Three Veteran Players Cut From U.S. Olympic Roster

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. â€”  Goaltender Erin Whitten--the first woman to record a victory in a professional hockey game and a six-time U.S. national team selection--and longtime national team members Kelly O’Leary and Stephanie O’Sullivan were cut Saturday from the roster for the Nagano Olympics.

Whitten, 26, was edged out by Sara DeCosta, 20, and Sarah Tueting, 21. The latter two each had two pre-Olympic victories over Canada--the U.S. team’s top rival--but Whitten lost her last three starts against Canada.

“I looked up to Erin. During practices I’d watch her and learn things from her,� said DeCosta, who defeated Canada, 3-0, Saturday. “It was tough, but there was no good or easy way to do this.�

Tueting, of Winnetka, Ill., cried when Coach Ben Smith announced his decision. “I have so much respect for [Whitten] as a person and a goaltender. I learned so much from her,� she said. “In a lot of respects, she’s the person I’d like to be. It was very hard to see this happen.�

None of the three was available for comment. “The toughest [decision] in one sense is Erin Whitten. She is the player people have talked about as the top woman goaltender in the world,� Smith said. “She and Kelly are at an age where they probably wish there had been a 1994 women’s Olympic team--and that I wasn’t coaching it.�

The cuts of defenseman O’Leary, 29, and 26-year-old O’Sullivan, a scrappy winger, were surprising.

“It does represent a little bit of a changing of the times and younger players who have been pushing their way to the forefront,� Smith said.