VERDICT: Coyne Leading On Ice and Off in Growth of Women's Game

Safe and healthy, Kendall Coyne Schofield is back home, albeit with an annoying bug smudging that rearview mirror. She was captain and leader of the United States Women's Hockey Team, and there was only one mission at the recent Winter Olympics. But there was also only one gold, and it wasn't to be theirs. However, now she sees a silver lining in that silver medal.
"It's still fresh, the disappointment," she said. "But if you never get over that, you also won't forget the experience, the joy of getting there and playing for your country, the massive TV ratings, the thrill of participating. That stays with you, too."
To celebrate International Women's Day Tuesday, the Blackhawks Sunday night welcomed six members from the U.S. team that performed so well defending its title in Beijing. The extraordinary local contingent included Coyne, Abbey Murphy of Evergreen Park, Megan Bozek of Buffalo Grove, Jesse Compher of Northbrook, Savannah Harmon of Downers Grove and Alex Cavallini, who hails from Delafield, Wis., but played as a youth in Illinois.

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In an Olympic preview issue of The Hockey News featuring Coyne on the cover, the magazine tagged the United States vs. Canada as "hockey's best rivalry." Since 1998, when women's hockey debuted at the Winter Games, the two nations have collected quite the array of hardware while opening doors -- and eyes. The Americans won the first championship in Japan, then earned three silvers and a bronze before achieving gold again four years ago.
In China, the U.S. was determined to retain the title while Canada was invested in wresting it away.

Brianna Decker, one of Coyne's assistant captains, was hurt in the opening game and missed the rest of the tournament, but the Americans played on and played hard. They outshot Canada, 53-27, in preliminary Group A competition but fell, 4-2. As expected, the two powerhouses would meet again with Canada passionately seeking revenge.
In the gold medal final, the Canadians stormed to a 3-0 lead. But Hilary Knight, a four-time Olympian who began her hockey career with the Falcons Hockey Association in Lake Forest before the family moved to California, scored a shorthanded goal late in the second period.
Desperate, the Americans swarmed throughout the third period, eventually narrowing their deficit on a power play with just 13 seconds remaining in regulation. They outshot Canada, 40-21, but succumbed, 3-2. The game was taut and fast. It was also quick, consuming barely over two hours, and clean. Wildly entertaining, although the Americans did not enjoy accepting their fourth Olympic silver while the Canadians celebrated their fifth gold.
"I was devastated," said Coyne, who joined teammates in dropping the puck before the Blackhawks engaged the Tampa Bay Lightning at the United Center. "Even now, I think of mistakes we made, little things that made a difference. It was difficult there, all the months leading up to the Olympics, the closed loop restrictions with the pandemic, the testing protocols. But I'm still proud of what we did. We all are."
In 2020, the Blackhawks created a documentary about Coyne. It was titled
"As Fast As Her,"
and it garnered numerous awards for recognizing diversity and inclusion. The Blackhawks are big on that. Note their involvement throughout the community with partners such as Michele Clark High School. Girls who are students there shadowed female employees as they went about their jobs with the Blackhawks against Tampa.

Coyne is an integral component of the organization's structure. When she isn't playing, she serves the Blackhawks as a Player Development Coach and Youth Hockey Growth Specialist. You would think she doesn't have much spare time, but she works fast.
Inspired by the aforementioned, Kendall expanded on her life's story with a book, and it's worth your while. "As Fast As Her: Dream Big, Break Barriers, Achieve Success" details how a rink rat who had this vision about being a hockey player -- and wouldn't take no because she is not a guy -- made it all happen.
When she was really young, Kendall dabbled in figure skating at the Orland Park Ice Arena. Still really young, she realized she wanted more. She craved competition.
"I need the sport," Kendall told her parents.
She became a fan of the Blackhawks, who weren't nearly as impactful as they are now. For $7, she could snag a nice game ticket. Her favorite player was Chris Chelios, who hailed from Evergreen Park, not far from the Coynes' household. Chelios is a Blackhawks Hall of Fame ambassador, and daughter Caley is a staple on the Blackhawks' broadcast team. She was Hall of Famer Pat Foley's TV sidekick Sunday.
Kendall gradually broke through all the barriers -- "you can't do this...you're a girl!!" -- and decided along the way that she would someday like to represent her country in the Olympics, an outlandish thought at the time.

The Blackhawks motivated her and helped her. Paul Goodman, their strength and conditioning coach, gave her time and provided direction. Her parents were all in, as was her grandmother, a former roller derby star. As Kendall entered high school, the Blackhawks were about to embark on their golden era with prodigies Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
"As Fast As Her" is an excellent read. Of particular import are the interspersed "Golden Coynes": personal nuggets such as "even when a dream doesn't go perfectly, learn from the pursuit and what you've achieved."
Well, the Americans didn't quite achieve their objective in Beijing, but they enriched the sport. And still it was a good month. Hall of Famer Cammi Granato, a pioneer, was appointed assistant general manager of the Vancouver Canucks. Then, only a couple days after the Winter Olympics, news arrived from a different game, half a globe away. The U.S. Women's Soccer Team, World Cup champions, achieved a proper financial settlement. They would be compensated on an equal basis as men. 'Bout time.
"Another positive step," reflected Coyne. "It's like we are trailblazers for each other. Progress. We've come so far. More to go, but so proud."