament in 1998.

The other reason Dineen said he doesn’t worry is because of what he is seeing from his players.

“The work ethic off the ice is incredibly impressive to me. There are days when we are not getting a lot out of them on the ice but there is a purpose to everything we do. For me, I understand that. I’m also a competitive guy and I want to get that win.

“There are some signs that I’ve seen over the last three games that I am encouraged about. The players postgame are all disappointed that they haven’t ended up with a win but what we are doing is setting up a template for how we have to play, how we have to have success.”

When the team bogged down, the coaching change was inevitably cited. Dineen brushes that off.

“You’re dealing with some real quality athletes that can take things in quick,” he said. “I have no doubt that when we hit Russia we’ll be ready to go.”

Canada has nine first-time Olympians on its roster. That means the experience of veterans such as forward Hayley Wickenheiser, approaching her fifth Olympics, is vital.

“I’m just there if he wants to ask questions or bounce some things off me,” Wickenheiser said of Dineen. “He’s trying to get a handle and a feel for making it his own team before this last push. More than anything, I just try to stay calm and carry on and keep everyone in a positive direction.”

Wickenheiser was there in 2002, when the motto became ‘lose eight and then we celebrate,’ so she sounds much like Dineen in assessing the team.

“We’re building, we’re improving as a team and we haven’t got the result we’ve wanted,” she said. “I feel worse for Kevin than any other reason. We’re in a good spot.”

Canada plays games against midget boys teams Friday and Sunday in Calgary before heading to Austria for 10 days of preparation. Women’s hockey begins Olympic play Feb. 8; the gold-medal game is Feb. 20.