By Clare Duffy, Nightly News Producer

VANCOUVER – If you're looking for a group of athletes that best embodies the Olympic ideal and the true spirit of amateur athletics, look no further than the U.S. Olympic women’s ice hockey team. You would be hard put to find a group more ready to be role models, particularly for young women.

Women's ice hockey has been an Olympic sport since the Nagano Winter Games in 1998, but has been played on the elite world level for almost 20 years. Here in Vancouver, the U.S. is fielding a potent mix of Olympic veterans and first-timers, and they are more than ready to contend for gold.


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