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Krissy Wendell

It's a love affair!  Krissy Wendell has loved the game of hockey for as long as her family can remember.  She did not run around the arenas when her brother (2 years older) was playing.  She was watching the game, giving stats and game commentaries to the parents in the stands.  When she turned five, her dad finally allowed her to play the game and played in the Brooklyn Park Boys Youth Hockey Association.  Krissy always felt accepted as a teammate, competitor and gained lifelong friends that are playing hockey all over the United States.  She has played with or against most of her brother's teammates at the University of Minnesota.  Each one of there teammates has helped develop the Krissy Wendell we have seen play.

Krissy values ice time!  When her skates hit the ice, it is always to give 100 percent to improve at practice; to play the best game.  She works with gusto at off-ice training - balancing aerobic training, weight lifting, jogging, and spinning (bicycling).  Always a little sore, always a bit tired, always felein' good after a workout.  She will not cheat herself when it comes to training and ...

Outdoor ice in Minnesota .. does it get any better?  Krissy doesn't think so!  One thing she always missed during her Olympic Training was the Minnesota outdoor ice time!!  Krissy is a young women who grew up in Minnesota, playing hockey for hours down at the local park rinks with her big brother Erik and anyone else that wanted to come play or was already there.  Too cold? It was never too cold!

But, it's not al hockey.  Balance is part of Krissy's life.  She takes periods of time away from the ice.  In the summer there is softball, roller blading, and golf (or tries to) and enjoys that "start up" feeling of returning to the ice in the fall.  She eats balanced meals, drinks lots of water, and as many of her friends know, she loves a Snicker Bar for energy and must have a certain quota of ice cream to function (like her dad)!

Krissy has also had her share of struggles.  She severed her thumb at hockey practice her sophomore year and missed a big portion of that year.  This cost her a game she had anticipated for a long time, will never get a chance to do again - to play in a real game against her brother!  She suffered a separated shoulder during the Olympic tryouts for 1998 and after training for was sent home from US National Team with mononucleosis, just before the World Cup Tournament in Minnesota.

Having just returned from the 2002 Olympics Krissy is now looking forward to another dream - being a Minnesota Golden Gopher!  She always said "I was born at the U, I was born a Gopher!"  Krissy will be a freshman at the University of Minnesota this fall and she is happy returning to Minnesota, her family, friends, and ... outdoor ice!

Best wishes to all the participants in the upcoming tournament.  Skate hard, train hard, play fair, value you ice time and make sure to keep it fun!

A hockey mom, Drenda Wendell (2002)