It was a realization of the true magnitude of what she had accomplished that became the defining moment of Meaghan Mikkelson’s first Olympic experience. As the clock ran out on a Gold Medal game in Vancouver that saw Canada leading the US 2-0, the prize for years of training began to draw closer and closer. The chants emanating from the red and white sea of Canadian fans, already sporting dangerously high levels of patriotism as a result of a multitude of inspirational athletic performances, grew louder with each second.

“I remember standing on the bench and looking up at the clock,” Mikkelson tells Last Word On Sports. “There was 12.6 second left. I had my hands on the boards and I was jumping up and down. I looking down the bench at the rest of my teammates and everybody was doing the same thing. I will never forget how that felt.”

It was Canada’s third Olympic Gold in a row. Mikkelson and her Canadian Women’s Hockey teammates are aiming for a similar fate in Sochi, but this time will be different. There will be no maple leafs emblazoned on the sea of red in the crowd this time. The safety net and support associated with home ice advantage is gone. But many crucial similarities remain. This is still a massive showcase for their sport and the debate for its Olympic exclusion has gotten no less quiet since four years ago. In many ways, in Sochi Mikkelson will not only be representing her country, but also her sport.

But progress has been made, insists Mikkelson. She speaks of the immense momentum that the sport has attained since Vancouver. While it is likely that the US and Canada will once again dominate in Sochi, the sense is that the rest of the world is starting to catch up.

“I think that the IIHF has put a lot of programs in place that have helped the other countries around the world to advance female hockey,” says Mikkelson. “Everyone is doing everything they can to advance the sport. You look at the numbers of enrollment of female hockey, not just in Canada but around the world, after the 2010 Olympics, that picked up.”

She also mentions the positives of a round robin reshuffle by the organizing committee, one that they hope will yield fewer embarrassing results. After Canada and the US brutally outscoring their opponents in the round robin stage of the last two tournaments the IIHF has now placed them in the same pool. The pool, which also consists of Switzerland and Finland, will see its top two receive byes to the Semi-Finals while the bottom two will face the top two in the other pool in the Quarterfinal round.

But the changes don’t end there for Mikkelson or the Canadian team. On the ice, there are nine new faces who were not on the roster when Canada won Gold in Vancouver. Meanwhile, behind the bench sits a new face. Former Florida Panthers coach Kevin Dinnen took over the team in December and was given the difficult task of shaping this team in time for Sochi. But, despite his limited time frame, Dineen’s approach was slow and systemic.

“[He didn’t] come in and flip things upside down,” explained Mikkelson. “It has been slow gradual changes along the way. We all feel that we are in a good place right now.”

That sense of confidence is important, as Canada comes into the Olympics slight underdogs, despite their golden pedigree. The United States have won four of the last five World Championships, including last year’s in Ottawa.

Meaghan Mikkelson and Team Canada begin their quest for a fourth straight Olympic gold on Saturday with a game against Switzerland. They finish out their pool with games against Finland on the 10th and the United States on the 12th.

Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @mitchrtierney. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.

Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our Hockey writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!

Main photo credit: _becaro_ via photopin cc